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Real Madrid beat Eibar 3-1 in a thrilling match at Ipurua on Sunday to tie Atlético de Madrid on points at the top of the league.
Madrid started well and went ahead early, a pass from Rodrygo that found Karim Benzema, who beat goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic. Luka Modric doubled his lead in the first 15 minutes when Benzema became a supplier, backtracking for the Croatian to finish. Kike Garcia scored a goal for the hosts, passing Thibaut Courtois, before Benzema had another one discarded for offside.
The second half was more of a battle. Rodrygo had a shot from Dmitrovic in the second half after a deep pass from Toni Kroos, and Yoshinori Muto could have scored with a header close to the post. Substitute Marco Asensio took a barely wide free kick and Eibar threatened to tie before Lucas Vázquez hit them on the fast break to score in overtime.
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Positive
Real Madrid’s impressive form streak continues: now they are four consecutive league wins, they are together at the top and most importantly, eight points ahead of Barcelona, although they have played one more match. Rival Eibar was not easy to convince either, having lost only once in nine league games before this one, even if all of their wins at the time had been away from home.
Karim Benzema’s glorious scoring streak continues as well. He has always been a streaker, and now has 10 goals in his last 10 games. It is no coincidence that this streak coincided with Madrid’s change of fortune on the pitch. If Benzema keeps scoring, the team will keep winning.
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Negative
This was much more of a battle than expected as Madrid went 2-0 in the 13th minute, and the team couldn’t relax for a second as Eibar fought to the final whistle. Fatigue should be a concern, given the number of players who have participated, twice a week, in the last month. They will have a short break at Christmas, with seven days between the Granada match on December 23 and Elche on December 30, and will hope to arrive without further injury problems.
Manager rating out of 10
7 – Zinedine Zidane continues to insist that he has not waived his rotation policy, but his team’s national teams tell a different story. On this occasion, he only made two changes to the team that beat Athletic Bilbao in the middle of the week: Casemiro returning from suspension, replacing Federico Valverde, and Rodrygo replacing Vinicius.
The team started magnificently, just as Zidane would have liked, and then entrenched when Eibar upped their game, although the second half was a struggle at times. His substitutions made sense, especially the introduction of Valverde when Modric got tired.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players submitted after 70 minutes are not rated)
GK Thibaut Courtois, 6 years old – He came and missed a corner in the first half. There was nothing he could do about Garcia’s wonderful goal, defeated to its fullest extent. He made a good save in the second half for Pape Diop.
DF Dani Carvajal, 7 – He missed a great opportunity for what would have been a decisive third goal at 2-1 when he broke the forehand into space, with options in the middle, but failed to beat the first defender. He worked hard in another way.
DF Raphael Varane, 6 – Now he is the non-Spanish center-back with the most games for Real Madrid. He faced an animated Muto and was tested throughout.
DF Sergio Ramos, 7 – At his best and worst in a passage in the second half of the game when a fantastic interception was followed by a direct pass to the feet of Takashi Inui that could have ended in disaster. He got away with a possible late hand when the ball hit his elbow inside the box. He saved the team with a late recovery.
DF Ferland Mendy, 7 years old He did well in defense against Inui. Dangerously crossed the six-yard box before the break, he went ahead to find Rodrygo and, singlehandedly, managed a break from Eibar in the second half.
MF Casemiro, 7 – Less flashy than Kroos or Modric, but quietly effective at the base of midfield. Casemiro is a master at buying time for the team when necessary by dividing the game.
Karim Benzema continued his brilliant form, scoring the first goal in Madrid’s 3-1 win over Eibar. Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce / Getty Images
MF Toni Kroos, 7 – The bad luck of not receiving an assist in the first half with his super ball over Benzema. He showed off with a quick move in the second half over the head of an opponent. His deep pass to Rodrygo was the pass of the match.
MF Luka Modric, 8 years old – He has been involved, as a starter or substitute, in each and every game this season without a break, at the age of 35. A glorious starting ability to feint to get past Anaitz Arbilla without even touching the ball. He finished his goal with conviction. Tired after.
FROM Lucas Vázquez, 7 – The least impressive of the three forwards, but still played well. He almost came to the end of a Mendy cross in the first half and an effort cleared the line before the break after beating Dmitrovic. He grabbed a late third goal.
DEL Karim Benzema, 9 – He scored again, a day after his 33rd birthday. He did the same to create Madrid’s second, beating a defender and having the presence of mind to take Modric out. If another goal, which would have been the best of all, was ruled out for offside.
FW Rodrygo, 8 – Much more involved than usual. Wonderful assist for the opening goal, which floated the ball over the Eibar defense in the exact spot for Benzema to run. He lost his balance and shot over the bar when Mendy found him in the second half, and then had a saved effort.
Substitutions
DEL Marco Asensio, N / A – He entered for Rodrygo and approached with a free kick. There is still not a single goal or assist this season.
MF Federico Valverde, N / R – He replaced a tired Modric when the team needed to dig deeper and protect their advantage.
Source: espn.co.uk
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