First Half
The first half began as a choppy, tense affair, with multiple stoppages for fouls and injuries in the opening ten to fifteen minutes of the match. But a match that started without any fluidity soon turned into a scintillating tactical chess match with great action at both ends.
There were some really marvelous displays of football across the pitch from Real Madrid in the first half. Theo Hernandez played what is perhaps his best game in a white shirt tonight. He was imperious at both ends of the pitch, recovering the ball a number of times in defense and connecting well with his attackers on the left.
Varane also looked stellar in defense, putting together a highlight reel of intelligent recoveries and dazzling dribbles out of pressure. Casemiro also had a jaw-dropping tackle in the middle of the park that I could watch on replay over and over again.
There have been some serious question marks surrounding Gareth Bale’s place in the Real Madrid squad, after a few anonymous performances and a few matches being left on the bench. But Bale looked imposing in the first half. Despite nothing ultimately coming from his efforts, Bale put his whole bag of tricks on display, with some fierce pressing and incredible dribbling that posed problems for the Alavés defense all evening.
Real Madrid knew they were going up against a fierce outfit in Alavés, who have won three consecutive matches before this. And Los Blancos did really well to contain Alavés throughout the half. But Alavés also did well to contain Madrid, keeping the match level for around forty minutes.
Near the end of the first half, Madrid finally put together a string of magic that resulted in a goal. Lucas Vazquez did well to recover the ball near the edge of the box on the right. He cut in to Benzema, who then played an absolutely beautiful backheel to Ronaldo. Ronaldo, without thinking, slammed the ball into the far corner for the goal. Benzema deserves a ton of credit for the assist. It was champagne football at its finest, and hopefully will help the fans forget an earlier missed opportunity from the Frenchman. The shot was vintage Ronaldo, launched with pace , power and lethal decisiveness.
Despite a strong performance throughout the first half, Alavés found themselves down a goal going into halftime.
Second Half
It took just thirty seconds or so for Real Madrid to get underway in the second half. Benzema intelligently stripped the ball off an Alavés player in the center of the park and fed in an onrushing Gareth Bale. Bale looked up and slotted the ball home past the keeper instantly, and Madrid doubled the lead, as Benzema picked up his second assist on the night.
Benzema nearly got on the scoresheet himself just moments later, putting the ball in the back of the net, but he was ruled just offside. Unlucky for the Frenchman who really deserved a goal himself after his unselfish work elsewhere across the pitch.
Madrid weren’t done scoring, though. Lucas Vazquez, who has been in the form of his life of late, found the ball on the right hand side of the box and cut in to an onrushing Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo dispatched a quick-fire shot that Pacheco was helpless in dealing with, and Madrid went up 3-0.
With the match firmly under their control, Zidane decided to give twenty much-needed minutes to Dani Ceballos who has been a rare sight this season. Marcos Llorente was also brought on with about ten minutes left to play.
In the closing minutes of the match, Bale was dragged down in the box, and the ref waved for a penalty. In a totally heartwarming moment, Ronaldo let Benzema take the penalty, and Karim slotted away. It was such a wonderful display of friendship and support for the oft-maligned Frenchman.
Next: Who should replace the injured players at Real Madrid?
Real Madrid have been needing a match like this all season. Madrid were strong at both ends of the pitch, and the squad players who were filling in for the injured Modric, Marcelo, and Kroos performed magnificently. This was a great match for Real Madrid who need to continue building