Real Madrid knocked off Eibar 3-1 on Sunday night and earned a fantastic victory as La Liga returns after the pandemic break.
After FC Barcelona won against RCD Mallorca yesterday, Los Blancos had to win their match to keep their league title hopes alive. Zinedine Zidane’s starting eleven came out strong and took a three goal lead by the end of the first half.
Eibar got a goal back in the second half, but Real Madrid retained their two-goal advantage for the rest of the game. Here is how the players performed.
Goalkeeper
Thibaut Courtois: 5.5/10
Courtois should have done much better stopping Eibar’s first and only goal. While the deflection made things tricky, the ball was traveling at a slow speed and it is unacceptable to let the ball trickle through in between the legs for a goalkeeper of his quality.
However, he did make a couple of good saves with four in total.
Defenders
Dani Carvajal – 6.5/10
Carvajal did well for the 45 minutes he was on the pitch. He did not do anything spectacular, but he was reliable covering his flank.
The Spanish international was also a consistent outlet in attack. He had three successful tackles and two clearances before being subbed off at halftime.
Sergio Ramos – 8/10
Ramos had a mostly solid game in the back as Eibar failed to put up much of a threat in attack. He won three aerial duels, two interceptions, and made one tackle.
El Capitan also bagged himself a goal after a fantastic run into the box, putting the Royal Whites ahead 2 – 0 half an hour in.
Raphael Varane – 7/10
Varane had a very reliable performance. He stepped up to lead the back line after Ramos was subbed off and did not let anything past him.
He won three aerial duels, two interceptions, and made six clearances on the day.
Marcelo – 7/10
Marcelo knows he will be fighting for the starting spot at left fullback with Ferland Mendy, but on today’s match, he proved Zidane right on his selection.
The Brazilian got on the score sheet with a smashing shot in the 37th minute. He struggled a bit in the second half due to slight concerns with his fitness, but he was able to see out the full 90 minutes.