Real Madrid: Top 5 performances from win over Eibar

Real Madrid CB Raphael Varane

Los Blancos’ other superstar center back didn’t score a goal, but he definitely deserves a shoutout for his hard work against Eibar. Raphael Varane has been one of the world’s absolute top defenders for years, and the former World Cup winner delivered a high-quality display against Eibar’s attack.

Real were a deflection and Thibaut Courtois error away from a clean sheet, but that takes nothing from what Varane did for 90 minutes. The France captain led the team with 76 passes, completing 90.8 percent of them. He even completed 14 of 18 long passes, with more than double the number of completions of Casemiro and Toni Kroos in second place.

Varane was unstoppable in the air, cleaned up any messes around him, and did plenty of covering for Dani Carvajal and Ferland Mendy on that right side.

Real Madrid LW Eden Hazard

Eden Hazard announced his return from injury and La Liga’s return with a strong match against Eibar, whom he already roasted in November. The Belgian superstar unselfishly assisted for Sergio Ramos, and his unselfishness was the story of the game.

As always, Hazard ran all over the pitch and gave 110 percent for his teammates. He popped up on the left and right to exploit space, doing damage to Eibar’s defense when linking up with star striker Karim Benzema.

Hazard drew three fouls, completed two dribbles, and was accurate on 90 percent of his passes. He wasn’t the Man of the Match, but he was one of the standouts in a comprehensive attacking display to seal the game in the first half.