Real Madrid steps up a gear in the second half at Estadio Alfredo di Stefano to brush off Valencia 3-0.
Real Madrid continued their winning ways with a dominating victory against Valencia. Two goals from Karim Benzema and one from the returning Marco Asensio helped Los Blancos keep their La Liga title hopes alive. The first half was a bit of a struggle for Zinedine Zidane’s men. While they played well to keep possession, the Merengues found it laborious to break down Valencia’s defense.
However, Zidane’s half-time team talk worked like a charm as Los Blancos stepped up a gear in the second half. They were playing with high intensity and dismantled Valencia’s backline on multiple occasions, eventually scoring three goals. Here is a look at how well the players performed.
Goalkeeper
Thibaut Courtois – 7/10
Real Madrid’s No.1 Thibaut Courtois had an excellent game. While he did not have much to do in the second half, he made two brilliant saves in the first. One of them was a fingertip save in a one on one against Rodrigo Moreno. The second was a diving save for the cameras to keep a thunderbolt from Geoffrey Kondogbia out.
He commanded his area with confidence and came out often to claim or punch the aerial balls. He claimed his 13th clean sheet of the season. The Belgian international is in the lead for the Zamora trophy, and if he continues to perform at this level, he will deserve it.