Real Madrid: The top 3 performances from a tough win over Inter Milan
Real Madrid nearly blew the game, but Rodrygo Goes’ goal off the bench ensured Zinedine Zidane’s side picked up the full three points vs. Inter Milan.
Coming into Wednesday’s match, Real Madrid knew they needed to win against Inter Milan, the other major club in their Champions League group. Los Blancos lost to Shakhtar Donetsk and drew Borussia Monchengladbach, so winning – not just tying – against an Inter side without Romelu Lukaku was imperative.
After jumping out to a 2-0 lead in a great first half, Real Madrid were lucky to still be at 2-2 when they faltered in the second half. But in the end, they got their win, courtesy of young substitutes Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes hooking up in the 80th minute to make it 3-2.
Here were the top three individual performances from the victory.
RW Rodrygo Goes
Rodrygo Goes only played for about 30 minutes, but the man with two late assists in La Liga came up with the goods yet again. But this time, he did so as a scorer.
Real Madrid needed to swap out Marco Asensio after he did pretty much nothing for a whole hour. So they brought in Rodrygo alongside Vinicius Junior, who replaced Eden Hazard as a precaution.
Rodrygo’s goal was a beautiful finish just when Real needed a moment of magic from their young star. He scored many goals for Los Blancos in last year’s Champions League campaign, and he’s finally off the mark in 2020-2021.
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Sometimes, all you need is to be in the right place at the right time and ready to provide the right finish. Rodrygo did all of that. It’s amazing to think he is still 19. What a player he is set to become for Los Merengues.
CM Fede Valverde
Fede Valverde was immense in the first half. He didn’t add to his goal-scoring tally in this game, but he had five interceptions, per WhoScored.com, to tie Ferland Mendy for second on the team.
The young Uruguayan was always running and pressing, which counts for a lot in a game like this against the likes of Arturo Vidal.
An Antonio Conte team will always try to outwork you in the midfield, but nobody outworks Valverde.
He would have liked to score on Tuesday night in the Champions League, but he was still a key part of the win.
LW Eden Hazard
Sergio Ramos deserves a shoutout, but let’s go with another attacking player in Eden Hazard. He left the game in the 63rd minute after limping around, but he was the best attacking player on the pitch for either team in the first half of the match.
Hazard’s work led to the corner that Sergio Ramos dispatched for his 100th career goal in a White kit. The experienced Belgian superstar was always trying to make something happen on the ball and was by far Real’s best decision-maker in the attacking third.
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On a night in which Karim Benzema was up and down and Asensio did nothing of note, Hazard’s dribbling and command of the left side were that much more important. Hopefully he’s 100 percent after that brief scare, because Real Madrid absolutely need him in order to be successful this season.