Real Madrid traveled to Mendizorrotza to face Deportivo Alaves and came away with a confident 1-4 win. Los Blancos put on a convincing performance away from home. David Bettoni was on the coach’s bench instead of Zinedine Zidane, who missed the match testing Covid positive. Goals from Casemiro, Karim Benzema, and Eden Hazard gave Real Madrid a three-goal lead at halftime. Joselu pulled a goal back for Alaves early in the second half, but Benzema scored his second of the night to complete the 1-4 win for the Merengues.
Here is how the Real Madrid players performed.
Players
Thibaut Courtois – 7/10
Courtois covered well from everything that came at him. He did have a couple of nervous moments but dealt with them without a problem and was not at fault for Alaves’ goal.
Lucas Vazquez – 7/10
Lucas Vazquez had a steady game following a patch of a rough couple of games. It was a firm two-way performance by the Spaniard, winning two tackles and two clearances in defense, as well as two of two completed dribbles and a key pass in offense.
Eder Militao – 7.5/10
Militao deputized for the injured Ramos and stepped in with confidence. He did lose his marker for Alaves’ goal but put on a positive showing overall. He looked comfortable on the ball and solid in defense. Militao won four tackles, three aerial duels, and two clearances in the match.
Raphael Varane – 7.5/10
Like his center-back partner on the night, Varane had a commendable display. He took over the responsibility of distributing from the back in the absence of Ramos. The French World Cup Winner completed six of six long balls along with 94 percent of his passes. He was also positional disciplined with four interceptions and three clearances, per Whoscored.com.
Ferland Mendy – 6.5/10
Mendy put on a strong showing. He was, as usual, safe in defense and made some delightful forward runs. He should have done better when Modric sent him one on one with the goalkeeper and has a lot to improve in the final third. However, his performance on the night was promising.
Casemiro – 8/10
Casemiro gave Madridistas a scare 30 seconds into the game with a giveaway in his own half that went unpunished. But it was all smooth sailing after that. Casemiro made up for the scare by giving Real Madrid the lead in the 14th minute with a header. He also made three clearances and won three aerial duels.
Luka Modric – 9/10
Modric ran the show on the night against Alaves. He was everywhere on the pitch and provided some sparks of creativity in the final third. He unlocked Alaves’ defense on multiple occasions and got finally rewarded with an assist after sending Benzema through in the second half. He completed two dribbles, created three big chances, won three tackles and three interceptions.
Toni Kroos – 9/10
Kroos was at his best, and he dominated Alaves in the middle of the park. He dictated the pace of the match and completed 96 percent of his passes. The German also provided four key passes on the night, two of them leading into assists.
Marco Asensio – 6/10
Asensio was not able to replicate a similar performance to his teammates. He had some decent runs and got into some good positions but never really stamped his authority in the match.
Eden Hazard – 8/10
Hazard desperately needed a confidence booster, and he got one against Alaves. The Belgian had a shot go just wide of the mark before providing a lovely flick-on assist for Benzema’s goal. Eden Hazard also scored his second of the season right before the half with a sublime touch and a confident finish past Pacheco. He also completed 100 percent of his dribbles and created two chances.
Karim Benzema – 9/10
Karim Benzema put on a captain’s performance. He led from the front and scored a deserved brace to help Real Madrid win 1-4 against Alaves. The French forward ended his three-match scoring drought in La Liga with two brilliants finishes.
Substitutions
Vinicius Junior – 6.5/10
Vinicius replaces Hazard in the 62nd minute. The Brazillian looked to take on the defenders and completed all three of his dribbles.
Isco – N/A
Isco played less than 15 minutes and did not have much to do.
Alvaro Odriozola – N/A
Odriozola did not have much time to get a rating.