Zinedine Zidane and Real Madrid may have lost back-to-back cup matches to Athletic Club and Alcoyano, but they did not make it three in a row. Deportivo Alaves defeated Real in November, but Los Blancos exacted revenge with a 4-1 victory at the Mendizorroza on Saturday night.
Let’s take a look at the top five individual performances from the victory, featuring an important display from Eden Hazard.
CM Luka Modric
It seems that whenever Real Madrid have a good performance, Luka Modric plays a crucial role in the effort. Modric could’ve had three assists in this game, as he finally got his assist late in the match with a wonderful pass from his own half to Karim Benzema on the left-hand side of the pitch. Whether it was carrying the ball or delivering his signature outside-the-boot passes, Modric helped lead the way for Los Blancos.
According to WhoScored.com, Modric had two key passes and two dribbles completed on Matchday 20. But his defensive contributions were actually even more impressive. Modric won three tackles and three interceptions for Los Blancos. He’s always been a quality defensive presence in midfield, and he showed fans around the world why he is still the most well-rounded midfielder in the business.
LW Eden Hazard
Now we move over to Eden Hazard, who had two magical moments in the first half of Real Madrid’s 4-1 victory at the Mendizorroza.
The first was a dummy or backheel flick assist, whatever you want to call it. The assist set up Benzema’s first and was a great moment showing Hazard’s ability to subtly create clear chances in the final third.
Hazard scored a goal of his own – his third of the campaign in all competitions – to make it three for the visitors. His goal featured a gorgeous first touch and a deft finish over former Madrid man Fernando Pacheco. The touch itself was another clear example of Hazard’s sheer quality.
While the Belgian didn’t dominate this match, he showed up big-time with two goal contributions amidst plenty of questions after two poor showings in the losses to Athletic Club and Alcoyano.
CF Karim Benzema
Some praise should definitely go to Karim Benzema, who scored yet another brace with Eden Hazard starting to the left of him. Benzema’s first, assisted by Hazard, was an emphatic finish into the top corner of the net. Vintage Benzema.
His second goal atoned for the couple of times he botched Modric’s delightful passes. Benzema was on the left-hand side and took Modric’s killer pass in stride, cutting in on his right foot to deliver an unerring finish into the bottom right-hand corner. You just knew from the moment he shot the ball, it was only going to nestle into the corner of the net.
Benzema finished Matchday 20 with a team-high four shots on target and three dribbles completed. He is behind breakout star Youssef En-Nesyri and familiar faces Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi in the Pichichi race, but Benz very much kept the pace with this much-needed brace.
CB Raphael Varane
Eder Militao deserves a shoutout for a second straight solid performance at center back, but Raphael Varane was the clear star of the back four, even considering Lucas Vazquez’s solid shift at right back.
Varane goes under the radar so frequently, but the stats back up how good he was against Alaves’ front line. The French star had a team-high three interceptions (tied with Luka Modric, of course), two blocked shots, and four clearances.
There’s this narrative that Varane cannot play without Sergio Ramos, and it’s totally cherrypicking. This man has played well several times without Ramos, and he does not need Ramos to hold his own. His success with the French national team should show that. For the third time this season, Varane had a world-class performance without Ramos next to him.
CM Toni Kroos
But the best player on the pitch may have been Toni Kroos. For my money, you can’t pick between Lukita and Toni, and therefore I would not argue against anyone who nominates Kroos as their Man of the Match against Deportivo Alaves.
He had two assists. The first of them was a trademark, pinpoint corner for Casemiro to open the scoring. His second assist was even better and should be in highlight reels everywhere. Kroos pressed a defender into a mistake high up the right side of the pitch, which is opposite from where he starts. Therefore, he had to lift a through ball over the top with his left foot. Job done. And Eden Hazard took care of the rest with aplomb.
Kroos chipped in with two tackles and an interception to go with his four key passes, two assists, and two dribbles completed. Once again, he led the team with 94 passes, completing nearly 96 percent of them. And 14 of his 15 completions were long balls. Extraordinary. I am running out of superlatives for Kroos, who is having a jaw-dropping season for Real Madrid.