LW Vinicius Junior
Vinicius Junior had a positive month of February despite not contributing any goals to the Real Madrid attack. He made good decisions off the ball, worked hard in defense, and showed more confidence going forward than before. With Rodrygo Goes and Eden Hazard injured, Vini became crucial on the left-hand side and did not let the team down.
He started the month with a good match at Huesca, signifying an important rebound in form for the previously struggling youngster. Vinicius drew multiple fouls per game in each of his four La Liga appearances, doing his best to provide Real Madrid and Toni Kroos with set piece chances.
Rating: 7.0
ST Karim Benzema
Mariano Diaz appeared in more games (four) than Karim Benzema (three) last month, but he actually played less since he only had one start. And since he was much worse than Benzema anyway, I’m only going to rate the No. 9 and avoid any more negative words about the backup.
Benzema suffered an injury against Valencia and had to miss the matches at Real Valladolid and Atalanta, but he did score a great early goal vs. the Bats, curling the ball with power into the bottom right-hand corner of the net after cutting inside. Benz scored twice in February and now has 12 goals in the month. Hopefully, he’ll be 100 percent for El Derbi next weekend.
Rating: 7.5
RW Marco Asensio
The worst player of the month. Whereas Real Madrid’s other attackers were decent or above-average, Marco Asensio was a disappointment. I hate saying so many negative things about him and get disappointed when fans go as far as to call him “useless”, but I have to be honest in my evaluations. Asensio was not good, especially when the team needed him most with Karim Benzema injured against Valladolid and Atalanta.
But going back to my earlier point about the exaggerations from some fans, we have to remember that Asensio had some bright moments earlier in the month. He had two key passes and drew five fouls against Huesca, and he recorded four key passes against Getafe. And vs. Valencia, Asensio had five dribbles completed.
Those stats did not translate into much production. Asensio wasted chances and had some sketchy moments in the final third at Huesca. There is talent here, but the consistency and production are sorely missing.
Rating: 5.0