Real Madrid have finished a grueling month of April, which included three Champions League fixtures against Liverpool and Chelsea, in addition to El Clasico. It was another month plagued with injuries and fatigue in this trying season, but Los Blancos are still very much in the hunt for both the La Liga and Champions League titles.
This Saturday night, Real will start the month of May with a home match against Osasuna. But before then, let’s take a look back at April’s fixtures and rank the top five players of the month.
5. DM Casemiro
We begin the countdown with Casemiro, who had another fantastic month. The world-class defensive midfielder is often overlooked by fans around Europe, so it was nice to see him pick of Man of the Match honors for his second leg performance against Liverpool at Anfield, in which he covered a whole lot of ground in a rough-and-tumble defensive performance to ensure Real would progress to the semifinals.
Case has been clutch offensively, too, so he’s offered more than just world-class defensive output. For example, Casemiro assisted Karim Benzema in the win over Cadiz. He actually had another assist in April, as he started the month with an assist against Eibar.
According to WhoScored.com, the Brazilian midfielder had 15 tackles and 5 interceptions in his three Champions League appearances last month. That means he literally averaged five tackles per game!
4. CM Toni Kroos
In a normal month, Casemiro would have been much higher on the list, but this is Real Madrid and this was a month with a Clasico and three major Champions League fixtures. Therefore, competition was stiff. And although Toni Kroos was hobbled by injuries/fatigue to close the month, he still managed to make a profound impact on the team.
Kroos’ performance against Liverpool in the first leg of the quarterfinals won’t be forgotten any time soon. The German international created two goals with his passes from deep, including a picture-perfect first ball over the top for Vinicius Junior.
All season long, Kroos has been putting up jaw-dropping passing numbers. He hasn’t had many goals, but he did chip in an important one that proved to be an eventual winner, scoring off a deflected free kick in El Clasico.
Kroos completed 90 percent of his passes in three matches in April. And although he was playing through an injury against Chelsea and clearly impacted negatively, Kroos was actually quite good in helping Real keep the Blues to one goal, especially in the second half. He had four tackles and two interceptions, just as he had four tackles in an important clean sheet against Liverpool. Sometimes, we take for granted Kroos’ ability to stabilize the defense when the team needs him to help out.
3. CF Karim Benzema
It’s unbelievable to think that Karim Benzema is only ranked third on this list for his work in April, because in just about any other month, he would have been crowned Real Madrid’s best player yet again. The reigning La Liga Player of the Month was essential to the Royal White attack for another month running, and we all shudder to think where this team would be without the Pichichi candidate’s contributions, which go beyond the goals, of course.
But the goals were the most necessary. Take a look at the last stretch of five games in which Los Blancos have only scored four times. Benzema had a hand in all four of those goals, including creating something from nothing to spare a 1-1 draw in the first leg vs. Chelsea.
Benzema also scored twice against Cadiz (with an assist), found the back of the net to start the month vs. Eibar, and scored a gorgeous backheel against Barcelona.
The legendary No. 9 was impactful in games in which he didn’t score, too. For example, he had some great passes and ingenious movement in the 3-1 win over Liverpool. Benzema had two matches with multiple key passes and two matches with multiple dribbles completed. He was everywhere for Real Madrid in April.
2. CB Eder Militao
Eder Militao was a serious candidate to be Real Madrid’s best player in April. He received his first start since January against Eibar, impressing with seven aerial duels won. But he didn’t truly break out until the first leg against Liverpool, because Raphael Varane tested positive for COVID-19 earlier that day with Sergio Ramos already injured.
The former FC Porto man slotted in next to Nacho Fernandez and played well. He played well against Barcelona the following weekend. But he saved his true heroics for the 0-0 clean sheet draws with Liverpool and Getafe. Real Madrid surely would have lost the latter game without him.
And Militao was likewise exceptional against Cadiz, Real Betis, and Chelsea, standing out as the only quality defender for the full 90 minutes vs. the Blues.
It was incredible watching how Militao, who was previously fighting for minutes, suddenly became the most in-form defender on a team that boasts central defense as its strongest position. The 23-year-old showed composure and a defensive intelligence beyond his peers, and he quickly won the trust of Madridistas after his string of performances against Liverpool and Barcelona. After some uncertainty regarding his future in Madrid, it’s clear that Militao is here to stay.
1. GK Thibaut Courtois
Like Casemiro, Thibaut Courtois is another player who can get underrated by fans at large, but the Real Madrid faithful know better than to overlook the big Belgian. Ever since October of 2019, Courtois has been a heroic figure for Real, keeping the team in matches with stunning saves, including dangerous counterattacks when the defense is nowhere to be found.
Without Courtois, Los Blancos most likely would have lost El Clasico and the first leg of the semifinals vs. Chelsea. He deserves massive credit for keeping clean sheets against Real Betis, Getafe, and Liverpool, because his goal was exposed too many times in those matches.
Courtois had a streak of four clean sheets and never allowed more than one goal in April despite the fact that Real Madrid played a whopping eight games and had injuries in defense. The experienced shot-stopper made at least three saves in seven of his eight appearances, including a staggering six against Getafe. In fact, according to post-shot expected goals, he saved Real from a 2-0 loss to Getafe with his saves alone!
He was even better against his former employers, saving 2.1 goals against Chelsea! As a whole, Courtois saved 7.8 goals in his appearances in April, essentially saving one goal per game for his team. Ridiculous!