After David Alaba’s free kick goal nestled into the back of the net, Real Madrid cruised to victory. They avenged an earlier 2-1 loss to Sheriff in the competition with a dominant performance on the road. With this 3-0 win, Real have now qualified for the Champions League knockout stages, where it seems a date with PSG could await them.
Here are the player ratings from Los Merengues’ impressive performance, featuring yet another masterful display from world-class center midfielder Toni Kroos.
GK Thibaut Courtois
Thibaut Courtois was not threatened for much of the match, but you always know he’ll get called into action sooner rather than later. He was more than up to the task of stopping Adama Traore on one occasion. But I’d like to praise Courtois more for his distribution, such as a quick throw to Vinicius Junior that nearly led to something. He looked very comfortable with the ball at his feet on Wednesday night.
Rating: 7.0
LB Ferland Mendy
Picked up an assist for Karim Benzema’s goal to make things 3-0 for Real Madrid. Defensively, Mendy was as solid as ever, and he got better offensively as the match went on. That was enough to make up for some horrible crosses, including one laughably poor one early in the match that led to a counter for Sheriff.
Rating: 7.0
CB David Alaba
David Alaba benefited from a deflection, but his free kick was well-hit and dangerous. A deserved second goal in a Real Madrid shirt for him, and it opened the scoring for Los Blancos. Composed as ever defensively, Alaba was troubled by nothing and had license to get forward.
Rating: 7.0
CB Eder Militao
An excellent performance at the back from Eder Militao. The young center back made some perfect recoveries, reading the game well to help his teammates defend the constant threat of Traore. Militao did not have much to do, in truth, as Real Madrid were so dominant that they finally gave their defense a real break.
Rating: 7.5
RB Dani Carvajal
After excelling in his last two matches, Dani Carvajal kept the good times rolling against Sheriff. He was all over the pitch, supporting attacks and making crucial defensive interventions. Whenever Los Blancos lose possession, you can always count on the Spanish international to immediately press, recover, or do whatever is necessary to win it back. And you need those players in the XI.
Carvajal had one especially brilliant play in the second half where he made a Sergio Ramos-esque tackle, spun with the ball at his feet to keep it in bounds and avoid the corner, and then made a good pass in his own box to help get it clear.
Rating: 8.0