Real Madrid fans were nervous about a scary stretch of games against Sevilla, Athletic Club, Real Sociedad, Inter Milan, and Atletico Madrid.
And Los Blancos went ahead and beat every single one of those teams. No losses. Not even a draw. And all but Sevilla were clean sheets.
On Sunday night at the Santiago Bernabeu, Los Blancos dominated their title rivals, Atletico Madrid. After a cagey start, Karim Benzema wonderfully converted a well-worked transition opportunity. And from there, it was textbook.
Here are the player ratings from Real Madrid’s 2-0 home victory over Atleti.
GK Thibaut Courtois
World-class. Thibaut Courtois was sublime in a Man of the Match performance about a week ago against Athletic Bilbao, and he was arguably even better in this clean sheet vs. Atletico Madrid. Whoever wants to argue that Jan Oblak is better than Courtois can argue with a wall – preferably the wall with ‘Courtois’ emblazoned on his back. Courtois commanded his box perfectly and made seven saves, including three of the top-drawer variety. Tricky free kicks headed for the upper 90, driven free kicks that missed everyone, reflex saves at the near post…you name it, the big Belgian has it covered.
Rating: 9.0
LB Ferland Mendy
This was another active, commanding display from Ferland Mendy at left back. The Frenchman had three tackles and one interception, completing over 90 percent of his passes. He made some great overlaps up the pitch and was inches away from assisting Vinicius Junior. Defensively, Angel Correa and the Atleti attack just could not match his strength.
Rating: 8.0
CB David Alaba
Likewise, David Alaba was too strong for Atleti’s attack. Whether it was Luis Suarez or Antoine Griezmann, the Atleti forwards were completely stymied by the Austrian. He made some great headed clearances in the box and was there to cut out runs before they could lead to anything. Alaba’s football IQ is outstanding on and off the ball. And he is a leader.
Rating: 8.0
CB Eder Militao
Eder Militao delivered another fine performance in central defense. He got to any one-on-one challenge or through ball that Atleti tried to test him with, to the point where they started to avoid challenging him entirely. Attackers hate going up against Militao, who made the world-class Griezmann look like Luuk de Jong on the ball.
Rating: 8.0
RB Dani Carvajal
Dani Carvajal left the pitch in the 81st minute but made his presence felt before then with his usual hard work on both ends of the pitch. He completed 100 percent of his 47 passes, and that sums up how he played and what he needed to do in this Derbi. Avoid making any mistakes.
Rating: 7.0
CM Toni Kroos
Like the last Derbi, Diego Simeone strategized throwing Toni Kroos off his game by playing physical and targeting him. He had Rodrigo De Paul focus his efforts on early, cheap fouls. Kroos was fouled five times, yet he still controlled the match for Real Madrid. In another subtly strong game, Kroos led the team with 96 pass attempts, completing about 94 percent of them.
Rating: 7.5
DM Casemiro
Casemiro was the counterweight to whatever Atletico Madrid tried to throw at Real Madrid physically. He is the man nobody wants to mess with in midfield, and he has a penchant for delivering his best performances in the big games. The 29-year-old completed seven of eight long balls and delivered his most comfortable match on the ball in weeks. Casemiro also won two tackles and three interceptions to reinforce his status as a premier defender in midfield.
Rating: 8.0
CM Luka Modric
Take a bow. Luka Modric has been working his ass off these last few weeks when Real Madrid needed this kind of class and effort the most, and he finished this gauntlet stretch of matches with his best performance of the season yet. Modric was all over the pitch defensively, constantly recovering the ball for his team. Atleti could never get into a rhythm because of Modric’s sensational quality on the ball and in disrupting passing lanes. The first goal of the match started because of his astute defending. The stats say Modric had four dribbles completed, three interceptions, and two tackles, but it feels like he had a lot more.
Rating: 9.5
LW Vinicius Junior
Another well-earned standing ovation for the sensational Brazilian winger, who had a key role in both goals as the assist-provider. Vinicius Junior is the most in-form player in La Liga right now – and maybe even in Europe as a whole (Mohamed Salah, for example, may have something to say about that). He was decisive defensively, too, recording a team-high four tackles. It was amazing to see how willing he was to get stuck-in against Atleti in this rivalry matchup.
Rating: 8.0
CF Karim Benzema
Coming into the match, there were concerns about Karim Benzema’s ability to play after suffering an injury early in last weekend’s win at Real Sociedad. Benzema started and score a wonderful first-half goal, smashing a volley for another clutch goal in El Derbi. That gave Real an important lead against an Atleti side that was a little more dangerous to that point. Benzema left at half-time, likely as a precaution. He did his job with the goal, and Carlo Ancelotti didn’t want to risk an aggravation to Benz’s injury. On top of that, Luka Jovic has earned his trust.
Rating: 7.0
RW Marco Asensio
Marco Asensio continued his fine form by grabbing another goal. Before the goal, fans were lamenting the way he was getting pushed off the ball and wanted to see him more involved, and he even passed up a golden opportunity to shoot with his left in the box. But Asensio showed why Carlo Ancelotti plays him by converting a not-so-easy chance to seal the game. Asensio brings goals that Real Madrid need.
Rating: 7.0
ST Luka Jovic
Luka Jovic entered the match and helped the team, recording the pre-assist to Vinicius Junior for Asensio’s game-sealing goal. The Serbian international has a real knack for creating goals by buying time for the run with his hold-up play, finding the run, and delivering the pass with the right weight for the other forward to then make the most progressive move thereafter.
Rating: 7.0