Real Madrid Player Ratings as Vinicius Junior, Karim Benzema disappoint vs. Cadiz
LW Vinicius Junior
I thought this was Vinicius Junior’s most disappointing performance of the 2021-2022 season. While he was not bad, per se, he was wasteful. Vinicius did not do a good job of keeping possession, and his one-on-one ability seemed subdued at times. He got some great balls from Eden Hazard, Toni Kroos, and Fede Valverde, yet he did nothing with them. The magic in Vini’s boots was not quite there on Sunday night. Vinicius was not as adept at creating for others, and something seemed off with his connection with his teammates. He will 100 percent have better matches than this one. But we have to criticize him for not scoring and having just one key pass against Cadiz, despite all the possession Madrid had.
Rating: 5.0
CF Karim Benzema
But the most disappointing player on the pitch was Karim Benzema. He looked awful. Benzema is not 100 percent fit, and it shows. He was wasteful in front of goal and far too hesitant. You would have expected him to score at least once in this match, and that’s all Real Madrid needed. Unfortunately, the superstar striker did not find the back of the net at all. He played a sloppy game and did not make up for it in other ways, which he usually does. The stats say Benzema had five key passes, but I am struggling to remember any of them. At the end of the day, these are the games where you need your star striker to find end product.
Rating: 4.5
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RW Eden Hazard
Eden Hazard’s rating for the first half would have been much lower than this, but he did a great job in the second half. The Belgian made some nice flicks and should have had an assist for Benzema, but the striker was uncharacteristically poor on that occasion. Hazard had five key passes, four dribbles completed, and three fouls drawn. He was so much better coming in from the left than from the right, but we already knew that. Unfortunately, because he was so uninvolved in other positions on the pitch, his path to playing time remains blocked. But this was a good performance as a whole. It showed Hazard’s resiliency and showed that the forward can still have a place in the rotation before he presumably leaves the club in the future.
Rating: 7.0