Real Madrid finished the year 2021 with a 2-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao, completing a season sweep of their “Viejo Clasico”. Like the first fixture against the Lions in 2021-2022, this battle at San Mames was intense. It always is. But Los Blancos managed to find a way through after two early goals from the eternal Karim Benzema.
There is no doubt that Benzema was the main star of the show for Real, but he was not the only great performer for Los Merengues. Conversely, there was a pair of players who did not exactly shine for the visitors.
Here are the three stars and two flops from Real Madrid’s 2-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao.
Star: Eder Militao
Eder Militao has earned rave reviews for his performances here in 2021-2022 at the heart of the Madrid defense. The 23-year-old is well on his way to becoming recognized as one of the best in the world at his position, and he may even be recognized as the LaLiga Player of the Month by FIFA 22 fans.
This is a young man who always quietly does his job and does not make a mess of any defensive situation. Militao’s mistakes are few and far between, and while any young center back must learn the little things, he is well on his way.
On Wednesday night, Militao had two of each of tackles, interceptions, and clearances. He was always on his toes against LaLiga veteran Inaki Williams. These two have had a few battles in the past, and Williams is not an easy man to mark. He is very savvy. But as usual, Real’s young central defender was up to the task.
Flop: Lucas Vazquez
Lucas Vazquez was horrible in the first half against Cadiz, and he only slightly improved in the second half. It was more of the same for the makeshift right back at San Mames, and Madridistas are no longer singing the Clasico hero or the 2020-2021 standout’s praises.
The 30-year-old has regressed offensively, producing bottom-drawer level crosses that are vacuumed by defenders. Nothing Vazquez is doing offensively makes sense, and his intensity is a far cry from Dani Carvajal’s, which was not the case last season when the Galician played in relief of the world-class right back.
Vazquez performed reasonably well defensively, though it’s not like he truly did much to distinguish himself. Offensively, the trio of Vazquez, Fede Valverde, and Eden Hazard were a disappointing on the right side, taking a lot of the ball from Vinicius Junior on the left but doing very, very little with it in terms of combinations or incisive play into the box.
Real Madrid need better from Vazquez, because this, sadly, won’t be the last time Carvajal is out of the Madrid XI due to injury. Madridistas continue to wonder why the team did not invest in a right back this summer. If Vazquez does not improve soon, that decision could come back to bite Florentino Perez in the Champions League – or even in LaLiga.
Star: Toni Kroos
Toni Kroos earned the official Man of the Match for his performance against Athletic Club, which included more than 100 passes attempted and a completion rate of about 92. As usual, the former World Cup winner did not take the easy way out with his passing, completing a robust 13 of his 15 long attempts. And he had two key passes, with the assist for Karim Benzema’s delicious opener.
Defensively, Kroos had to help out significantly in such an open game and with Casemiro and Luka Modric unavailable. He turned in two tackles and two interceptions. Though he is not fast, Kroos helps defensively in his own way and is a smart and willing contributor to disrupting the opposition’s attack, mostly by astute positioning and pressing. He is a great passer, which makes him great at anticipating which passing lanes to block.
We have seen more dominant performances from Kroos this season, as he has been at his world-class best in 2021-2022, building off what we saw in the previous season before he was slowed by an injury.
Kroos was solid against Athletic Bilbao, and with extra rest and the return of the other starting midfielders, Madridistas should be excited to see what he does in the new year, starting with local rivals Getafe.
Flop: Eden Hazard
Though Vinicius Junior could have performed better, Eden Hazard is the forward who has to get singled out for the flop treatment here. I do not want to be unduly harsh to the Belgian, who is going through difficult times this season and is only just truly working his way back into top fitness. However, Hazard struggled and looked even worse in the full match against Athletic – before being subbed out for the promising Peter Federico – than he did in what was an encouraging second half vs. Cadiz at the Bernabeu.
Hazard’s big problems were a lack of confidence in the penalty area and sloppy, ill-advised passing. The Belgian was too cautious on the ball, only registering one weak-footed shot that was an easy save. More discouragingly, he would often hurt the lethality of Carlo Ancelotti’s system, which is the best offense in LaLiga, by slowing down play on the ball. That hurt his teammates in transition, and it made Real too stagnant in the box against an Athletic defense that regrouped after Benzema’s early brace.
Not all was bad, though. Hazard led the team with five fouls drawn and had three dribbles completed. But for those of us who watched, how many of those three dribbles registered in the stat sheet actually led to something meaningful for Real Madrid in the final third?
Back to the giveaways. They led to counterattacks for Bilbao and came off flicks that were totally unnecessary. One of them even gave way to a yellow card for Eduardo Camavinga, who will now have to miss the Getafe match.
Hazard will have better days, but he must receive constructive criticism for a weak performance against a good team.
Star: Karim Benzema
For the majority of Madridistas, Karim Benzema was the main star of the match, and the box score backs it up. Benzema scored both of Real’s goals. The second was straightforward, but the first was a beauty.
Let’s talk a little bit about that first goal. Benzema has become an even better finisher over the last couple of seasons – not that he had troubles to begin with. The No. 9 took this shot on first time, catching the ball perfectly to get around it and curl it around the keeper from a wide angle with enough pace.
What makes a curler special is 1) getting the max amount of curl, 2) getting the curl such that it barely hooks into the far corner, and 3) using the defender to shield the ball from the keeper so that it takes a while for him to get a read on the shot.
Benzema did all of that exquisitely on this goal.
Aside from the goal, Benzema’s movement was a constant threat to the Athletic Bilbao defense. His technical and tactical understanding of the position should be studied by anyone who wants to be a striker or simply wants to obtain a more detailed appreciation of the nuances of the position.
Heading into the new year, Madridistas can feel confident that their superstar striker will continue his goal-scoring record. With finishes like this one and game-winning braces, Benz could be on his way to a LaLiga Player of the Year crown. And maybe, just maybe, an elusive Ballon d’Or.