After a horrible first-half marred by poor officiating, Real Madrid fans were worried that another hard road trip in LaLiga against a team intent on brutal fouling would yield more dropped points for the Merengue club.
Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr. had other plans, though.
Vinicius Jr. scored the first and drew the penalty for the second, while Karim the Dream added two more goals to his league-leading tally after assisting the first via some great pressing. These two superstars have been clutch time after time in tough games for Real Madrid, and they were the difference in LaLiga on Monday night at the Iberostar Stadium.
Here are the player ratings from Real’s 3-0 win over Mallorca. Though not all is sweet, as there are injury concerns for Benzema, Rodrygo Goes, and Ferland Mendy.
GK Thibaut Courtois
Thibaut Courtois did not have too much to do, but he was solid in goal again. You can always depend on a positive performance from the Belgian.
Rating: 7.0
LB Ferland Mendy
This was a poor game from Ferland Mendy, whose importance to the team is quietly dwindling. His attacking contributions continue to be non-existent, as he is clumsy on the ball and can’t make any teasing passes. Defenses stick to Vinicius Jr. closely, knowing Mendy is no threat to assist.’
Rating: 5.0
CB David Alaba
David Alaba completed 95 percent of his pass attempts and wasn’t bad defensively, though he did make a couple of mistakes that he doesn’t usually. This was a more average performance from a player who has been one of the top center backs in LaLiga and the Champions League this season.
Rating: 6.0
CB Nacho Fernandez
One of the best players on the pitch for Real Madrid, Nacho Fernandez was rugged defensively and made one standout tackle to deny Mallorca a first-half goal. He is a player Madridistas can depend on when he needs to start, and the rest he gave for Eder Militao, facing suspension coming into this match, could be vital for El Clasico.
Better yet, there was no noticeable drop-off on the right side of the defense between Nacho and Militao. Considering the Brazilian is playing at a world-class level, that is a feather in Nacho’s cap.
Rating: 7.5
RB Lucas Vazquez
Tremendous stuff from Lucas Vazquez. I hope his defensive performance does not get overlooked, as he pocketed Takefusa Kubo, embarrassing the young Real Madrid loanee at times. Vazquez was assertive and made the tough fouls when appropriate, earning a booking for a tactical foul against Kubo in transition.
The 30-year-old had six tackles and two clearances, as he spent most of his time focusing on the defensive aspects of the game.
Rating: 7.5
CM Toni Kroos
Toni Kroos led the team with 90 pass attempts, completing just over 93 percent of his attempts. The German midfielder is as consistent as ever, and he did not look limited at all by an injury, which is a great sign for Real Madrid before the weekend fixture vs. Barcelona.
Additionally, Kroos did a lot of hard work defensively, as Mallorca pushed hard in transition and made life difficult for Real Madrid despite the appearance of a 3-0 scoreline. Kroos had four tackles, drew two fouls, and always looks to get the ball into the box. This wasn’t a masterclass, but it was a gritty, solid performance from a top, top midfielder.
Rating: 7.5
DM Casemiro
Casemiro was substituted in the second half at around the hour-mark so that he would not pick up a suspension before El Clasico. Truly, he was fortunate not to get that yellow card, and Mallorca did everything they could to try and get the defensive midfielder booked.
The defensive midfielder did not have his best game, but hopefully he will be at 100 percent against Barcelona. Casemiro is usually massive for Los Merengues in these Clasicos.
Rating: 7.0
CM Fede Valverde
These are the physical games Fede Valverde loves. Although the 23-year-old was not as influential on the match attacking-wise and didn’t even win the ball a whole lot, he had a few decisive actions in transition and was an asset with his willingness to press and cover ground. Against Mallorca, it was important for him to do this dirty work tactically, because the home side would have had more space, more time, and more threat without Fede on the pitch for Los Merengues. Valverde is becoming more and more important to Real as the season goes on.
Rating: 6.5
LW Vinicius Jr.
World-class from Vinicius Jr. The victim of racist abuse at half-time from the Mallorca crowd, Vinicius scored the opener in clinical fashion and danced to the crowd to show that their ignorance will never get to him. It was a similar story to what Vini faced against Barcelona earlier this season in LaLiga, performing at a high level in the face of blatant racism from the crowd. Hopefully, this time, LaLiga does more than just write a letter.
Vinicius scored a goal, drew a penalty, and was a constant threat to the Mallorca defense. He was also unfairly targeted by them, just as he was against Villarreal a few weeks ago. Pablo Maffeo, for example, could have easily been red carded in the first half for his dangerous challenge on the starting left winger.
Rating: 9.0
CF Karim Benzema
What more superlatives are there for Karim Benzema? The Real Madrid striker had a performance for the ages on Wednesday, scoring a rapid-fire hat-trick to turn the tie against PSG at the Santiago Bernabeu.
He was just as decisive on Monday night at Mallorca. Benzema won the ball and made the decisive pass to Vinicius Jr. for the opener, and then he scored from the spot after combining with Vini in transition to win the penalty. And finally, Benzema rose majestically to meet Marcelo’s brilliant cross to put the game beyond all doubt at 3-0. A masterful No. 9’s performance from one of the two best strikers in the world.
Of course, the main story will be his potential injury. There is serious concern from Madridistas heading into El Clasico. Real Madrid can ill-afford to miss such an important, elegant player, especially with Barça playing their best football since the 2019/20 season.
Rating: 9.0
RW Rodrygo Goes
Rodrygo Goes worked very hard for the team and got into the battles, including with fellow young Madridista Kubo. However, Rodrygo’s work was not effective, beyond drawing a trio of fouls. He completed under 70 percent of his passes and carried very little attacking threat. In truth, Rodrygo was sloppy on the ball.
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Once again, Rodrygo is finding it difficult to find consistency. He will take a few steps forward but then have another bad day. Perhaps Real Madrid should stick with it, though. That is part of the growth process, and Rodrygo is still finding ways to help the team, even when he has a subpar game as an individual. Hopefully, he is OK, because he took a nasty challenge that was also a potential red card.
Rating: 5.0