Real Madrid: 3 stars and 2 flops from an important win against Mallorca
Flop: LB Ferland Mendy
Ferland Mendy had to be withdrawn from the game at the 80 minutes mark, he was replaced by Marcelo who made an immediate impact with his sublime cross for Benzema’s second goal of the match. The club legend also had a decisive intervention in defense later in the match. Mendy, on the other hand, leaves Real Madrid desiring more from its left fullback.
Vinicius is erupting this season and the fullbacks must support him when going forward. That has been lacking in Mendy’s game. His attacking contribution is next to none and he poses no threat which is why defenses mark Vini intensely. As a result, Vini has more players to take on and that has impacted his efficiency. This game was pretty similar for the French fullback and he was a flop in this game.
I think RM Castilla’s young left-back, Miguel Gutierrez should be given his chance soon. Considering, Mendy could be out against Barcelona and Marcelo, not good enough to start, Gutierrez should be the one Real Madrid should resort to. He has the quality, he only needs the chances.
Star: Karim Benzema
While one French starter was a flop, the other was an undisputed star. After a masterclass against PSG, Karim Benzema stepped up the gas to score two goals and assist Vini Jr.’s opener when Real Madrid needed it the most. It seemed like another frustrating game that fans would’ve remembered for bad referring and atrocious fouling by the underdogs. Thank god for King Karim who changed the game for Los Blancos once again.
The partnership between Benzema and Vini Jr. was suddenly alive in the second half when Fedev Valverde’s ball win near the Mallorca box found Benz in the perfect position to set Vini up for a goal. The same partnership was again effective on a quick transition that ended with Vini winning a penalty for Benzema to score his first goal. He was then helped by a world-class delivery from Marcelo to head home his second. He now has 22 goals in the league and the player closest to him is Vini with 14 goals.
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Benzema is seemingly on his way to winning the Pichichi award this season. He now has scored 311 goals for Real Madrid and is only 14 away from replacing Raul as the second-highest goal scorer for Real Madrid in history. I think there is a good chance he’ll end up breaking the record before the end of the season.