Real Madrid played their third consecutive away game to start their La Liga title defence. They had won their previous two, 2-1 against Almeria and 4-1 against Celta Vigo, but Espanyol proved to be a tougher nut to crack. Los Blancos found a way as they always do though, and managed to get a 3-1 win.
Real Madrid had made a brilliant start to the game and had the home side hanging by a thread at one point of time. Vinicius Jr scored the opener on the 12 minute mark and to be honest, Los Blancos could have doubled or tripled their lead.
They did not though and Espanyol capitalised, getting back into the game after the half hour mark and equalising before half-time through Joselu. Then, the second half proved to be a very different story and was much more tighter.
Ultimately, it was Karim Benzema who rose to the occasion once again, as he has done so many times for Real Madrid, and got them the win and all three points, with a late goal to put them ahead and then scored a free kick in added time.
Real Madrid Player Ratings vs Espanyol
Here’s how the Real Madrid players performed in their La Liga game against Espanyol away at the RCDE Stadium in Barcelona:
Thibaut Courtois – 7
Pulled off an excellent save from close range in the second half to keep Real Madrid in the game when it was tied at 1-1.
Lucas Vazquez – 6
Typical Vazquez performance. Did not do anything spectacular but did not do anything wrong either.
Eder Militao – 6
Will be disappointed with the goal that they conceded but at the same time, he has to be considered unlucky there instead of at fault.
Antonio Rudiger – 6.5
Looked his lively self and put himself about but was not able to keep a clean sheet. Found it tougher in the second half.
David Alaba – 6
Looked extremely lively early on in the left-back role but faded away quite a bit as the game wore on. Made a terrible mistake in the first half which fortunately did not end up in a goal for Espanyol.