Ronaldo, Isco, Asensio Real Madrid's new trio and other talking points from win over Espanyol

Andy West 01:20 02/10/2017
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  • Isco scored twice as Real Madrid reduced the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona to seven points courtesy of a 2-0 win over Espanyol.

    Here’s a look at what we learned from the encounter.

    IS THE CIA REPLACING THE BBC?

    With Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale both injured, there was a new look to the Real Madrid attack as Marco Asensio partnered Cristiano Ronaldo up front while Isco pushed forward from midfield.

    The much changed strike force bore fruit as the opening goal came when Ronaldo played a lovely through ball for Isco to beat the offside trap and convert a low finish after half an hour, before the points were wrapped up when Asensio teed up Isco for his second goal of the night with a smart finish.

    Over the coming months manager Zinedine Zidane will have to endure an ongoing debate over whether the ‘CIA’ should be preferred to the ‘BBC’ when big games roll around, and at the moment there’s certainly no disputing the places of Ronaldo or Isco in the team’s strongest eleven.

    That means Asensio, Benzema and Bale are competing for the remaining spot in the team, and with Asensio contributing amply to the team’s first home league win of the season he’s certainly mounting a strong case.

    ACHRAF SHOWS STYLE ON DEBUT

    Bale and Benzema weren’t the only absentees for Los Blancos, with full-backs Dani Carvajal, Marcelo and Theo Hernandez all missing as well.

    That forced Zidane to field a debutant at right-back, and Achraf Hakimi did not disappoint. The 18 year-old, who is known primarily by his first name, is already a full Morocco international but he was born in Madrid and has been with the club since the age of eight.

    SCOUTING REPORT OF ACHRAF HAKIMI, FIRST ARAB IN REAL MADRID’S FIRST TEAM

    Having come through the youth system he should feel at home inside the Bernabeu, and in the opening stages of his debut he showed an abundance of confidence by producing a cheeky dribble down the right for create space for a dangerous cross.

    Overall Achraf was sensible and measured rather than risk-taking, but that will have pleased his manager and Zidane will be content with the teenager’s solid contribution, knowing that he has unearthed another option for the full-back positions when the need arises.

    Achraf Hakimi

    Achraf Hakimi

    MADRID STILL LACKING HOME COMFORTS

    Although the two-goal cushion suggests a comfortable enough victory, this was by no means a completely convincing display from the hosts as they finally gained their first home league win of the season following two draws and a defeat.

    Zidane’s men played well enough in the first half, and were only denied a bigger half-time lead than Isco’s opener by some good saves from visiting keeper Pau Lopez.

    Espanyol had barely been in the game until the stroke of half-time when Gerard Moreno hit the post following a mistake by Casemiro, and that appeared to give the visitors a boost in confidence as they started the second half by far the stronger team.

    There were several near misses in and around the Madrid penalty area, and at that stage an equaliser would have been no surprise at all as the home team defence was regularly caught out by its high line.

    Isco’s second goal killed off Espanyol’s growing momentum and settled the game, but Zidane will send off his players into the international break knowing there is still an awful lot of room for improvement.

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