The pressure was eased on Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane as Los Blancos secured a vital 4-1 victory away at Valencia on Saturday night.
Two first-half penalties from Cristiano Ronaldo put the Whites into a commanding 2-0 lead until the hosts pulled a goal back through Santi Mina in the 58th minute.
Superb late goals from Marcelo and Toni Kroos then wrapped-up an important victory for Real Madrid.
VALENCIA RATINGS:
Neto – 6: Made a hash of an early cross but redeemed himself by saving from Bale. Had no chance for the penalties but will be annoyed to be beaten at the near post by Marcelo’s strike.
Montoya – 5: A largely decent performance at right-back, often getting forward to deliver balls into the box, but utterly ruined his otherwise solid display with two brainless challenges to concede clear penalties.
Garay – 7: Injured early on in a collision with Neto and initially looked very groggy, but soon recovered to give a strong display in the centre of defence.
Coquelin – 7: Former Arsenal man deputised in an unfamiliar centre back position and did an admirable job, playing with calm composure and distributing well from the back.
Lato – 5: Had his hands full with Bale and offered little attacking presence, eventually being replaced by Pereyra with ten minutes left.
Guedes – 5: Sent a low shot just wide before half-time, but he had been quiet before then, perhaps troubled by a hamstring strain, and was replaced at the break by Soler.
Kondogbia – 6: Heavily involved but a mixed bag, often wayward with his passing. Forced a good save from Navas with a 20-yard strike and missed the target with a free header. Seemed to tire in the second-half as Madrid finished strong.
Parejo – 8: Showed his class with some exceptional passing in midfield, running the show for a while in the second period. Also made some excellent set-piece deliveries including an outswinging corner for Mina’s goal. Nearly levelled with a low shot well saved by Navas. Dived in an attempt to win a penalty which was rightly turned down.
Gaya – 6: Started brightly but soon faded. More prominent after the break, regularly attacking crosses by breaking into the box. Booked for a bad challenge on Varane.
Rodrigo – 6: A regular goal threat in the opening 45, sending one fierce drive over the top, seeing another blocked and then volleying over in front of an open goal. Quieter after the break and replaced by Zaza.
Mina – 6: Quiet until he teed up Rodrigo for a great chance just before the break. Got his team back into the game with a good header from Parejo’s corner.
SUBS
Soler – 6: Came on for the second-half and looked more threatening than Guedes with his purposeful running, but miscontrolled when presented with a decent chance to level by Gaya’s cross.
Zaza – 5: Came on for the last 15 minutes and showed plenty of aggression but Valencia’s threat had waned by then.
Pereira: Introduced on the left wing for the final stages, had little impact.
The win eased the pressure on boss Zinedine Zidane.
REAL MADRID
Navas – 7: Dived to his left to make a good save from Kondogbia in the first half and made a great save with his foot from Parejo in the second, which was perhaps the turning point of the match.
Carvajal – 6: Didn’t get forward as much as usual, but defended with tigerish determination. Delivered the cross for his team’s second penalty. Booked for scything down Gaya.
Varane – 7: Forced into some desperate defending by Valencia’s strong pressure, especially in the second-half, and stood up to the task with some well-timed challenges and interceptions.
Nacho – 7: Nearly always in the right place at the right time, illustrated when he blocked a shot from Rodrigo. Sharp and dogged in the tackle but beaten by Mina at the near post for Valencia’s opener.
Marcelo – 8: Played a big role in the counter-attack which led to the opening penalty, and always showed attacking intent until he wrapped up the points with an excellent low finish, then also coming forward to set up Kroos’s fourth.
Modric – 7: Always prompting and probing, showing some moments of class. Not decisive around the penalty area but helped knit his team together and worked hard defensively.
Casemiro – 6: Did his usual enforcer role in front of the back four but occasionally looked flustered on the ball, conceding possession cheaply. Rightly survived two ambitious penalty appeals.
Kroos – 8: An oasis of calm in a hectic game, somehow finding more space in midfield than anyone else. Broke open the defence with a superb through ball which Ronaldo wasted in the opening period. Continued to impress and rounded off a great game with a superb goal, firing home low from long range.
Bale – 6: Missed a glorious early chance when a loose ball dropped at his feet, shooting too close to Neto. Delivered a great cross which Ronaldo couldn’t convert. Booked for dissent and snatched a snapshot wide in the second-half, also making a great run to create another chance for Ronaldo before being replaced.
Benzema – 6: An up and down performance from the under-fire Frenchman. Conceded possession poorly on occasions but played a lovely pass to Ronaldo ahead of the first penalty and was fouled by Montoya for the second. Shot into the side-netting early in the second and seemed to grow in confidence but subbed off near the end.
Ronaldo – 6: Converted his two penalties with aplomb – also winning the first – but otherwise a pretty poor performance. Missed a number of decent chances, especially after being found by crosses from Bale and Modric in the second-half, and was regularly caught in possession.
SUBS
Vazquez – 6: Came on for Bale for the final 20 minutes and worked hard to harass the hosts.
Asensio – 7: Introduced for the last few minutes and combined neatly with Marcelo for the latter’s late goal.
Karim Benzema was subbed off in second-half.
