Real Madrid made it three league wins in a row by demolishing Espanyol in a game which was far more comfortable for Los Blancos than the final 4-2 scoreline suggests.
Karim Benzema was the star performer with two goals, but the general impression created by the overall team performance gives further fuel to the idea that Santi Solari’s team should be taken very seriously for the remainder of the season.
We review all the action from another encouraging night for Real with our three main lessons learned.
Real get their swagger back
For the first time in a long time – probably since their impressive Champions League victory over Roma early in the season – this looked like Real Madrid again. The reigning European champions played smooth and slick football with confidence bordering on arrogance, and gave Espanyol a right royal runaround for much of the encounter.
Scoring two early goals helped, of course, but even when Espanyol gave themselves hope by pulling back a goal it didn’t take long for Santi Solari’s men to reassert themselves and their control of the flow of the action was rarely threatened until the final stages when Raphael Varane’s red card saw them reduced to ten men.
The player who best epitomised his team’s free-flowing showing was Karim Benzema, who netted the opener with a simple finish on the rebound after Luka Modric’s shot was saved, and made it 3-1 just before the break by combining with Vinicius Junior and caressing a beautiful low shot into the bottom corner.
When Benzema plays like this, he is truly one of the best forwards in the world, and his sublime display should help Los Blancos further build their previously fragile confidence as their season looks like getting seriously back on track.
Espanyol in serious trouble
It greatly helped Real’s cause that Espanyol were a powder-puff opponent, clearly lacking in confidence and offering a frightening lack of resistance which bodes badly for their upcoming battle against relegation.
The home team’s tame effort was encapsulated in the first goal: as Luka Modric received possession in midfield and drove towards the edge of the box, every Espanyol defender simply stood and watched, with none of them appearing to believe it might be a good idea to close down the Ballon d’Or holder as he bore down on goal. Unopposed, Modric advanced towards goal and unleashed a shot which former Real goalkeeper Diego Lopez could only parry straight to Benzema for an easy finish.
Even when Real were reduced to ten men in the latter stages there was a worrying lack of conviction about Espanyol’s play. They have now lost nine of their last ten league games and, with the confidence generated by their strong start to the season completely vanished, they look to be in serious trouble. Relegation certainly cannot be discounted.
Ramos delivers again…but is he injured?
Three days after netting his ninth goal of the season with his latest ‘Panenka’ style penalty in the Copa del Rey victory over Girona, Sergio Ramos got his name on the scoresheet yet again with a far more traditional central defender’s goal: a pinpoint header from Modric’s angled cross.
Headed goals rarely elicit the same levels of enthusiasm as their foot-struck brethren, but this truly was a special strike from Ramos. As the ball came across it appeared to be behind him, but despite falling away from goal the Real skipper somehow managed to generate perfect placement and impressive power to leave former teammate Diego Lopez with no chance.
However, Ramos then suffered an unwanted ending to his night’s work when he was injured in a challenge from Espanyol skipper Sergio Garcia and had to be replaced at half-time. Manager Solari later confirmed that Ramos will face tests on Monday to assess the extent of the damage, and Real will be anxious to avoid the prospect of losing their inspirational goalscoring central defender leader.
