Player Ratings: Eibar 1 - Real Madrid 2; 2018 La Liga

Confidence was high after beating PSG in Paris, but now Madrid had to return their focus to La Liga with a match against the small but mighty Eibar. Mendilbar’s men have been flying again this season, somehow competing for a European spot despite their meager resources. Eibar came out flying as the often do, very direct and looking to get dangerous crosses in from the flanks. Madrid had to weather the storm, but was only able to find patches of rhythm in the game. That would be enough, Madrid’s quality and Cristiano’s goal-scoring form was enough to get them over the line in this tough clash in the north of Spain.

Keylor Navas—8: Dealt with the barrage of pressure from Eibar early in the first half. At no fault for the Eibar goal as Sergio and Casemiro both misread the flight of the ball and Ramis had an easy header.

Dani Carvajal—9: One of the Madrid players who managed to turn up in the first half. Kept Inui very quiet and managed the right flank on his own. Put in a worldclass cross for Cristaino Ronaldo to bury and score the winner later in the dying minutes of the second half.

Raphael Varane—6: Suffered a head injury early in the first half and was replaced by Nacho. Did well to deal with the onslaught of pressure from Eibar in the opening minutes. As always, used his pace well to cover defensive holes. Hopefully the Frenchman is not seriously injured.

Sergio Ramos—4.5: Not a great performance from the captain. Had many lapses in concentration including the Eibar goal. Lost track of his man and lost track of the flight of the ball giving Ramis an easy headed goal from the corner.

Marcelo—7: Kept busy by Capa and Pedro Leon all evening. Struggled to have his usual offensive influences simply because Eibar kept more of the ball and pinned Madrid back. As the game wore on, he was able to maraud forward and put some excellent crosses in from the left.

Casemiro—6.5: Not at the high levels displayed in the midweek, but kept things simple using Modric and Kroos as his outlets. Shackles were let off with the introduction of Vazquez and Benzema giving Case more responsibility in a midfield two in which he performed better.

Toni Kroos—5: Second game back from injury after his cameo appearance against PSG. Toni uncharacteristically misplaced many passes and failed to impose his mark in this game,

Luka Modric—9.5: The Croatian just doesn’t lose match rhythm even if he’s been injuredfor a couple weeks. Madrid’s back were against the wall for the opening 30 minutes, but then Luka worked a little bit of his magic. Using the outside of his boot, curled an inch perfect pass to play Ronaldo in behind and the Portuguese doesn’t miss in his current form. Modric was everywhere covering for Casemiro and Carvajal, while creating openings in attack and nearly slicing his way through to a goal in the first half.

Isco—4: Another lackluster performance from the Spaniard. Has failed to reach the levels of last season. He had no meaningful touches and created very little on the night.

Gareth Bale—6.5: Zidane continues to place Gareth in a forward role despite him playing his best minutes deeper in the midfield. The Welshman worked hard, tried to run in behind, and had a few spectacular crosses including an inch perfect one-touch pass for Ronaldo whose shot was somehow saved.

Cristiano Ronaldo—9.5: Scored his 17^th La Liga goal of the season with the confidence and clinical form that has been so common over the past few weeks after Modric curled an outside of the boot pass into his path. Then as the game wore on and the score was tied, Cristiano popped up again and scored his 18^th La Liga goal, the game winner, from a world class cross from Dani Carvajal.

Substitutions:

Nacho—7.5: Did not put a foot wrong the whole match. Solid throughout and kept Eibar off the board from open play.

Lucas Vazquez—7: The introduction of Vazquez and Benzema and the return to the 4-4-2 was vital. Madrid began to dominate the flanks and apply real pressure, winning the ball back quickly and putting in good crosses. The late goal would be a product of the change.

Karim Benzema—7: Came in and facilitated the play, acting as a #10 while Cristiano spearheaded the attack looking to poach for goals.

Manager:

Zinedine Zidane—6.5: Zidane went ahead an experimented with diamond. The team looked like they were asleep for the first forty-five minutes. Only Carvajal, Modric, and Cristiano had come to play. The introduction of Benzema and Vazquez and the return to a 4-4-2 was crucial. Madrid were able to gain some momentum and better utilize the flanks resulting in a late game winning goal from Cristiano.

MOTM: Cristiano Ronaldo