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Real Madrid geared up for their make-or-break clash against Wolfsburg in the Champions League with a 4-0 rout of mid-table minnows Eibar at the Bernabeu, as James Rodriguez, Lukas Vazquez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Jese Rodriguez all got on target for the weakened hosts.
Manager Zinedine Zidane made as many as 8 changes to the line-up that lost 2-0 at the Lower Saxony in the midweek, yet maanged to get the job done with minimal fuss. The victory leaves Los Blancos within 4 points of leaders and arch-rivals Barcelona, who lost 1-0 to Real Sociedad later in the evening.
Here are the player ratings from the game:
Real Madrid
Kiko Casilla – 8/10
Coming in place of the rested Keylor Navas, Kiko Casilla had hardly anything to do all evening, and also maintained a clean-sheet in one of his rare appearances.
Daniel Carvajal – 7.5/10
The right-back wasn’t challenged in the defence and as usual, contributed heavily in the attack.
Alvaro Arbeloa – 8/10
The Spaniard was given a rare opportunity to strut the field, and he did not disappoint. He linked up well with Ronaldo and also kept Eibar forward Keko at arm’s length.
Pepe – 7.5/10
The maverick centre-back anchored the backline with great authority in the first half, but lost concentration in the second as he was pestered on a few occasions after the break by Borja Baston.
Nacho – 8/10
The young full-back put on a promising performance on the left and also battled an early ankle problem to play till the final whistle.
Casemiro – 8/10
The Brazilian manned the midfield with great vigilance, breaking Eibar’s play on the counter and also bullying them out of possession on multiple occasions.
Isco – 7.5/10
Relatively quite in the attack, but the ex-Malaga man was highly reponsible for recycling possession and spraying balls forward.
James Rodriguez – 8.5/10
Having opened the scorings with an exquisite free-kick, James proved real threat throughout, popping up with crosses from either flanks and also tearing open the defence.
Cristiano Ronaldo – 9/10
One goal and two assists for the Portuguese maestro, who was at his brilliant best on the night, even without his attacking counterparts Bale and Benzema.
Lukas Vazquez – 8/10
The former Espanyol man doubled the side’s advantage with a somple finish, and also made an excellent dummy for Ronaldo’s third.
Jese Rodriguez – 8.5/10
With some intelligent forays into the box, Jese caused all sorts of problems to the visitor’s defence, assisted for Ronaldo very unselfishly and even got on the scoresheet for Madrid’s third.
Substitutes
Danilo – 7.5/10
The Brazilian made up for his poor showings in the midweek with a highly improved performance on the night, and surged forward at will to add an extra edge in the attack.
Mateo Kovacic – 7.5/10
The Croat was quite initially, but got into the grovve eventually as he picked out some wonderful passes.
Borja Mayoral – 6/10
Came into the game very late and did not make any essential contribution
Eibar
Asier Riesgo – 5/10
The shotstopper was bombarded in the first half of the game as Real struck 4 times, and was also tested in the second stanza when the hosts pushed for a fifth.
Aleksandar Pantic – 5/10
The centre-back was totally outplayed by his marker Ronaldo throughout the course of the game, and had no answer to anhything thrown at him.
Luna – 5/10
Vazquez had a great time in troubling the centre-back, as he was caught out of position very regularly.
Ramis – 5/10
The centre-back just couldn’t match the pace of the Whites and his positioning was equally terrible.
Gonzalo Escalante – 5.5/10
Escalante was beaten to the ball time and again and had a torrid time in trying to contain James Rodriguez.
Ander Capa – 4.5/10
Capa was responsible for giving away ball cheaply and Ronaldo made bunnies out of him with his total domination.
Dani Garcia – 6/10
Although he wasn’t at fault for many of the things that went wrong for Eibar, but he conceded the free-kick which James nonchalantly buried into the back of the net.
Adrian – 5.5/10
The ex-Real Madrid youth player was a mere spectator for the 45 minutes he graced the field and his creative engine was totally exhausted.
Jota Peleteiro – 6.5/10
Arguably one of the better Eibar players on show, Jota tired to add more steel to the defence with his defensive nous and tried really hard at the back.
Sergi Enrich – 5/10
The forward barely tested the hosts’ backline as he was starved out of service and was secluded from the game for large spells.
Keko – 6/10
The winger was ineffective in the first-half, but played some dangerous passes after the break when Real Madrid took their foot off the pedal.
Substitutes
Junca – 6.5/10
Another bright spot in an otherwise gloomy Eibar side, Junca showed good composure on the ball and made a few neat first touches.
Izet Hajrovic – 5/10
The forward was sent in too late and also offered very little going forward.
Borja Baston – 7/10
Probably the best visiting player, Borja Baston came off the bench to cause panic at the heart of Real’s backline and almost pulled one back for the vsitors when his attempt only struck the woodwork.
