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Real Madrid secured their third consecutive win in La Liga as they beat Levante 2-0 at La Estadio de la Cerámica tonight. Zinedine Zidane's men were made to work for the win by a resilient Levante, who came tantalisingly close to pulling themselves level but wastefulness in front of the goal cost them the game.
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Vinicius Junior scored for the second game running. He opened the scoring in the 16th minute with a beautiful curler from inside the box, after finding himself with a lot of time and space following Luka Modric's corner.
The hosts fought back and were the better side in the contest at times, but an inspired Thibaut Courtois made multiple important saves to keep Real Madrid in the game. Los Blancos finished the game on a high note, as Karim Benzema doubled their lead with the final touch of the game.
Real Madrid player ratings vs. Leganes
Thibaut Courtois - 7.5/10
Thibaut Courtois helped Real Madrid to a second consecutive clean sheet with another great shift between the sticks. There were four shots on target and the big Belgian dealt effectively with all of them. He denied Nikola Vukcevic in the first half and Enis Bardhi in the second, and made the save of the game as he kept out a deflected strike with his feet.
Ferland Mendy - 7/10
The French left-back yet again showed why he deserves a spot ahead of Marcelo in the Real Madrid team, with an impressive display down the left flank tonight. He was solid defensively and rarely caught on the wrong foot. He was full of energy going up and down the flank, regularly joining attacks.
Sergio Ramos - 7/10
The club captain had a pretty routine outing tonight and almost added one more goal to his ever-increasing tally, before his goal was disallowed after a lengthy VAR check. The best part of his performance tonight was his understanding and partnership with Raphael Varane.
Raphael Varane - 7/10
The World Cup winner was as calm as you like at the heart of the defence and was crucial in keeping Jose Luis Morales and Roger Marti in check throughout the game. His passing was a bit sloppy, but he did what was asked of him.
Nacho - 6.5/10
The Spaniard played his first game of the season for Real Madrid tonight and was probably the worst player. However, that's because he was played out of position by Zidane due to injuries to regular right-back Dani Carvajal and back-up Alvaro Odriozola. He mistimed his runs and lost Vuckevic at a corner, before the midfielder hit the crossbar with his headed attempt.
Casemiro - 6.5/10
The Real Madrid midfielder usually finds himself in the thick of things, but an early yellow card in the game meant he had to be aware of his every move. That limited his involvement in the game. He had a pretty routine display, despite the booking.
Federico Valverde - 7/10
The midfielder took up the responsibility of pressing the opponents and chasing every loose ball with Casemiro one booking away from a red card. He controlled the tempo of Real Madrid's game and was a key factor in establishing the link between the defence and the attack.
Luka Modric - 8/10
The midfielder was the creative force for Real Madrid tonight, at the top of his game since the get go. His passes were exquisite and he created three key passes by the time the final whistle was blown.
His ability to pull the strings from the midfield was as great as ever; sometimes it's hard to believe that the player is 35.
He could've gotten a couple of assists, but his corner which led to Vinicius' opener did not count and the Brazilian wasted a couple of easy chances, much to everyone's frustation.
Marco Asensio - 7.5/10
The Spanish winger enjoyed a great night on the right flank, as he terrified the Levante defence with his pace, skills and quick passes. Despite being heavily involved in the final third, he did enough to help out Nacho, who was struggling against the Levante players.
Karim Benzema - 7/10
The striker is currently one of the best No. 9s of the game, but had an off night at work against Levante. He was lacking his usual decisiveness in front of the goal and there were couple of occasions where he decided to find a teammate when he should've gone straight for the goal himself. He was unlucky to hit the post in the second half, but finally got on the scoresheet because of his tenacity.
Vinicius Junior - 7.5/10
The 20-year-old made the most of the opportunity afforded to him in the box in the 16th minute. The finish was top notch and a strong display of the confident forward, as he scored a decisive goal for his side for the second game running.
Vinicius missed some sitters after that amazing strike though, and should've put Real Madrid ahead by at least a couple of more goals.
Substitutes
Lucas Vazquez - 6/10
The Real Madrid winger replaced Vinicius and put in a more defensive shift than the Brazilian.
Rodrygo - 6.5/10
The winger replaced Asensio in the 68th minute and kept up the intensity at which the Spaniard operated throughout the game. Got an assist for Benzema's last-minute goal.
Martin Odegaard - N/A
Isco - N/A
