Real Madrid have finished their UEFA Champions League group stage campaign with a thunderous win against German opposition, Borussia Monchengladbach. The Whites have topped Group B with ten points to their credit following their 2-0 victory at the Alfredo de Stefano Stadium on Matchday 6.
Real approached the game with a fixed gameplan and it worked wonders for Zidane. The French gaffer’s side kept a high press line and narrowed down the passing options for the visitors right from the first whistle until the last. The plan of suffocating Borussia in their own half was a success for Sergio Ramos & Co.
Karim Benzema scored twice in the opening half of the encounter. Lucas Vasquez and Rodrygo delivered juicy balls into the box and Benzema was waiting to pounce onto them. Real Madrid, as a whole, were delightful to watch following their recent run of fixtures which has been substandard. Here’s how Real players are rated from their 2-0 victory in Madrid –
GK : Thibaut Courtois – 8/10
Courtois was largely untroubled on the night. Whenever called into play, the Belgian was swift to respond and deserved the consecutive clean sheet.
RB : Lucas Vasquez – 8/10
An outstanding performance from Vasquez at the right-back slot. The Spaniard linked up magnificently with Modric against the German opponents and created havoc for them in turn. Vasquez’ sumptuous ball in the opening minutes of the game allowed Los Blancos to take the lead.
CB : Raphael Varane – 7/10
A steady and rock-solid performance from Varane in defence who reunited with his partner in crime, Sergio Ramos. Varane was sharp in defence and barely put a foot wrong.
CB : Sergio Ramos – 7/10
A pleasant return for Sergio Ramos from a month-long injury. It was barely noticeable that this was the centre back’s first game post returning from injury. Ramos was impermeable in defence and even made the runs to the attacking third whenever needed.
LB : Ferland Mendy – 7/10
Ferland Mendy was dominant down the left-hand side and came out on top in most of the 50-50 battles. Zidane will be impressed by the effort put in by Mendy.
CM : Luka Modric – 8/10
Modric was the most commanding presence in the entire ninety minutes. The Croatian wizard was authoritative in midfield and made life a living hell for the Borussia Mönchengladbach defence. The visitors had absolutely no answers to the form Modric had taken to the field with him. He almost got onto the scoresheet but the linesman played the spoilt sport.
CM : Casemiro – 7/10
The presence of Casemiro was a massive aid to the back-line. The tank was a strong physical presence in midfield and it seemed like a nightmare for the German opposition to get past Casemiro.
CM : Toni Kroos – 8/10
Kroos was instrumental in midfield and paired up well alongside Modric. Kroos drew a splendid save from the Borussia Mönchengladbach goalie, Sommer.
RW : Rodrygo – 8/10
The Brazilian delivered a scintillating cross around the half-hour mark in the fixture and Benzema capitalised on it with Real’s second goal of the night. Rodrygo was heavily involved in the proceedings at the Alfredo de Stefano Stadium. Rodrygo made way for Marco Asensio in the second half.
ST : Karim Benzema – 9/10
Karim Benzema has announced himself even more prominently as a big-game player. The Frenchman delivered the goods for Zidane when the team needed it the most. Benzema scored twice in the opening forty-five minutes of play and thus allowed Madrid to take charge of the fixture. For both the goals, Benzema showed brilliant poacher instincts and it yielded the result for his side and him.
LW : Vinicus Jr – 7/10
A satisfactory performance from Vinicius who worked hard throughout the game. The Brazilian seemed to be a bit let down by his decision making in the final third. Vinicius was substituted in the second half.
Substitutes
LW : Marco Asensio – 7/10
Asensio had a decent evening post his introduction. He displayed some flair and finesse with a few skills he performed during his brief stint on the pitch.
RW : Sergio Arribas – NA
The youngster did not have much involvement post his introduction.
