Villarreal vs. Real Madrid: Score, Grades and Reaction from La Liga Game
Real Madrid recorded their third straight victory in La Liga on Saturday, overcoming a gallant Villarreal 2-0 at the Estadio El Madrigal.
First-half goals from Luka Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo—the subject of a "Come Home Ronaldo" banner flown above the stadium by Manchester United fans—gave Los Blancos the advantage in a fast-paced opening to the clash, allowing Carlo Ancelotti's men to ease their way to victory in a slightly more subdued second period.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
A bright opening to the game from both teams saw a plethora of early shots at each end, quickly establishing the match as a frenetic end-to-end contest.
Villarreal, boasting confidence after a strong start to the season, consistently broke through Ancelotti's midfield with alarming ease, harassing Modric and Toni Kroos before regularly finding the forward pairing of Luciano Vietto and Ikechukwu Uche between the lines.
Operating with a genuine spark, both Vietto and Uche forced Iker Casillas into action in the early going, while Raphael Varane was on hand to prevent the Nigerian from scoring when he broke into the penalty area to complete a fast-break from the home side.
Real Madrid, not quite at their fluent best when moving forward in the opening half hour, eventually broke the deadlock when Kroos found Modric after a nice build-up on 32 minutes, seeing the Croatian thump a long-range shot into the top-left corner.
Just moments later, the home side could have equalised when Mario's pinpoint cross found Vietto in the centre of the box, but the Argentine's glancing header flashed just wide with Casillas scrambling to cover the far post.
Five minutes before half time, Real Madrid doubled their advantage. Heavily involved in midfield, James Rodriguez's superb long ball allowed Karim Benzema to battle one-on-one with Victor Ruiz on the right side of the penalty box.
Winning the duel, the Frenchman calmly squared the ball to Ronaldo who put the chance away in characteristic fashion.
Again, the hosts could have found an immediate response, with Casillas saving a pair of shots from Vietto and Manu Trigueros that presented Uche with a golden chance, but the linesman's flag was up for offside.
Marcelo was then forced to make a desperate block to deny Trigueros from inside the box only moments later.
After half-time, Real Madrid seemed a little more content to sit deeper and protect their two-goal lead. After conceding a vast array of chances to the Yellow Submarine in the opening period, it was a notable shift in Los Blancos' approach after the interval.
Having attacked heavily down the left through Moi Gomez, Gabriel Paulista and Vietto prior to the break, Marcelino Garcia Toral's men opted to probe down the right in the second half, seeing Mario push extremely high from his starting position at right-back.
Along with Cani, Vietto and Paulista, the Spaniard helped Villarreal to launch an early assault on the Real Madrid box in the short spell up to the 52nd minute.
Despite their strong hold of the game in general play, the men in yellow couldn't find a way through, even as Marcelino opted for three quick substitutions to insert Javier Espinosa, Giovani dos Santos and Jonathan dos Santos into the game.
To help guide Real Madrid to victory, Ancelotti removed Rodriguez for Asier Illarramendi, also bringing on Nacho to replace the attack-minded Marcelo.
After a string of prolific, high-octane games, the visitors' calm and defensively orientated finish to Saturday's clash represented a significant step for a side that has looked like a one-way outfit for much of the season thus far.
Real Madrid Key Grades
Raphael Varane: A
Varane's playing time has been limited behind the likes of Sergio Ramos and Pepe at the heart of Ancelotti's defence, but the Frenchman was outstanding at the back against Villarreal on Saturday. If not for his timely blocks and clearances, Real Madrid could have easily conceded a couple of goals in the first half.
Cristiano Ronaldo: B+
Ronaldo took his 2014-15 La Liga goal tally to 10 with his first-half strike against Villarreal, but the Portuguese superstar wasn't quite the dominant force he was in previous outings against Deportivo La Coruna and Elche. But charged with the responsibility of firing his team to victory on a weekly basis, Ronaldo simply got the job done once more.
Luka Modric: B+
There's still a sense that Real Madrid's midfield lacks balance when Modric lines up alongside both Kroos and Rodriguez, but the Croatian proved how devastating that trio can be in attack, linking up with the German nicely before thumping home a long-range shot to opening the scoring.
Post-Match Reaction
Immediately after the 2-0 victory at the Estadio El Madrigal, Ancelotti spoke of his side's resilience in a hard-fought contest.
According to Javier Mata of AS, the Italian said:
"The best thing is that we won a difficult game against a team that played well, we controlled the game. We suffered when we had to suffer defensively and we played when we had to play. The match was good. We had a good attitude and deserved to win.
"
After a paradoxical opening to the season that has seen devastating attacking play mixed with defensive errors, Ancelotti can be pleased with his team's clean sheet.
