Real Madrid vs. Eibar: Winners and Losers from La Liga Game

Real Madrid secured an expected three points against Eibar on Saturday, as Carlo Ancelotti's rotated team eased to a comfortable 3-0 victory.

There was never any real prospect of an upset at the Santiago Bernabeu, despite Ancelotti naming an unfamiliar starting XI for the match—perhaps the Italian having one eye on the rest of the season, where his main players will need to be as rested as possible for what promises to be an arduous run-in.

Cristiano Ronaldo was one of the few guaranteed starters to appear, and he opened the scoring after barely 20 minutes with a free-kick that somehow eluded the Eibar goalkeeper.

Javier Hernandez then doubled the advantage with a header soon after, one of a couple of chances the Mexican had to enhance his goalscoring record for Los Blancos.

In the end, it was left to Jese Rodriguez to clinch the 3-0 victory, the Spaniard capping his first start for the club in over a year with a fine solo goal.

Click on for some winners and losers from Saturday's game.

Winner: Jese Rodriguez

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Having not started a game for Real Madrid in over a year—due to injury and, after that, the inevitable competition for places—Jese Rodriguez celebrated getting 90 minutes under his belt with a lovely solo goal to complete the goalscoring at the Santiago Bernabeu.

It was a flash of inspiration that underlined what the winger does best, as he produced a tidy piece of skill to get past his man before powering a right-footed shot beyond and beneath Eibar goalkeeper Xabi Irureta.

The 22-year-old may not have had the best game of his career, but that was perhaps a side effect of the nature of the contest—after the scoreline went to 2-0, neither side seemed particularly eager to address it further—rather than a slight against him.

A more sparkling individual performance might have given Carlo Ancelotti more to think about, but realistically, whatever Jese had done, it would not have been enough to change his manager's thoughts.

As it was, a goal and a full 90 minutes was valuable game time for the youngster, as he also reminded everyone of his particular attributes.

Winner: Carlo Ancelotti

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This game was perhaps the perfect result and performance for Carlo Ancelotti, as he was able to rotate his players and rest a number of them without affecting the primary task of securing another three points.

A heavily amended starting XI (with changes in almost every department) emphasized the confidence Ancelotti had in his players, and goals from Ronaldo and then Javier Hernandez inside the first 31 minutes put Real comfortably on the path to victory.

That enabled the Italian to make further changes early in the second half, bringing off a few of those players who he felt needed a rest.

Sergio Ramos, Marcelo and Luka Modric all went off, meaning only Ronaldo of Ancelotti's usual starters played the full 90 minutes (Isco, presumably, will be back on the bench now that James Rodriguez is fit again).

That could prove important for Real as they enter the final part of the season with both domestic and European ambitions on the line.

Every little advantage helps, and Ancelotti will be delighted he was able to rest so many players while still seeing his side ease to victory. Even those who did play did not overexert themselves.

As Alvaro Arbeloa noted afterwards, per Sport:

"

On the left we have guys like Cristiano [Ronaldo] and Marcelo, but on the right we have good players, too.

[Dani] Carvajal was brilliant in Vallecas and I've been able to get an assist today.

Overall we are really happy with the win because there were a lot of players out and we played with less rhythm than normal, but we put in a lot of effort.

I'm really happy for Jese Rodriguez, Asier Illarramendi and Javier Hernandez [to play]... They are helping us.

"

Pete Jenson of the Daily Mail wrote:

"

It was a gamble to make all three changes so early despite the 2-0 advantage and Carlo Ancelotti almost paid for it when on 70 minutes Federico Piovaccari clattered into Pepe who in turn fell into keeper Navas.

Both the keeper and Pepe, who had come on for Ramos, needed treatment but were able to continue.

"

Loser: Cristiano Ronaldo

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Considering the players being rested and substituted elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo playing the full 90 minutes stuck out like a sore thumb on Saturday.

Ronaldo is clearly in the Lionel Messi bracket of elite players: I cannot be dropped or substituted, even in games we will win anyway.

Ronaldo's determination to remain on the pitch is presumably tied to one thing—goals—and that is why he was perhaps a loser from this match. One goal was the bare-minimum return the Portuguese will have expected from this match, so the fact he did not score more will perhaps serve as a source of personal frustration.

His goal was something of a gift (the goalkeeper should surely have saved his free-kick but was perhaps unsighted slightly), but after that, Ronaldo's desire to add to his tally was evident, as he persistently took shots when team-mates were in far better positions.

Ronaldo's desire for goals is understandable (he wants to win individual awards, and goals achieve that), as is Ancelotti's willingness to allow him to pursue them—doing anything else would only cause ructions within the club.

But on this occasion, the reward was not worth the risk, and both the player and the club might have been better off taking a more long-term view, giving him the same rest afforded to most of his senior team-mates.

Winner: Eibar

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It would be wrong to be too critical of Eibar, even if they never realistically had a chance to steal a point in this game.

Outclassed for almost the entire contest, the visitors had the determination and the work rate but lacked the quality to ever make an unfamiliar Real Madrid sweat.

Nevertheless, just being at the Santiago Bernabeu was achievement enough for the tiny Basque club, whose tortuous route to this point has been well-documented.

The club still has work to do to stay in the Primera Division (their recent form has been anything but positive), but this was never likely to be a game to influence that.

Instead, it was a moment of celebration, a chance for the fans to reflect on how the club has progressed recently and the players to measure themselves against some of the very best in the world.

They go away from the capital with nothing to be ashamed of and will perhaps even have taken a modicum of confidence from the whole experience as they prepare for a crucial final few games of the season.