Eibar vs. Real Madrid: Winners and Losers from La Liga
Real Madrid got back to winning ways in La Liga with a 2-0 victory over Eibar on Sunday evening.
The tiny Basque side had the better of the opening stages of the game, but neither side really produced too many chances to threaten the goalkeepers at either end. Gareth Bale eventually opened the scoring shortly before half-time with a near-post header off a Luka Modric cross. Cristiano Ronaldo missed a one-on-one to seal the victory in a second half of few chances, but scored a late penalty to wrap up the win.
Here are all our winners and losers from the match at Ipurua.
Winner: Asier Riesgo
1 of 5
Asier Riesgo might not have been able to keep a clean sheet, but he was a key reason that Eibar remained competitive in the game as long as they did.
The stopper was quick off his line a number of times in the first half, showing a good starting position and awareness of Real's forwards' runs to race out of his box and intercept, as well as producing a few moments of good handling from long-range shots. There was little he could do about the opening goal of the game, but Real might have already been out of reach by that point if not for the 'keeper.
A fine all-round performance, although he could have been tested more in truth.
Loser: Mateo Kovacic
2 of 5
With Rafa Benitez altering his central midfield to have an all-Croatian look ahead of holder Toni Kroos, it was a big opportunity for Mateo Kovacic to show what he could bring to the team on a regular basis, namely work rate in the centre and creativity going forward.
Unfortunately, while he certainly put plenty of effort into his game and showed some good movement to demand possession, Kovacic was utterly unable to impact in the first half in terms of supplying the front three or being an influence inside the Eibar penalty box. His most notable moment came when he was yellow carded for a late tackle.
The second half was the same story as he worked hard and won the ball a few times, but offered nothing in terms of an attacking outlet. He was subbed for Casemiro in the latter stages.
Winner: Gareth Bale
3 of 5
Welsh forward Gareth Bale was given a roving central role once again by Rafa Benitez in the Real Madrid front line and he was certainly the most productive of the three, even though it looked rather laboured and forced on his part at times.
Bale did come up with the end product for the opening goal of course, a good run and header at the near-post, but he also went close a couple of other times with snap shots and looked the most likely to produce a piece of link up play.
With Real struggling to find real chances in the game, Bale having one moment of end product turned out to be imperative.
Loser: James Rodriguez
4 of 5
Colombian attacker James Rodriguez was handed a starting spot on the right of the Real attack, but offered precisely nothing to the team in what was possibly his most anonymous performance since joining from AS Monaco.
The No. 10 is appreciated for his ability to find space, create danger and make himself a threat inside the opposition box, but there was precious little of that on show against Eibar.
It wasn't surprising when he was subbed off for Lucas Vazquez, and James really had no right to leave the pitch unhappy at the change, only at his own performance.
Winner: Lucas Vazquez
5 of 5
Lucas Vazquez only came on as sub to play half an hour or so, but it was he who provided the width, the direct running and the energy to actually help Real open up Eibar a few times after the passing and dribbling earlier on had yielded little.
Vazquez did well to track back a few times, played a fine pass into Ronaldo for a good chance and then won the penalty late on with another dribble.
His willingness to do the work for his team was exemplified as he finished the match at right-back after Dani Carvajal was subbed off.
