Real Madrid vs. Eibar: Winners and Losers from La Liga
Real Madrid returned to winning ways with a 4-0 victory at home against Eibar in La Liga on Saturday.
The game couldn't have started any better for Real Madrid, as Jese's run through the middle resulted in a free-kick on the edge of the box, from which James Rodriguez opened the scoring.
The fast start continued and the home team scored twice more in quick succession, with Lucas Vazquez and Cristiano Ronaldo putting the finishing touches on sweeping moves, before Jese joined the scoresheet before the break.
The second half was less eventful as Real settled for their comfortable lead.
Here are all our winners and losers from the game.
Winner: James Rodriguez
1 of 5
The Colombian needed a big performance, and he largely gave one—especially in the first half.
He was fastest off the mark for the home side, not just in terms of scoring but also in driving forward, playing at a good tempo and realising that the space behind Eibar's defence was there to be taken advantage of.
Many of Real's counters into space down the flank started with James playing a quick ball into space, and he was selfless with his play to move the ball on quickly, in contrast to Isco continually trying to dribble and slow the game down.
Perhaps the biggest indication of James' improved performance was a sprint back and slide tackle on the edge of his own penalty box with less than 15 minutes left on the clock; he was working hard in this game both for the team and for his own position ahead of a must-win game in Europe.
Loser: Asier Riesgo
2 of 5
The goalkeeper perhaps doesn't deserve all the blame for the defeat, as Eibar were woefully exposed from the first few minutes onward, but Asier Riesgo was still pretty poor himself.
Beaten low at his near post for the first goal of the match from a set piece, he conceded another two at the same right-hand side in the first half and conceded four of the five shots on target he faced in the opening 45 minutes. A terrible misjudgement should have resulted in a fifth goal of the match when he ran and dived out for a cross he never got close to, only for Ronaldo to stab wide.
His defenders didn't cover themselves in glory, but teams always need their goalkeeper in good form to keep Real Madrid's attack out; Riesgo did nothing to prevent this defeat.
Winner: Jese
3 of 5
Maybe the biggest winner of Real Madrid's non-regular starters, Jese was excellent with his movement off the ball, his pace to stretch play and his selflessness on and off the ball.
Right from kick-off, he was a big danger in the final third, surging forward to almost win a penalty in the opening minutes—James scored the eventual free-kick—and then being involved in a couple more goals, including one well-taken by himself.
Movement, rather than technique on the ball, remains Jese's absolute best trait, and he used it to devastating effect against Eibar.
Loser: Toni Kroos
4 of 5
He was named as sub and didn't get onto the pitch, but Toni Kroos might find himself as the biggest loser of the day nonetheless.
The German has been anonymous at best of late in Real Madrid's midfield and at worst actively costs the defence chances for the opposition by gifting the ball away deep in his own half or not tracking runs when playing the defensive role in the centre—though Casemiro now occupies that role.
It's the improved display from James that will really worry Kroos, though, who was negligible with his impact against Wolfsburg and, with Real Madrid needing to go for the throat, has to be a consideration to be dropped and replaced for the second leg.
Winner: Cristiano Ronaldo
5 of 5
A 30th goal of the season for Cristiano Ronaldo keeps him top of the Pichichi charts and would be reason enough for him to be a winner, but his all-round game probably marked him out as one of the top two players on the park anyway.
Ronaldo's pace and exploitation of space was impossible for Eibar to track or shut down, and he made a mockery of their attempts to step up time after time.
Two or three low passes across the box could have resulted in more assists than he managed anyway, setting up both Jese and Lucas Vazquez, and another day he may have hit the back of the net more often himself as well.
