Lucas Vazquez, Daniel Wass Own Goal See Real Madrid Past Valencia in La Liga

Real Madrid returned to winning ways in La Liga on Saturday, beating Valencia 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu. The unfortunate Daniel Wass opened the scoring with an own goal before Lucas Vazquez secured the win late.

The European champions dominated in midfield but couldn't create a lot of chances. Wass' early mistake meant they didn't have to, however, and their defence held up in the second half. Vazquez got a second after 83 minutes.

Los Blancos lost their last contest to Eibar 3-0 but moved back into the top five with the win. The top four of Barcelona, Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Alaves will all be in action on Sunday.

Vazquez Can't Replace Creativity of Isco, Asensio

Real manager Santiago Solari again opted to leave Isco and Marco Asensio out of the starting XI on Saturday, turning to Vazquez to play on the wing opposite Gareth Bale.

The academy product has been in fine form of late and is a good fit for Solari's counter-pressing style of play. With the exception of Bale, there's arguably no one better in the team at beating their man, and his willingness to track back is admirable.

The one thing he lacks is creativity in the attacking third, however, and that's where Los Blancos struggled. For all of their dominance in midfield―more on that later―the visitors barely created chances in the first half. It wasn't until Valencia started to attack that space opened up.

This is where Isco and Asensio come into play. The former in particular has been surprisingly absent from Solari's teams so far:

Both are capable of breaking open a match with a pass, turn or run. Their ability to create for others is invaluable, especially against teams who limit space as well as Valencia.

Vazquez is a useful player to bring off the bench, and he will get a fair amount of goals over the course of a season, but Solari has to turn to Isco or Asensio to start future matches. Real need their creativity in attack to get the most out of Bale and Karim Benzema.

Solari Has to Stick with Llorente in Midfield

Marcos Llorente has had to wait a long time for his shot in the Real first team, spending the first months of the season wasting away on the bench or in the stands. Casemiro's injury left the team without a true holding midfielder, and after the Dani Ceballos experiment failed miserably against Eibar, the 23-year-old got his chance against AS Roma.

It's fair to say Llorente impressed. He was one of the best players on the pitch, and his performance was so good that a rumoured loan move in January was all but shelved:

He retained his spot in the starting XI on Saturday and was arguably even better than in midweek. Playing alongside Ceballos and Luka Modric, he was able to largely neutralise Valencia's attackers while putting on a passing clinic with the ball:

Casemiro is a defensive wizard, but his passing has long been an issue. While Llorente's time in the starting XI has been short, he already looks a better fit for Real, with his ability on the ball taking pressure off Modric.

When Toni Kroos returns to the starting XI, it should be in favour of Ceballos with Llorente keeping his spot. The youngster deserves every chance to grow into the role, and if he can keep this up, it would not be a surprise if he provided legitimate competition for Casemiro when the Brazilian returns.

What's Next?

Los Blancos host Melilla in the second leg of the Copa del Rey on Thursday with a four-goal aggregate lead. Valencia play Ebro at home on Tuesday after winning the first leg 2-1.