Benzema, Bale, Casemiro's Top Stats as Real Madrid's MVPs After 8 Matches

Karim Benzema has carried Real Madrid to the top of La Liga with his goals during the first eight matches of this season. It's hard to think of a more valuable player for Los Blancos, but the brilliance of Gareth Bale has also been an asset.

The Wales international has appeared to regain the confidence of manager Zinedine Zidane. His performances have helped Real stay strong in attacking areas, even with summer signing Eden Hazard making a relatively slow start to his career in the Spanish top flight.

Bale and Benzema get the plaudits for their exploits in the final third, but Casemiro also performs a vital function. The rugged Brazilian is the enforcer in midfield who wins possession for playmakers Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, while also screening the defence.

Benzema's Notable Stats (per WhoScored.com)

• 6 goals
• 1 assist
• 3.7 shots per game
• 1.6 aerial duels won per game
• 1.4 key passes per game
• 0.7 dribbles per game

If the measure of top players is how well they perform in adverse situations, then Benzema has cemented himself among the elite of his generation in recent seasons.

The Frenchman responded to Cristiano Ronaldo's departure to Juventus in the summer of 2018 by assuming the prolific No. 7's mantle as Real's attacking talisman. Benzema took to the task so well he netted 21 goals in La Liga during the 2018/19 campaign.

Picking up where he left off hasn't been a problem for the 31-year-old, who has scored six times in seven starts this season. His latest goal came in Saturday's 4-2 win over Granada, confirming his status as the most ruthless centre-forward in the division:

Benzema's success is down to the way he has redefined his game. He couldn't have continued his role as a supporting act, the way he was for Ronaldo, a striker who vacated the middle to make room for runs from out to in.

Instead, he has made his style more about being in the best positions to punish defences. Timing and efficiency are now the hallmarks of Benzema's game and why he's invaluable for Los Blancos.

Bale's Notable Stats

• 2 goals
• 2 assists
• 1.3 key passes per game
• 1.3 dribbles per game
• 2.7 shots per game
• 2.2 aerial duels won per game

Bale's goal and assist numbers may not wow in the way Benzema's do, but he has still been a key part of the effectiveness of Real's forward line. Bale's shots per game and aerials won statistics show a player making himself a consistent nuisance in the most dangerous area of the pitch.

At times Bale has produced the kind of magic expected of a player who was once the most expensive on the planet. His improvised assist for Benzema's opener against Granada offered a reminder of the flair he is capable of:

Bale's performances have been good enough to put him back in Zidane's good graces. The man in the dugout wanted Bale gone during the summer, but has since praised the 30-year-old as "an important player."

Letting Bale prove he's lost none of his natural gifts has made the wait for Hazard to get up to speed easier to tolerate. Injury and conditioning concerns slowed Hazard, but the Belgian did score and assist against Granada to tellingly earn congratulations from Bale:

If this is the early signs of an on-pitch rapport between the two, Real will have the firepower needed to hold off Barcelona and win the title for the first time since 2017.

Casemiro's Notable Stats

• 1 goal
• 1 assist
• 2.8 tackles per game
• 2.6 interceptions per game
• 2 clearances per game
• 6 long balls per game

It's no surprise Casemiro's best numbers are in the defensive phase of the game. The 27-year-old is in his element when breaking up play and frustrating the opposition.

Real have needed those qualities while skipper Sergio Ramos has struggled to exert his familiar influence at the heart of the back four. By contrast, Casemiro has been an ever-present.

Beyond the obvious stats, the Brazil international's industry has offered an energetic counterpoint to the patient, strolling styles of Modric and Kroos, per Marca's Felipe Olcina and Chris Winterburn: "His performance levels have been incredibly high and throughout those matches, he has accrued over 22,000 kilometres of running."

Casemiro is offering schemers like Modric and James Rodriguez the freedom to express themselves going forward. Without the platform he provides, Zidane's team would soon be vulnerable at both ends of the pitch.