LaLiga: Real Madrid vs Celta Vigo players ratings as Karim Benzema’s hat-trick gets Real Madrid on top of the league table

After 560 days, football returned to Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid. With that being marked as a memorable day for the venue, Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid went head to head against the out-of-form Celta Vigo, who are currently struggling in the bottom three of the leaderboard.

The match already had a lot of importance as they venue was hosting it’s first game in almost two years. Real Madrid and Celta Vigo took great advantage of the opportunity. It was a horrifying start for Real Madrid as Celta Vigo striker Santi Mina scored in the fourth minute of the game. However, Karim Benzema made sure to reply with an equaliser, twenty minutes after.

However, Celta Vigo were fighting hard to get their first win and Franco Cervi scored seven minutes later to make it 2-1 and bring the lead yet again. Real Madrid struggled but for not too long as Benzema scored his second a minute into the second half to level the scoreline. He then followed it with a magnificent assist to Vinícius Júnior to make it 3-2.

In the 66th minute, Eduardo Camavinga walked in replacing Eden Hazard to make his debut for Real Madrid. It became a remarkable one as he scored his first goal for the club in just seven minutes into gameplay. It was a dreamy night for Madrid and Benzema got his third goal in the 87th minute to complete his hat-trick and a mind-blowing 5-2 win to get the three points. That win certainly handed them the current top spot in LaLiga. Meanwhile, let’s have a look at how the player’s performed in this dramatic match.

Real Madrid

Thibaut Courtois (GK) (6.6/10) : A really good job indeed. Despite Courtois conceded two goals first up, he also made some magnificent saves. He made two high claims while making two really good saves inside the box.

Dani Carvajal (7.1/10) : Certainly ticked all the boxes when it came to being a responsible defender. Carvajal made some really good tackles to win the ball and keep possession with Madrid. He also blocked two incoming shots at goal and steered the ball away from the box.

Nacho (6.8/10) : Nacho’s ability to pass the ball cleanly was incredible in today’s game. Apart from that, he made some real good progress with keeping the ball crystal clear from the box and made certain valuable interceptions.

Éder Militão (7/10) : Militão made four valuable clearances that could’ve been really troublesome for his team. He showed really good determination at winning ariel duels and took a shy at goal. He was on target, but was unfortunately denied by the keeper.

Miguel Gutiérrez (7.1/10) : Miguel did everything right in today’s game. He won almost every other ground duel while he provided Benzema with a crucial assist that helped them get the equaliser for the second time in the game.

Federico Valverde (7/10) : Valverde shined brightly in the midfield as he managed to provide Benzema a crucial assist to bring up the equaliser and the first goal for Real Madrid in the game. However, Valverde failed on several occasions at ground duels.

Casemiro (6.8/10) : Not the most ideal game for Casemiro. He had a good chance at goal but was off target to begin with. He didn’t have any luck at winning ground or Ariel duels but he did successfully claim five dribble wins.

Luka Modrić (7.5/10) : After a fantastic performance in the midfield, Modrić was replaced by Asensio in the 78th minute of the match. Modrić made some excellent passes and was really good at winning ground duels. He did have a shot on target but was denied. Apart from that, he lost possession a lot of times.

Vinícius Júnior (8/10) : Vinícius has been on a roll since the beginning of the game. He’s always kept himself around the ball and kept moving the ball ahead with him. He had three good chances at goal and was on target on every occasion. He managed to get one past the keeper to give Real Madrid the lead for the first time in the match.

Eden Hazard (7.2/10) : Hazard did a good job supporting Benzema ahead and kept applying pressure. With all his skillwork, he managed to get two shots on target but was denied on both opportunities.

Karim Benzema (9.7/10) : It’s not often you get to be called the hero thrice in one match but things work differently for the captain of Madrid. He provided the first equaliser in the 24th minute and followed that with another equaliser. He scored a minute into the second half to complete his brace and keep Real Madrid in the game fighting for those three points. He also provided with a valuable assist to Vinícius to give Real Madrid lead in the match for the first time. And that wasn’t all, Benzema completed his hat-trick minutes before the final whistle to give Real Madrid a magnificent win.

Substitutes

Eduardo Camavinga (7.2/10) : The super substitute made one too many people proud of his performance. Seven minutes of him coming into play and he makes it 4-2 for Real Madrid. A magnificent goal on his debut. A stunning finish by the new Real Madrid player and announces his arrival in the team in emphatic style.

Marco Asensio (6.3/10) : Asensio had just 11 minutes on the clock to play for and he didn’t do a lot to make an impact in the game. In that short stint, he lost all his ground duels while losing possession five times.

Marcelo (6/10) : Marcelo barely played for a minute in the game and in that time he just got four touches on the ball.

Rodrygo (6/10) : It was a rather disappointing replacement for Rodrygo as he hardly played for a minute and the full-time whistle was blown. He did get two touches but that was all for him in today’s game.

Celta Vigo

Matías Dituro (GK) (6.5/10) : A very busy day for Dituro as the attempts on goal kept coming in. He did let five goals slip past him but he made as many as six saves from inside the box to make a huge difference to the game.

Hugo Mallo (6.3/10) : The captain was taking care of the wing quite nicely. He made a couple of clearences and interceptions but failed miserably at ground duels. Hugo did create a huge chance for his team by making valuable key passes.

Néstor Araujo (5.6/10) : The six clearences he made no sense what so ever with respect to the context of the game as Araujo gave away a marginal error that led to one of the five goals the team conceded.

Jeison Murillo (5.9/10) : A below par game for Murillo as he gets subbed a minute before full-time. He did make the one clearence and couple of interceptions but couldn’t stop the ball from going past him.

Javi Galán (6.2/10) : Apart from the below ordinary defence skills, Javi Galán was excellent with winning tackles and ground duels. Although, he did giveaway possession on more than multiple times.

Renato Tapia (6.4/10) : Renato found himself being subbed into just 45 minutes of play against Real Madrid. He failed at converting the long balls while he also lost alot of ground duel challenges in the midfield.

Brais Méndez (6.5/10) : Brais did a commendable job with his footwork and dribbling skills. His pace helped him move past the midfield with ease but he did fail on numerous occasions to win the ground battles. Later, he was subbed in the 52nd minute.

Denis Suárez (6.4/10) : A performance with less to complaint. Denis did a fair job with long balls and ground duels but there wasn’t much done while playing ahead that could get themselves some goals and confidence.

Franco Cervi (6.9/10) : After Benzema’s equaliser, Franco brought Celta Vigo back into the match after netting the ball with pure comfort and making it 2-1 for Celta Vigo. He also had another opportunity at goal but was off target. It was a big chance that he had missed that could have made things very different for his team.

Iago Aspas (7.4/10) : Iago sure knew how to compliment his partner forward when it came to gameplay and dribbling the ball through the defence. He made a valuable effort which was converted by Santi Mina into a 4th minute beauty to give Celta Vigo the lead.

Santi Mina (7.3/10) : A job well done by Santi Mina, the star for Celta Vigo in today’s game. He scored the opening and lead goal for Celta Vigo in the fourth minute of the game. Apart from that he kept applying pressure and got one more shot on target but was denied by the keeper.

Substitutes

Fran Beltran (6.5/10) : Playing the entire second half, Fran did do a fine job. With everything he got, he made the most out of it. He was good with his pace and tackles and also gave one too many successful long balls.

Augusto Solari (5.9/10) : Just the one on target shot for Solari as he is done the worst possible job to win ground duels. A tough 38 minute stint for the player.

Nolito (6.3/10) : The worst possible 23 minutes for Nolito since his miss. He got a good shy at goal but was way off target. That meant nothing but only him missing out on a big chance.

Thiago Galhardo (7/10) : It suited well for him as he played better than any substitute who entered the pitch today. He made a huge chance at goal but they still ended up 5-2. in the end.

Joseph Aidoo (6/10) : Just the one minute and two touches in today’s game against Real Madrid for Joseph Aidoo. Didn’t have time at all to make an impact.

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