Real Valladolid, off the back of three straight home wins, put up a spirited performance against Real Madrid on Friday night.
Los Blancos had to wait for an 83rd-minute penalty to break the deadlock, but end the year with goals from Karim Benzema and a clean sheet for Thibaut Courtois. In what has been a memorable 2022, Madrid move to the top of the table.
REAL VALLADOLID
Jordi Masip: 5 – Made some routine saves, but stood no chance with the goals.
Iván Fresneda: 7 – A hot target for many of Europe’s giants, Fresneda showed his class, going toe-to-toe and coming off the winner on multiple occasions against La Liga’s best wideman, Vinícius Jr.
Joaquín Fernández: 5
Javi Sánchez: 4 – While he was lucky to not concede a penalty in the first half when the ball struck his hand, fortune wouldn’t favour him twice as he gave away a penalty in the dying moments. A resolute defensive performance otherwise.
Sergio Escudero: 5
Roque Mesa: 6 – Was involved in a few good turnovers of possession in the first half, before being forced off early into the second half due to injury.
Monchu: 5
Álvaro Aguado: 7 – A great performance. Ran tirelessly but had his moments, testing Courtois from range and even from a corner.
Iván Sanchez: 6 – Cut inside and was heavily involved in Valladolid’s good offensive work in the first half.
Sergio León: 4 – A firm header was denied brilliantly by Courtois. Left his side with ten men after getting sent off for protesting.
Óscar Plano: 4
SUBSTITUTES:
Gonzalo Plata: 4
Kike Pérez: 5
Luis Pérez: 4
Kenedy: n/a
Shon Weissman: n/a
REAL MADRID
Thibaut Courtois: 8 – Made two excellent saves, one from Aguado’s curling effort that was curling in, and another firm palm to Sergio León’s bullet header.
Dani Carvajal: 4
Antonio Rüdiger: 5 – Used his pace to recover well on a couple of occasions.
David Alaba: 5
Ferland Mendy: 5
Toni Kroos: 6
Fede Valverde: 5 – Made good exchanges with the likes of Asensio and Carvajal on the right, but no decisive end product.
Dani Ceballos: 4 – Handed a rare start but was unable to impress.
Marco Asensio: 4 – Got into good positions and was involved, but lacked in his final product.
Vinícius Jr.: 6 – Met his match in Fresneda, but was still by far Madrid’s most industrious attacker, always proving a threat with his pace and dribbling.
Karim Benzema: 6 – Squandered a glorious chance in the first half as he blazed over the bar inside the six-yard box. Salvaged his night with a late brace to seal the win.
SUBSTITUTES:
Eduardo Camavinga: 7 – Provided a real burst of energy and endeavour, creating the second goal by outpacing his marker and finding the right pass.
Luka Modrić: 6 – Came on in the 88th minute but played his part in the second goal, exchanging a one-two with Camavinga in the build-up. Immediately seemed to offer Madrid more control.
Rodrygo: 4
Lucas Vázquez: 5
Aurélien Tchouaméni: n/a
GSFN | Roddur Mookherjee
