Ranking Real Madrid's 5 best players against Athletic Bilbao | Spanish Super Cup 2022
Having secured a 3-2 win over Barcelona in the semi-final, Real Madrid met Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup final on Sunday night.
Los Blancos, who were eliminated from the same competition by Bilbao last year, were out for blood and ultimately bagged a well-earned 2-0 win. The victory secured their first silverware of the season, ending their 18-month-long trophy drought.
Against the ninth-placed team in the table, the leaders were always expected to come out on top, especially after the semi-final win over arch-rivals Barcelona. Real Madrid knew they were the outright favorites from the get-go and made sure to stick the point home. Their passing, movement, and organization were all a notch above Bilbao, and the result, ultimately, turned out to be just a formality.
Despite struggling to find the killer touch, Real Madrid were regularly making inroads into the Bilbao box. After multiple close calls, the goal finally came in the 38th minute from the right boot of the great Luka Modric. In typically Modricesque fashion, the Croatian curled the ball home in style with aplomb.
In the second half, Real Madrid earned a controversial penalty after Yeray Alvarez was found guilty of handling Karim Benzema’s goal-bound effort. The Frenchman stood over the ball and converted it effortlessly to secure a two-goal cushion for the Royals.
Bilbao earned a penalty of their own in the 85th minute when Eder Militao was penalized for a professional handball. Fortunately for Los Blancos, Thibaut Courtois was more than up for the task and denied Bilbao their glimmer of hope by saving Raul Garcia's spot-kick.
Here are five Real Madrid players who brought their A-games and helped Carlo Ancelotti win the first trophy of his second stint at the Bernabeu.
#5 Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema once again proved to be instrumental as Real Madrid got the better of a gritty opponent.
Thanks to Athletic Bilbao’s defensive organization, Benzema rarely got the opportunity to get his shots away, but his overall gameplay was as brilliant as ever.
Karim Benzema doubles Real Madrid's lead from the penalty spot 💥 https://t.co/6fE2q3pXSf
In the second half, his unconvincing shot on goal hit Alvarez's outstretched hand inside the Athletic Bilbao box. VAR intervened and gave Benzema the opportunity to take his goal tally to 24.
The 34-year-old went to his left with power and beat Unai Simon convincingly to double Real Madrid’s advantage.
#4 Rodrygo Goes
With Marco Asensio ruled out with an injury, Rodrygo Goes had another chance to impress on the right-wing. The 21-year-old did not exactly set the flank on fire, but his performance was certainly encouraging.
| Rodrygo now has 6 assists for Real Madrid this season - 3rd most. #HalaMadrid📊 | Rodrygo now has 6 assists for Real Madrid this season - 3rd most. #HalaMadrid
On a night where Vinicius Junior was quieter than usual, Rodrygo emerged as the Whites’ most lethal forward.
He used his pace well to get around Mikel Balenziaga and expertly set up Modric’s first-half opener to put the Merengues firmly in control.