Three reasons why Real Madrid defeated Espanyol
Gareth Bale returned from injury and helped his side register their third consecutive win in the LaLiga. Two goals from Benzema and one each from Bale and Ramos were enough for the Madrid side to climb up to the third position in the league table.
Santiago Solari’s men showed grit and hunger to pull off a difficult win. Real Madrid have looked threatening while going forward but their backline lacks stability and it showed up yesterday when Varane got a red card. As a team, they need better defending which will push them closer to Barcelona in the league table.
Modric ran the show and it was his curling shot which was blocked by the keeper only for Benzema to score from the rebound. He played a key role in the second goal too as he put in a cross of which Ramos scored.
Here are the three reasons why Real Madrid won.
#1. Finding their killer instinct back
Real Madrid had won their previous four LaLiga matches by a margin of one goal. This statistic shows how vulnerable they are in the league and how brittle their defense is. So putting in four goals against a good Espanyol side will give them a great deal of confidence going forward.
The work-rate shown by the players will be acknowledged by Solari as he has not had that luxury since long. Bale’s return from injury added the much-needed pace into the forward line. But more than any technical aspects, it was the way in which players fought until the end that will delight the coach.
Solari needs some consistency from his players if his team were to close the gap between them and Barcelona. Currently Real its third position in the table pushing Sevilla to fourth.