Abrace from Karim Benzema guided Real Madrid to a 2-1 comeback victory over Eibar on Saturday afternoon at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid.
A poor first half from Los Blancos was punctuated by Marc Cardona’s opener for the visitors, but led by Benzema, Real responded in the second half and the Frenchman was on-target with a pair of headers to earn his side the three points.
There were a couple notable decisions from manager Zinedine Zidane in his starting XI, as stalwarts Toni Kroos and Casemiro started from the bench, meaning Federico Valverde got the nod, as did Isco, while Gareth Bale and Marco Asensio joined Karim Benzema up top. In the back, Sergio Ramos was rested, paving the way for a Nacho start.
With Isco pulling the strings, Real had a pair of early chances but both were negated by Bale being offside. There was activity at the other end, too, with Marc Cucurella, who was a thorn in Real’s side in the 3-0 win at Ipurua, playing a cutting cross that just missed connecting with Cardona.
Outside of that early flurry, there was hardly any flow to the match. Real were lacking a connection in working the ball from back to front and the Bernabeu let them know it, never hesitating to shower the players with whistles when they deemed proper, with Bale being the favoured target.
The Bernabeu then went from annoyed to downright ornery, as Eibar broke the deadlock 0-1 with an excellent finish from Cardona. A slick one-time pass from Cucurella found Gonzalo Escalante, who then surgically played a ball into the charging Cardona and the Eibar forward calmly lofted a ball over Real goalkeeper Keylor Navas and into net for the goal.
Even when good fortune went Real’s way, things still didn’t work out for Los Blancos. A mis-play between Eibar goalkeeper Dmitrovic and a defender served up Benzema with the net gaping wide open and it was an easy stroke for the goal, or so he thought. The Frenchman was ruled offside in the Real build-up and the goal was quickly wiped off the board.
Minutes later though, there was no controversy when Benzema did tally the 1-1 equaliser. Asensio did well to find space on the right flank and his cross into the area was perfect for Benzema to head onto for the goal.
Real were finally on the front foot and looked the more likely side to grab a winner. Zidane made his first two moves, bringing on Lucas Vazquez and Kroos for Luka Modric and Bale, respectively, the latter getting a whistled send-off from the fans.
Benzema was in the middle of every Real attack and it was only fitting that he found the winning goal in the final stages of the contest, as he took a Kroos cross and smacked a header in past Dmitrovic for a 2-1 advantage.
It was all there for Benzema to notch the hat trick, as an error from Dmitrovic led to an open-net chance, but incredibly Benzema missed over the crossbar, prompting an embarrassed smile from the striker. That was followed by a stoppage time strike that banged off the post.
Nevertheless, it was Benzema’s day, as Real washed out the bad taste of their Valencia loss and will look for a second straight win next Monday at Leganes.
Match Sheet:
2.- Real Madrid: Keylor; Odriozola, Nacho, Varane, Reguilon; Modric, (Lucas Vazquez, min. 72) Valverde, Isco (Brahim, min. 91); Bale (Kroos, min. 72), Asensio, Benzema.
1.- Eibar: Dmitrovic; Cucurella (Charles, min. 84), Oliveira, Ramis (Orellana, min. 54), Cote; Escalante, Jordan, Sergio Alvarez, De Blasis, Cardona (Pena, min. 72); Sergi Enrich.
Goals: 0-1, min. 40: Cardona; 1-1, min. 59: Benzema; 2-1, min. 81: Benzema
Referee: Gonzalez Fuertes (Asturian). Yellow Cards: Oliveira (Min. 21) for Eibar
Red cards: None
Stadium: Santiago Bernabeu
Attendance: 50.284
