Ronaldo is silent, Real wins thanks to new player Ceballos

Youngster Dani Ceballos became the hero for Real Madrid when he scored both goals in the 2-1 win over Alaves in round 6 of La Liga.

Goals: Manu Garcia 40' - Dani Ceballos 10', 43'

Playing away at Alaves, a team that has yet to win a point or score a goal since the start of the season, coach Zinedine Zidane decided to leave out both key midfielders Luka Modric and Toni Kroos. The two players who played instead were Isco and Dani Ceballos, along with Casemiro, forming a midfield supporting the attackers Cristiano Ronaldo, Marco Asensio and Lucas Vazquez.

While most Real fans were waiting for Ronaldo to regain his scoring touch, Ceballos was the one who took advantage of the opportunity. The 21-year-old midfielder marked his first La Liga start for his new club with two decisive goals - equaling everything he had scored for Betis last season.

Ceballos (right) scored a great goal in his first match as a starter for Real. Photo: Reuters

He opened the scoring when he seized a chance in the penalty area in the 10th minute. The situation started from Asensio's dribble down the left wing and then passed inside. Receiving the ball, Ceballos swerved past two defenders and shot into the near corner to open the scoring for Real.

Ceballos' second goal was also a decisive and opportunistic finish. This time the 21-year-old midfielder received the ball that bounced off the goalkeeper's hand.Fernando Pacheco then fired a low shotfrom 15 meters to make it 2-1.

In between Ceballos' two goals was Alaves' equaliser, a moment of lapse in concentration from Real's defence that resulted in Manu Garcia comfortably heading the ball past goalkeeper Keylor Navas.

Manu Garcia successfully took advantage of the right-wing cross to defeat Navas.

Not highly rated, but in fact Alaves created many opportunities in front of Real's goal. Besides the equalizer, in the 70th minute the home team almost had a second goal if the crossbar had not denied a shot that hit Casemiro's foot and caused the ball to change direction. About six minutes later, it was the post's turn to help Real escape defeat when Pedraza rushed down and chipped the ball past Navas.

Playing his second game back from suspension, Ronaldo once again showed his lack of grace in front of goal. The Real No. 7 volleyed over the bar in the first half and hit the post with a left-footed shot in the second. Frustrated, Ronaldo reacted to Isco for not passing the ball when he was in a comfortable position.

While Real only had a slim one-goal lead, coach Zidane was not impatient enough to bring on more key players. Instead of leaving Modric and Bale on the bench, the French coach once again put his faith in youth by letting Marcos Llorente and Borja Mayoral replace Ceballos and Isco.

Ronaldo has not scored any goals in La Liga 2017-2018.

Real Madrid successfully defended their 2-1 lead, claiming their third win of the season. All of them away from home. With 11 points from six games, the defending champions jumped from seventh to fourth.

The victory over Alaves is also a good start for Real before the second round of matches in the Champions League group stage. On the evening of September 26, they will visit Dortmund.

According to VNE