Real Madrid won big, regained third place

Hours after seeing Atletico overtake them, Real beat Eibar 3-0 to regain third place in La Liga.

Goals: Paulo Oliveira 18' own goal, Asensio 28', Marcelo 82'

Hours before the Real-Eibar match, Atletico moved into third place by beating Celta Vigo 1-0. Two points behind their city rivals, Real needed a win to regain their position.

Zidane's team's task proved to be not too difficult when Eibar was far behind in class. The team ranked fifth from bottom even "gave" the first goal to the defending champions with a header from Paulo Oliveira into the own goal. From a cross from the right wing in the 18th minute, the player wearing the number 12 shirt jumped up to compete with Sergio Ramos and made the net of his teammate goalkeeper Dmitrovic shake.

Isco assisted Asensio to score, making it 2-0. Photo: Reuters

Continuing to press the field after the opening goal, Real completely dominated the match. The home team did not have to wait long for the second goal. In the 28th minute, from a cross from the left wing by Isco, Marco Asensio quickly connected from 12 meters to score a goal against Eibar.

Asensio and Isco were the two wingers who supported Ronaldo from the start of the match. Their technical style and high form always helped Real's attack play differently. It was not until midway through the second half that Benzema and Lucas Vazquez had a chance to play when they came on as substitutes.

While the two players in the pair shone, Ronaldo played a bit less gracefully. The star wearing the number 7 shirt made a few shots but they were all inaccurate. Ronaldo's most regrettable miss was when he faced Dmitrovic in the middle of the second half: the ball bounced off the Eibar goalkeeper before Real's rebound was also unsuccessful.

Eibar did not score any consolation goals, but they did not play defensively. The visitors even had 49% possession and had four shots on goal.

Eibar's tenacious fighting spirit also forced Real to wait until the end of the match to score a third goal. In the 82nd minute, after receiving a pass from Benzema, Marcelo fired a diagonal shot to seal the victory for the home team.

Real now have 20 points after nine games, and have regained third place. The defending champions are five points behind leaders Barca and one point behind Valencia.

According to VNE