3 stars and 2 flops from Real Madrid's marginal win over Villarreala
Real Madrid beat Villarreal 1-0 in the league on Saturday night to keep within six points of Barcelona in the table. A goal from Yan Diomande was just about enough for the team to come home with three points.
Although it had some big controversies, the football itself wasn't all that great. Real Madrid struggled to put the ball in the back of the net and let in a lot of chances from Villarreal in the last few minutes after the red card for Vinícius Junior.
Be that as it may, they still won the game, and it is worth talking about some of the stars and flops from the match.
3 stars and 2 flops from Real Madrid's marginal win over Villarreala
Yan Diomande - star
Diomande was pretty good for Real Madrid during the game against Villarreal. He scored the goal and was a constant threat in the attack. Not all of what he tried to do worked, but he did do a lot to disrupt the Villarreal defence and force them into mistakes in their defensive third.
There were some really nice dribbles and crosses from the player, even though not all of them worked as well as he would have wanted them to. It was still a very relentless form of attack from the Ivory Coast international, who finally had a good performance for Real Madrid this season.
Thibaut Courtois - star
Thibaut Courtois made some crucial saves for Real Madrid to keep them to a clean sheet on the night, especially after Vinicius Junior's red card. It was really easy for the Yellow Submarine to get into Real Madrid's box and create chances.
If it weren't for Courtois, it would have been a much worse situation for the home side and could have easily resulted in a draw or loss. It was a standard day in the office for the Belgian goalkeeper.
Vinicius Junior - flop
Vinicius Junior was only a substitute in the game against Villarreal, and he only played 21 minutes for the team on the night, as he came on in the 51st minute and was sent off in the 72nd minute for pulling a player's hair. It was a very stupid decision because it not only prevented Real Madrid from scoring a second goal, but it also didn't really create much of an impact, in terms of an advantage for Vini during the build-up.
Lastly, it left Real Madrid with just 10 men to defend for the last 20 minutes with just a one-goal lead, which was also very difficult to manage.
Arda Guler - flop
Guler has generally been really good for Real Madrid this season, but that was not the case against Villarreal. He was not all that great during the match, as he created zero chances for his team. In the first half, he was playing as more of a right winger before shifting into the midfield role, switching places with Fede Valverde. Even there, he was pretty ineffective, and he eventually was substituted.
Fede Valverde - star
Valverde came back from injury with a pretty decent performance for Real Madrid. He assisted Diomande's goal in an impressive manner and generally looked impressive when he was playing in that right midfield role in the second half. His defensive work was really good, and even though he did not quite work well with Tchouameni as a collective in the first half, his individual performance was good enough to warrant a star tag.
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