Hoping to seal top spot, Real Madrid welcomed Inter Milan to the Santiago Bernabeu for their final UEFA Champions League Group D fixture on Tuesday night.
Los Blancos had already secured Round of 16 football on matchday five, courtesy of their convincing 3-0 win over Sheriff Tiraspol. Last night was all about progressing as group winners, and the hosts only needed a draw to ensure the desired outcome.
Ambitious as they are, Real Madrid did not play for a draw, even without their talisman Karim Benzema leading the line. They exchanged blows with an in-form Inter side in the first half and scored through Toni Kroos just past the 15-minute mark. The German’s outside-the-box effort was full of venom and left Inter keeper Samir Handanovic for dead.
The Serie A champions were determined to bounce back in the second half and came close on a couple of occasions, but could not apply the finishing touch. In the 79th minute, substitute Marco Asensio curled the ball home with conviction to seal the win and top spot for Real Madrid.
With the win already in the bag, Carlo Ancelotti decided to give Eden Hazard an opportunity to stretch his legs. The Belgian had a 10-minute cameo and looked comfortable jogging around.
Winning without Benzema was never going to be easy, but some players stepped up to the plate to make the task easier.
Here are the five biggest contributors to Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Inter in the Champions League:
#5 Casemiro
Real Madrid’s defensive midfielder Casemiro put in an impressive shift against Inter on Tuesday night. His distribution was crisp, he did not allow the opposition to press him out of play, and the Brazilian always looked for a forward pass.
When Luka Modric pushed forward, Casemiro kept an eye on the right side of the midfield, not affording Inter a moment of peace.
Against Inter, Casemiro completed two clearances, blocked one shot and intercepted three passes. Offensively, he helped the Real Madrid attackers with two key passes.
#4 Marco Asensio
Against Inter, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti started Rodrygo on the right-wing ahead of Marco Asensio. The Spaniard was only introduced after 75 minutes of play.
To the home fans’ delight, Asensio wasted no time settling in and hit the back of the net just four minutes after coming on.
Receiving Dani Carvajal’s ball on the right, Asensio cut in and dispatched an impeccable curler towards the Inter goal. The ball hit the woodwork and went into the top-left corner to put Real Madrid 2-0 up.
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