Three stats from Real Madrid 4-2 Almería as Benzema’s goals, Ceballos’ steel and Vini’s anger
Real Madrid bounced back from their defeat at Girona by recording their second 4-2 victory in a week over Almería. Karim Benzema's rapid hat-trick in the first half almost sealed the result before Lázaro Vinicius scored a goal on the stroke of half-time. Rodrygo Goes scored the fourth goal for Real Madrid in the second half, while Lucas Robertson gave Almería a glimmer of hope, which amounted to nothing. Three key statistics help us understand the game.
The first statistic is that Karim Benzema has scored 236 goals in LaLiga, putting him in fourth place on the all-time ranking. Benzema continues to set records and extend his legacy at Real Madrid. With his first goal in the game, he levelled with Hugo Sánchez as LaLiga's fourth-highest ever goalscorer on 234 goals. Only 12 minutes later, he was ahead and stood alone in fourth place. The next target is Telmo Zarra, who is 17 goals ahead of him on 253 and is the highest-ranking Spaniard in the list. Beyond Zarra are some seemingly unattainable targets, Cristiano Ronaldo on 311 and Lionel Messi on 417. Benzema's tally for this season in LaLiga is 17 goals with this hat-trick. Additionally, four of his last six goals have all been assisted by Brazilians, three by Vinícius Júnior and one by Rodrygo Goes.
The second statistic is that Dani Ceballos won ten duels, completed eight recoveries of possession, and won two tackles. His rounded performance helped Real Madrid midfield to perform well in their audition for a place in the line-up against Osasuna in next weekend's Copa del Rey final with Luka Modri? ruled out by injury. Ceballos was calm, composed and tidy in possession, with a 93% completion rate of his passing. He also registered more completed dribbles than anybody else with four and more fouls won than any other player, again with four. Linking up well with Benzema and Rodrygo, he also got in on the act himself from deep as he registered two shots from outside the box, both of which ended up on target.
The third statistic is that Vinícius Júnior collected his 10th yellow card of the season in LaLiga after 37 minutes against Almería, meaning he will now serve a suspension and miss the game against Real Sociedad on Tuesday night. Vinícius's sixth yellow card of the campaign for dissent was shown for a needless booking. Before this season, Vinícius had only been shown 13 yellow cards in 6,885 minutes, averaging one every 530 minutes, compared to his 2022/23 stats in LaLiga of 10 cards in 2,624 minutes, one every 262 minutes, more than twice as frequently. The change in his discipline should be a concern for Real Madrid given his importance to the team. Ancelotti has selected him for virtually every available minute this season, resting him as little as possible.
In conclusion, Real Madrid's 4-2 victory over Almería was comfortable and impressive. Benzema's hat-trick extended his legacy at Real Madrid, while Ceballos put in a rounded performance. However, Vinícius's disciplinary issues are a concern for Real Madrid, and his suspension will be a significant blow for the team in their upcoming game against Real Sociedad.
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