Real Madrid defeated Viktoria Plzen 5-0 on Wednesday night to grab a huge win on their first visit to the Czech Republic since 2001.
Real Madrid got a step closer to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League after their thumping victory over Viktoria Plzen by a 5-0 score. The Whites were kept on the back foot by the hosts for around ten opening minutes, but after that, they did not look back and struck five at the Doosan Arena.
Karim Benzema opened the scoring with a well taken solo goal having danced past two defenders. Casemiro headed in a couple of minutes later from a Toni Kroos corner before Benzema scored once again by heading easily into Plzen’s net. Gareth Bale volleyed home a fourth before half-time and Kroos finished the game off with a lovely finish after counter attacking with Vinicius Junior.
It was a completely dominant performance from the Whites if you take away the opening ten minutes or so, and Los Blancos look boosted on their team spirit in a great way. Let us have a look at the player ratings from the match.
Goalkeeper- Thibaut Courtois- 7/10
Thibaut Courtois started his first UEFA Champions League game for Real Madrid and managed to keep a clean sheet in between the sticks. The former Chelsea shot stopper was not called into work mode for most of the games and had a comfortable outing in between the sticks. Courtois did have a few shots on his target but they were all very simple. While the Belgian did not do anything wrong, Keylor Navas should have started in the UCL given that he does not get to play in the league.