Real Madrid 2-0 Valencia: Player ratings as Benzema and Kroos secure comfortable Los Blancos win

Real Madrid eased to a third straight win in La Liga as wonderful first half strikes from Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos secured a comfortable win at the Bernabeu.

Los Blancos controlled the opening stages and went ahead after just 12 minutes, when Benzema drove inside from the left and curled a pristine low effort into the far corner.

The French striker was clearly in the mood and could have had a hat-trick before the impressive Kroos eventually doubled the lead before half time with a gorgeous strike of his own.

The game looked as if it was well and truly killed on the hour mark when Vinicius Jr and Ferland Mendy combined but VAR intervened to deny the left back his second goal of the season, judging that he had interfered from an offside position earlier in the play.

In the end they would have to settle for just the two goals, but that will do for Zinedine Zidane as his side go second in La Liga.

Let's get into some player ratings!

Real Madrid player ratings

1. Goalkeeper & Defenders

Thibaut Courtois (GK) - 6/10 - One save of note to deny Maxi Gomez from distance. WhoScored say he touched the ball 18 times in total - only Manu Vallejo saw fewer of the 22 starters.

Daniel Carvajal (RB) - 5/10 - Solid start until injury forced him off before the half hour mark. Replaced by Lucas Vasquez.

Raphael Varane - (CB) - 6/10 - Could really have played with a blindfold on. Kept Maxi Gomez limited to virtually nothing.

Nacho Fernandez (CB) - 6/10 - Immaculate in possession and dealt well with whatever came his way in the opposite direction. He'll have busier afternoons.

Ferland Mendy (LB) - 7/10 - Solid throughout and worked tirelessly up and down the left flank. Might feel he should have had a goal to his name but the fractional offside call strikes again.

2. Midfielders

Luka Modric (CM) - 7/10 - Sat between the lines and recycled the ball efficiently, while frequently keeping Valencia guessing with his long-range passing. Did his bit defensively as he won the ball back more often than any Real player and earned his rest for the final ten minutes.

Casemiro (CM) - 7/10 - Vintage performance. Kept things simple on the ball and used his positional sense to full effect as he extinguished a few promising looking Valencia counters.

Toni Kroos (CM) - 8/10 - Played with a freakish precision and accuracy that raises genuine questions over whether he is human. Simple square pass to Benzema got him the assist for the opener but there was nothing simple about his finish for Real's second - right into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

3. Forwards

Marco Asensio (RW) - 7/10 - Showed a real desire to get on the ball and move it forward which contributed to a comfortable win for his team, even if his end product wasn't always sharp. Replaced by Sergio Arribas for the final 20.

Karim Benzema (CF) - 8/10 - At his absolute best for the opening goal as he brought the ball inside and bent one into the far bottom corner. Could have had a hat-trick by half time, but for a combination of bad luck and great last-ditch defending.

Vinicius Jr (LW) - 6/10 - A little wasteful and indecisive in possession at times but lively enough to keep Daniel Wass busy.

4. Substitutes

Lucas Vasquez - 7/10 - Offered more going forward than Carvajal and registered a tidy assist for Kroos' strike with a crisp cut-back to the edge of the box.

Sergio Arribas - 6/10 - Looked bright again and could have had an assist with a clever pass to Benzema.

Isco - 5/10

Mariano Diaz - 5/10