Karim Benzema continued his excellent form, netting a brace in a 10-minute spell and providing an assist, as Real Madrid closed the gap at the top of the table to three points, albeit with city rivals Atletico Madrid having a game in hand.
The Frenchman has been pivotal to Los Blancos this season, and it is fair to ponder how much further down the table they would be without him.
Celta Vigo 1-3 Real Madrid: Player Ratings, Match Stats, Player Stats
✔️ Toni Kroos: 8.1
The Germany midfielder was outstanding against Celta.
Kroos produced two assists for Benzema.
The first was a beautifully-weighted pass following a mazy run on the periphery of the Celta Vigo box. Kroos slid the pass with just the right amount of pressure into the feet of Benzema, who did the rest and curled the ball into the bottom corner.
Kroos' second assist was the product of relentless pressing from the midfielder, who harassed Renato Tapia to the point where he eventually lost possession of the ball to Benzema.
Furthermore, Kroos completed 94% of his passes throughout the game, and produced a game-high seven crosses.
❌Vinicius Jr : 6.0
A very disappointing performance from the Brazilian youngster, especially coming off the back of his sparkling performance against Atalanta in the Champions League in midweek.
The 20-year-old struggled to get into the game, and only attempted two dribbles despite being on the pitch for the entirety of the clash. He missed the target with all four of his attempts.
The Brazilian is very much blowing hot and cold at this stage of his development, and this was in the cold category for Vinicius.
⭐ Karim Benzema: 10
Where would Real Madrid be without the French striker?
Benzema has undoubtedly been Zinedine Zidane's best player throughout this season, and this afternoon he again demonstrated this.
His first goal was a lovely finish, following good work from Kroos. Benzema opened his body up and curled the ball wonderfully into the corner of the Celta Vigo goal 20 minutes into the game.
His second goal was again through the work of Kroos. Benzema, for his part, held his nerve to plant the ball into the opposite corner of Ivan Villar's goal to give Los Blancos a two-goal lead.
Benzema's two goals now take him to 23 goals for the season in all competitions, with 17 coming in La Liga.
In the dying moments of the game, Benzema also provided an assist for Marco Asensio to put the seal on the victory, one of two big chances he created.
In a spectacular display, he also had 10 touches in the opposition box, a better tally than anyone else produced.
Celta Vigo 1-3 Real Madrid: Player Ratings, Match Stats, Player Stats
Karim Benzema 
Toni Kroos 
Luka Modrić 
Real Madrid 
Celta 
