Real Madrid put in a dominant performance to qualify for the Champions League last-16 as group winners seeing off a disappointing Borussia Monchengladbach 2-0.
Marco Rose's side came into the gameweek six encounter top of Group B but looked well below their best from the first minute in the Spanish capital.
Real Madrid 2-0 Gladbach: Player Ratings, Match Stats, Player Stats
A first-half Karim Benzema brace courtesy of two well-placed headers was enough to seal victory for Zinedine Zidane's side, who needed a good performance to keep their critics at bay.
✔️ GOOD PERFORMANCE
Lucas Vazquez: 9.1
The versatile academy graduate was playing a right-back on Wednesday evening but continually caused damage down the flank with endless raiding runs forward.
Marcus Thuram's apparent refusal to track the 29-year-old left Oscar Wendt isolated in the opening 45 minutes, and Vazquez found himself in acres of space to deliver a perfectly weighted cross for Benzema to head home.
Despite Rose hauling Wendt off at the Interval, introducing Valentino Lazaro in order to try and sure up the German's left-hand-side, the second period was much of the same, with the Spanish International unlucky not to score when his effort smacked the post late on.
❌ BAD PERFORMANCE
Matthias GInter: 5.5
It could've been any Gladbach player, so bad was their performance on the night.
But centre-back Matthias GInter was at fault for both of Benzema's goals. Although they weren't solely down to the 26-year-old's shortcomings, the Madrid man peeled away from his marker far too easily, on more than one occasion, leaving a player of his class with the simplest of tasks.
At this level, against such quality opposition, teams need their big players to put in big performances, and GInter was unable to do that in Madrid.
⭐ STAR MAN
Karim Benzema: 9.7
If Madrid failed to get a positive result against Gladbach, it would've been the first time in 25 years that the Spanish giants had been eliminated from the Champions League group stages. Benzema ensured that the prospect was never on the cards.
His 69th and 70th European goals of his glittering career fired Los Blancos to the knockout stages once again on what turned out to be a comfortable night for Zidane's men.
Benzema was a constant threat throughout the match and could've added another brace in the second-half with another set of headers, but he couldn't quite place them beyond Yann Sommer's reach.
Real Madrid 2-0 Gladbach: Player Ratings, Match Stats, Player Stats
Karim Benzema 
Real Madrid 
Inter 
