Real Madrid produce 'complete performance' at Eibar to stay level with Barcelona

Dani Carvajal hailed the "complete performance" of Real Madrid after their comfortable 4-0 win over Eibar on Saturday kept them level on points with leaders Barcelona. Three goals in the opening half an hour at the Ipurua stadium set the tone for the visitors, with Karim Benzema scoring twice - his second from the penalty spot - before captain Sergio Ramos added another penalty. Federico Valverde completed the rout just after the hour mark as Madrid returned to the capital with all three points. The victory briefly took Zinedine Zidane's side top of the standings on 25 points after 12 games but Barcelona went ahead of them on goal difference after a 4-1 win at home to Celta Vigo . Real Sociedad are third on 23 points after drawing 1-1 at home to Leganes on Friday, although Barca and Real each have a game in hand on the Basque side. "We have been producing very complete performances recently and today was another one," said Real defender Carvajal. "Our start set the tone for the game and we have to keep that up, unfortunately the international break comes at a time when we are doing very well. "We are being more ruthless in both areas and that is making a big difference. "Last week against Betis the ball wouldn't go in, and they became more confident the longer we didn't score and it became harder for us. But when we make a strong start and score early the opponent leaves a lot of space and we can take advantage." Real had harrowing memories of their last trip to Eibar, when they were overpowered 3-0 last November in a game that spelled the beginning of the end for coach Santiago Solari. Things could hardly have been more different this time - Real were insatiable in the first half as Valverde provided relentless energy through the middle and Hazard looked at his most dangerous since his summer move from Chelsea. Real have now scored 16 goals without conceding any in their last five fixtures, a resounding response to their shock 1-0 defeat at Real Mallorca three weeks ago. "We worked very hard and believed in what we were doing," said Real manager Zidane. "The Mallorca game was tough for us but since then we have played with a lot of generosity, and when you have the amount of quality we have everything is easier."

Real Madrid produce 'complete performance' at Eibar to stay level with Barcelona

Three goals in the opening half an hour set Zidane's side on their way to a comfortable win at the Ipurua stadium