Alaba is now an offensive weapon for Real Madrid

David Alaba was brought in by Real Madrid over the summer primarily to compensate for the loss of Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane at the heart of defence, but his recent attacking contributions prove that he is also an offensive asset.

The Austrian performed a number of roles for Bayern Munich, playing at centre-back, left-back and also in midfield, and he is showing just how good he is in the final third in the early stages of his career in Spain.

Against Barcelona, Alaba broke forward and scored a brilliant goal with his left foot with a strike that any seasoned attacker would've been proud of.

Then, against Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, he found himself out on the wide wing from where he delivered a pinpoint pass for Karim Benzema to poke home Los Blancos' second goal in a 2-1 win.

It was Alaba's third assist of the season. His first came on his debut away at Alaves, in a game where he played as a left-back, putting in a measured ball to Vinicius who headed accurately to make it 4-1.

Then, against Mallorca, he played a cross-field ball for Benzema which the Frenchman duly converted.