Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad: Post Match Player Ratings
By Ahmed Genina
Real Madrid are now four points clear of their closest competitor in La Liga, with the potential to widen the gap to seven points. The players overall played a very good game. Mateo Kovacic played one of his best – if not his best game yet – with Los Blancos.
Keylor Navas: 8
The Costa Rican goalkeeper wasn’t tested many times in the game. However, whenever there was danger on his goal, he was there for the rescue.
Danilo: 6
His performance still isn’t good enough by Real Madrid standards. There is a lot more room to improve. The Brazilian still has a chance to save his career with Real Madrid, and he better take it.
Varane: 9
An instrumental performance by the Frenchman. If Varane keeps this form he might finally live up to the name of “the best defensive prospect in Europe”.
Sergio Ramos: 7
The Captain didn’t make a lot of mistakes. Although, by Sergio Ramos standards, this should hopefully be only an occasional drop in form.
Nacho: 7
Defensively Nacho was very reliable (take notes Marcelo). Offensively however he couldn’t deliver what is normally expected from a modern full back.
Casemiro: 7
Nothing new here: World class at stopping opposition attackers and midfielders. Often struggling with the ball between his feet. Casemiro is Casemiro until Casemiro changes.
Toni Kroos: 8
The German midfielder had a below average pass accuracy (by Toni Kroos standards). Nonetheless he had an impressive overall game as always.
Mateo Kovacic: 9
The Croatian midfielder was phenomenal in his box-to-box role. Bombarding the pitch up and down, terrorizing the opposition players both on offense and defense. A goal and an assist earned Kova an ovation from the notorious Madrid fans in the Santiago Bernabeu.
Lucas Vazquez: 8
Vazquez continues to be the epitome of the modern winger. He delivered a fine cross that was exemplary of what Vazquez truly thrives in. The diminutive Spaniard’s greatest problem, however, is his shooting ability.
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Karim Benzema: 5
The French international today played the worst, compared to his teammates. His intelligent movement off the ball wasn’t so frequent as we are used to seeing. No goals or assists. He also failed to take on his man more often than not. This earned the Frenchman a disappointing rating.
Cristiano Ronaldo: 9
The unbelievable performances by the legendary number 7 has been missed for so long. Last match he showed a glimpse of what he could do when in form. The Portuguese forward still struggles when dribbling and it is very frustrating. Despite everything, a deadly assist and a classic Ronaldo goal could hopefully be part of Ronaldo’s way back to his old ways.
Subs:
Alvaro Morata: 8
Morata came on for Benzema and managed to score a goal and he also had one disallowed. With the current form of each of the strikers, Benzema’s position is in real doubt for the first time since Higuain left Real Madrid in the summer of 2013.
Isco: 7
The smooth dribbler didn’t need to do much with the result of the game pretty much known and 13 minutes left on the clock once he came on the pitch. He did just enough to keep Real dominating. He would’ve picked up an assist had Ronaldo not been offside.
Marco Asensio: N/A
Asensio continues to prove his worth with every minute he takes. Even in the dying minutes of the match he managed to pull up a tricky Zidane-esque move at around the 89th minute.
Man of the Match: Mateo Kovacic
Though on most occasions when Ronaldo shines he manages to eclipse all his teammates, this time he didn’t. The Croatian managed to equal Ronaldo’s goal and assist record in the last match. Plus he also was better when it came to dribbling and passing. Not to mention his superior defensive work rate compared to Ronaldo’s.