Real Madrid Player Ratings vs. Atletico Madrid; First Leg – Ronaldo earns a perfect 10

Zinedine Zidane planned out the night masterfully, with the perfect tactics to hold off Atletico Madrid. It was clear from the start that he instructed players to play differently from how they’ve played all season and it really showed. Marcelo stayed in his full back position more than usual and was more focused on his defensive duties, while Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane played their positions with great discipline. The team as a whole played for possession but never looked stagnant on the attack. Zidane has once again shown us why he truly deserves to keep managing Real Madrid for years to come.. Manager. Real Madrid. ZINEDINE ZIDANE. 9

8. Navas had a late start to this season, but he’s in his best form now. After some really great performances in April (namely El Clásico), he once again showed how composed he can be when under pressure. The stop on Kevin Gameiro’s attempt (truly the only good chance of the match for Atleti) was perfect and although he wasn’t called on many times, he looked more than ready to take on one of the best teams in the world.. Goal Keeper. Real Madrid. KEYLOR NAVAS

7. Carvajal had an ok start to the match, but it was nowhere near his best performance. Sure, his run in the 7th minute almost opened up the scoring, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he made no crosses and had 77% passing accuracy. Dani was unfortunately forced out of the match just before halftime with a hamstring injury that looked pretty serious.. Right Back. Real Madrid. DANI CARVAJAL

Centre Back. Real Madrid. RAPHAEL VARANE. 7.5. After missing out on the toughest month of the year for Real Madrid, Varane is finally back and boy did we miss him. Varane was great for the majority of the night. He had several great passes, covered the forwards perfectly when need, and looked in top form for the most part. The only mistake he made could’ve cost Real an away goal for Atletico, but luckily Navas was there to shut Gameiro down.

Real Madrid. SERGIO RAMOS. 8. It seems like lately, Ramos has set out to prove all of his detractors wrong. Sergio hasn’t been the most disciplined defender in the past, but his matches in the Champions League have been among his best. He was focused on defending, which isn’t always the case with him. And the few times he did get involved in the attack, he was as dangerous as ever. All in all a great night for the Captain.. Centre Back

MARCELO . 8. Last night was confusing for Marcelo fans. He looked far less involved in the attack than usual and more focused on defending. Is it the definition of the modern fullback? No, but his role was far more important than it seems. Without the gaps that a more attacking-oriented Marcelo would leave on an Atletico counterattack, Atletico were forced to try and play up the middle. It completely changed their game plan and clearly threw them off all match.. Left Back. Real Madrid

Defensive Midfielder. Real Madrid. CASEMIRO . 7.5. Look, Casemiro doesn’t play the prettiest football. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, we can agree that he is an invaluable piece in the Zidane puzzle. He was great at stopping the attack before it even started and tracked back in between Ramos and Varane, acting like a third center back. The assist he provided to Ronaldo on the first goal was shockingly skillful, as Case skipped the ball off the grass perfectly to CR7.

8.5. Kroos was as great as ever. His passing was spot on and he took the corner that almost ended in Varane’s goal. With 99% passing accuracy, you can’t really debate his importance.. Midfielder. Real Madrid. TONI KROOS

8. A solid night from the little Croatian. It becomes increasingly clear just how great he is on nights like this. He wasn’t as important in build up play as Kroos and wasn’t as important defensively as Casemiro, but the balances he accomplished between the two make him invaluable. He completed 2/3 take ons, had 94% passing accuracy, and made 2 vital clearances and 2 interceptions.. Midfielder. Real Madrid. LUKA MODRIC

7. Isco is one of those players who plays amazing for 3 or 4 games and then go missing on the fifth, although I wouldn’t say he went missing this match. He had 98% passing accuracy, 3 successful take ons, and a shot on target that pulled a save from Oblak. But unfortunately, he just couldn’t impact the game as much as he normally does. He’s still likely to make the first team until Gareth Bale comes back from injury, so he need not worry about his first leg performance.. Attacking Midfielder. Real Madrid. ISCO ALARCON

10. Another night, another historic performance. Cristiano Ronaldo once again proved how much of a big game player he is. He scored yet another hat-trick and reached 400 goals with Real Madrid, he also surpassed Atletico Madrid in European Championship goals. No, not a singular player, Atletico Madrid as a team. He is now only 1 goal away from becoming the joint top scorer of the tournament this season, and with Lionel Messi and Barcelona out of the competition, he’s all but guaranteed that honor. It’s also important to note that none of those goals came from penalties, only 2 of them were scored in the group stage against lower teams, and he also has 5 assists under his belt in the tournament. I think it’s safe to say Cristiano Ronaldo is on his way to yet another Ballon d’Or.. Forward. Real Madrid. CRISTIANO RONALDO

6.5. Poor Karim. He wasn’t poor, and is often tasked with doing Real Madrid’s dirty work: pulling defenders on runs to leave openings for the other forwards. Last night was no different. He had 4 shots but only one was on target, and the majority of his passing was in the midfield. In fact, the two passes he had in the final third weren’t successful. That bicycle kick attempt would’ve been a thing of beauty had he hit it, but it was an overall forgettable performance from the Big Benz.. Forward. Real Madrid. KARIM BENZEMA

8. We’ve come to know Nacho as a “jack of all trades” defender, and that’s exactly what he proved last night. He rarely seems to get a chance to play as a fullback like he did when he played for Castilla, but it seems to be his best position. He made 3 interceptions, and was on Felipe Luis for the majority of the second half. The fact that no one uttered the words “too bad Carvajal isn’t playing” says it all.. Right Back. Real Madrid. NACHO

Marco came on for Isco in the 66th minute. He wasn’t as prominent in the attack as he usually is, but he still showed flashes of brilliance from time to time.. Left Winger. Real Madrid. MARCO ASENSIO. 6

Right Winger. Real Madrid. LUCAS VAZQUEZ. 7.5. Vasquez came on for Benzema in the 77th minute and he made the most of his short time on the pitch. He managed to not miss any of his passes, and was very involved in the attack. So much so that he was the one who assisted Cristiano Ronaldo for the 3rd goal to complete his hat-trick. Vazquez has a way of being in the right place at the right time and it might make Zidane think twice about starting Isco over him.