Real Madrid 3 – APOEL 0: player ratings

Real Madrid has kicked off their UEFA Champions League campaign in style. With a comfortable 3-0 win over Cypriot side APOEL, the Santiago Bernabéu welcomed not only its first UCL win of the season but also the first competitive home win since the Spanish Super Cup. A brace from Cristiano Ronaldo and a bicycle kick from Sergio Ramos sealed the win for Los Blancos. Let’s take a look a the Real Madrid player ratings from the match:

Keylor Navas: 7/10

Finally, a clean sheet! Keylor Navas saw very little action in tonight’s game. With APOEL being incredibly limited in having chances and having only a single shot on target – Navas had little to do. When called upon on the rare occasion, he did his duty with complete ease.

With so little to do throughout the game, the main takeaway for Navas and also for Real Madrid is the fact they have their first clean sheet in the first Champions League game of the season. Cheers, all round!

Dani Carvajal: 7/10

This game was another decent performance from Dani Carvajal. Due to the complete control of the opponent in the game, Carvajal had little to do defensively and spent a lot of the game on the attack. On the rare occasion that he was needed to defend, he did so with little trouble.

He put in a few good crosses and tackles during the match. Perhaps the only blot on his record from tonight would be the fact he got himself an unnecessary yellow card.

Nacho Fernandez: 7.5/10

Another game and yet another solid performance from the ever reliable Nacho. With Raphael Varane being injured as of late, Nacho has been a solid fill in. Tonight’s game was no different. He didn’t put a foot wrong whether it was shutting down the very few APOEL attacks or galloping his way up the field.

Nacho put in an all around great performance. With Varane now fully fit again, it will be a shame to see Nacho dropped to the bench as his run in the side has been impressive. Hopefully, he can keep up his momentum.

Sergio Ramos: 8/10

When is there not a game that Sergio Ramos doesn’t catch the attention of many? Real Madrid’s stalwart captain once again did the extraordinary when he scored a bicycle kick in this game.

Yes, a center back who scores bicycle kicks. Oh, and he has more goals across his career than Andres Iniesta – impressive. 70 career goals for Real Madrid in all competitions. As well as that he also saw his back line keep a clean sheet. Not a bad outing for the captain, even if he did pick up a dumb yellow card.

Marcelo: 7.5/10

Alongside the rest of the back-line, Marcelo put in a solid all round performance.

He maintained a consistent attacking threat whilst putting in a shift defensively. He played in multiple good crosses and he also played some very good one-twos with team mates on the edge of the opposition area. With the Brazilian currently sitting out in league play for the next two games due to a suspension, the main hope will be for him to keep up his good form.