Real Madrid vs. Sevilla Player Ratings: Thank you, Casemiro

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MADRID, SPAIN – JANUARY 18: Casemiro of Real Madrid celebrates the victory during the La Liga Santander match between Real Madrid v Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabeu on January 18, 2020 in Madrid Spain (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images) /

DM Casemiro

All the possible superlatives need to go to Casemiro, who continues to make the case for being Real Madrid’s best player this season. He’s undoubtedly the best defensive midfielder in Europe and certainly in the argument for being the best overall midfielder.

Casemiro’s brace rescued Real in this game. His first goal was off a wonderful chipped finish at the far post, as he took his chance like a striker, making the most out of actual striker Luka Jovic’s genius backheel. His second goal was a perfect headed finish, and he could have had three goals.

Defensively, Casemiro was as incredible as ever with five tackles and two interceptions.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10

CM Toni Kroos

Toni Kroos should have scored a game-sealing 3-1 goal after Vinicius Junior did so well to set him up in the box, but Real Madrid won the game anyway. It was a relatively quiet game from Kroos, who wasn’t as sharp with his shooting as usual and offered nothing defensively. But Casemiro picked up the slack in both ways. Kroos still had a positive game, though, completing a team-high 95.2% of his passes again. He had some positive progressive passes, finding teammates in ways mere mortals would not be able to.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

CAM Luka Modric

Playing the more attacking midfield role to Toni Kroos, Luka Modric was Real Madrid’s most consistent attacking threat. In the first half when Real struggled mightily with their offense, Modric offered the most bright moments with his dribbling. He remains world-class on the ball and showed no signs of slowing down throughout the 90 minutes.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10

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