Real Madrid: Top 5 performances from 1-0 win over Atletico

CB Raphael Varane

Raphael Varane had yet another tidy game at the heart of Real Madrid’s defense, and it is all too easy to overlook him. He doesn’t rack up the defensive stats of many of his contemporaries, because he’s more of the “sweeper” alongside Sergio Ramos, who does more of the aggressive defending and makes more forays into the attack.

But Varane’s role is critical to everything Real does. He provides the defensive cover with his intelligent reading of the game and blinding speed. And on the ball, Varane is a calm player who can get Real out of the stickiest of situations when pushed back, as he did on Matchweek 22 in El Derbi.

Varane completed a hair over 90 percent of his passes, per WhoScored.com, and tied Ramo with three clearances. Most of all, he was impossible for Atleti to get around defensively and made some important dribbles to get Real out of tight areas.

CB Sergio Ramos

Like his center back partner, Sergio Ramos had an excellent day at the office. If you want a snapshot of the game that exemplifies Ramos’ importance, look at his clearance after Thibaut Courtois saved a stinging shot in the box from Vitolo. Ramos pounced on the ball like a striker to clear it. So many other players wouldn’t have reacted as quickly or as correctly as Ramos, who essentially poached the ricochet for his own team’s clearance.

The Spain captain had three clearances, two tackles, one interception, and led the team with 90 passes completed. As usual, Ramos was accurate on those pass attempts, completing 93.3% of them, including 11 of 13 long balls.