Real Madrid: Player Ratings from 0-1 away win against Real Valladolid

Real Madrid managed to grind out another 0-1 victory against Valladolid at the José Zorrilla after some early scare in the first half. Los Blancos struggled in the first half to create many cha Valladolid threatened the Merengues goal multiple times.

Thibaut Courtois came up with a double save within the first 15 minutes to help keep Real Madrid in the game. Casemiro gave Zinedine Zidane’s men the lead and all three points when he scored a header from a Toni Kroos free-kick in the second half.

Here is how the Real Madrid players performed.

Thibaut Courtois – 9/10

Courtois was an absolute beast to keep a clean sheet on the night. He made save after save to deny Valladolid early in the game to give Real Madrid a chance. The Belgian made a total of five saves, all of them when the score was still 0-0.

Lucas Vazquez – 7.5/10

Vazquez put on another strong performance. He struggled early in the offense but got better as he settled in the game. The Spaniard also provided excellent coverage in the back. He completed the match with six tackles, four interceptions, two clearances, and two key passes.

Raphael Varane – 8.5/10

Varane continues to be massive in the backline for Real Madrid. Valladolid was another game where he showed growth in leading the line. He was a monster as he made a game-high eight clearances and won six aerial duels, per whoscored.com.

Nacho Fernandez – 7.5/10

Nacho once again worked well with Varane to help Real Madrid weather the storm from Valladolid. Nacho did make a mistake late in the second half as he took his eyes off the ball, briefly allowing Show Weissman to pick his pocket, but the Spaniard rectified his error, and no harm got done.

Ferland Mendy – 6.5/10

Mendy did not have the best of games. His positioning sense in defense is commendable, but his offensive contribution was underwhelming on the night. He also made an absolute mess of a cross-field pass deep in his half, only for Courtois to bail him out with a fantastic save.

Casemiro – 8.5/10

It says a lot about Real Madrid’s attackers on the night when you consider Casemiro was the most potent threat on goal for Los Blancos. Casemiro won five aerial duels, three tackles, and three interceptions. While he was astute in his defensive duties, as usual, he got on the end of three clear headers and found the net with one of them to give the Merengues the win.

Luka Modric – 7.5/10

Modric had another excellent two-way performance at the heart of Real Madrid’s midfield. He completed two dribbles and two key passes while also contributing with three tackles and two interceptions.

Toni Kroos – 9/10

What a pleasure it is to witness Toni Kroos do what he does best. Kroos was again a catalyst to Real Madrid’s success. His passing and vision created the majority of chances for Los Blancos.
The German sniper completed four key passes in the match, three of them an open header for Casemiro. Unfortunately, the Brazillian only converted one of the chances. Kroos also won 100 percent of his duels and completed nine recoveries.

Marco Asensio – 5/10

Asensio often found himself in some proper attacking positions but failed to create any danger from them. He did not contribute much in the first half and got replaced in the 65th minute.

Vinicius Junior – 5/10

Vinicius had a disappointing outing. He failed to complete any of his attempted dribbles or get a proper shot on goal. While he got into good positions, his execution was never up to the mark.

Mariano Diaz – 5.5/10

Mariano did not lack effort, but he often was void of ideas when on the ball. He tried to get involved and make runs behind defenders but got caught offside on multiple occasions.

Substitutions

Isco – 6.5/10

Isco replaced Vinicius and looked like a better option to help Real Madrid keep the lead. He completed 100 percent of his passes and three dribbles.

Sergio Arribas – 6.5/10

Arribas proceeds to prove he is an intelligent player. He got into dangerous spaces and made some neat touch. He also completed two dribbles.

Hugo Duro – 6/10

Hugo Duro made his La Liga debut for Real Madrid. He only had six touches in the match.