Real Madrid managed to come back from a goal down to earn a 1-1 draw against Chelsea in the first leg of the Champions League. Christian Pulisic took advantage of some atrocious defending from Real Madrid’s backline to give the London side the lead in the 14th minute. Karim Benzema equalized 15 minutes later with a gloriously taken goal. Both teams shared the spoils at the Alfredo Di Stefano and will face again in the second leg at Stamford Bridge.
Here is how the Real Madrid players performed.
Thibaut Courtois – 7.5/10
Courtois made a vital save in the 5th minute to deny Timo Werner a tap-in goal. He could have positioned himself better for Pulisic’s goal, but he was left out to dry by his teammates. Overall, the Belgian had another excellent game between the sticks.
Dani Carvajal – 5/10
Carvajal’s below-average passing allowed Chelsea to win possession on multiple occasions. He also did not offer anything in the final third.
Eder Militao – 8.5/10
There is no other player who got collectively praised by the fans in the last two months than Eder Militao. He has stepped in for Real Madrid when needed and been absolutely sensational in the backline. The former Porto defender won seven tackles, three interceptions, two clearances, and one block against Chelsea on the night, per Whoscored.com.
Raphael Varane – 6.5/10
Varane did not look comfortable on the night. His positioning in the first half was questionable, and he looked apprehensive in several sequences. The Frenchman significantly improved in the second half and performed with conviction. He ended the night with seven clearances and two blocks.
Nacho Fernandez – 5/10
Nacho got caught out on the Blue’s first goal as he failed to track Pulisic’s run. He did not have the same high-level defensive performance that he has been having in the past few weeks.
Marcelo – 4.5/10
Marcelo’s time at Real Madrid might be coming to an end sooner rather than later. The Brazillian is no longer the attacking juggernaut he used to be, and his defensive deficiencies were abundant in this game.
Casemiro – 6.5/10
Casemiro often got caught out of position and gave away the ball numerous times in the first half. However, he sorted it in the second half and made some vital interventions.
Luka Modric – 6/10
Modric needs to rest and recuperate to impact games like he is capable of for Real Madrid. He seems to be exhausted, and it is evident in his last two performances.
Toni Kroos – 7.5/10
Many people would consider Kroos’ performance against Tuchel’s team to be below-average for his standards. However, the German has set his standards so high that a below-average performance from him still holds strong over other players. Kroos’ second half was much better, but he got forced to take on more defensive responsibility to cover for Marcelo.
Vinicius Junior – 5/10
Vinicius could not repeat the prominence of his Liverpool performance. He did make one excellent run that led to Benzema’s shot, but his contributions were limited. He completed only 16 passes in the match.
Karim Benzema – 8/10
Benzema was Real Madrid’s best player in the first half. His hold-up play in the final third helped Los Blancos to sustain several attacking plays. The Frenchman could have done with some better support from his attacking teammates. Benzema also scored a brilliant equalizer on his way to surpassing Raul Gonzalez to the fourth-highest goalscorer in UCL history.
Substitutions
Eden Hazard – 5.5/10
Hazard had only 12 touches. He was unable to make any significant impact on the game for Real Madrid.
Alvaro Odriozola – N/A
Odriozola played the last 15 minutes of the match. He had a couple of good forwards runs, and his most notable moment was taking down Antonio Rudiger.
Marco Asensio – N/A
Asensio came in for the last 15 minutes and did not contribute much.
Rodrygo – N/A
Rodrygo came in with one minute left on the clock.