Real Madrid Player Ratings: Young stars step up in 1-0 win at Real Betis

CM Isco

Isco is not ideally a midfielder in a flat 4-3-3, because he can only do so much for you defensively. He is one of those guys who isn’t going to win the ball, so he has to do his best to run around and frustrate the player on the ball into making a mistake with the pass. Isco likes to dribble and take defenders on, which means that in midfield, he’s liable to getting tired with all the extra work he must do.

Therefore, Isco faded as the game wore on, though he was not as bad as some will have you think. He tried his best defensively and had some good moments on the ball, though the runs off the ball weren’t there from the forwards in the first half. Still, you’d expect more from a starter in the Real Madrid lineup, and perhaps Carlo Ancelotti will give him a run as a real No. 10 in the future.

Rating: 5.5

DM Casemiro

Casemiro had one of the best moments in the match with his slide tackle on Hernandez Hernandez. Not only did Madridistas enjoy seeing the much-maligned referee go down, but they also loved that it stopped a counterattack. Case was at his most intelligent defensively, though his attacking work was more mixed. Still, it was a good performance from the experienced defensive midfielder, who had four tackles and three dribbles completed. You may also be surprised at this, but he was accurate on 7 of 11 long balls.

Rating: 7.0

CM Fede Valverde

Like Isco, Fede Valverde was a little bit off for Real Madrid against Real Betis. Valverde had to do a lot of the dirty work in this one, as his attacking involvement was pretty minimal. But he adds so much solidity defensively, since the opposition knows they are dealing with someone with great closing speed and ball-winning. They will take fewer risks with Fede around, which helps Real’s back four.

Rating: 6.0