Well, this was bound to happen at some point. Real Madrid played out a snoozefest against Villarreal, in a 0-0 draw that had very, very few sparkling moments. We could see a number of things that were wrong with the way that the team played, and it’s very clear that some of the decisions Carlo Ancelotti made today were wrong.
Quite a few things infuriated me, as well. I am not sure what to think of this game in the context of the whole season, because even with the games Real Madrid have won, there have been issues. For at least part of every game, there have been issues with the press, the structure of the team, the defensive line, loopholes within the defence, and a lot of other things that made me wonder when a game like this would happen where all those weaknesses are exposed by a good team.
Villarreal are a good team. They’re not world-beaters, but if they were, this game wouldn’t have ended in a 0-0 draw. Honestly, it really doesn’t feel like a draw, either.
Let’s now look at how our players fared against the Yellow Submarine.
GK Thibaut Courtois
Probably one of the best players on the pitch. Courtois was super important especially early on, during the time half the Madrid players did not perform nearly as well as they could. Villarreal were dominating, creating chances, and if it weren’t for Courtois and a couple of his well-timed interventions, Real Madrid probably would’ve lost this game. The Belgian was surprisingly decent on the ball as well. Overall, good game from Thibaut.
Rating: 7.5/10
RB Fede Valverde
I don’t understand Ancelotti’s obsession to play Fede without realising that he may burn out sooner than expected. He’s featured in every single game so far, and has played the full 90′ in most of those games. This was the perfect opportunity to give him some rest. However, Ancelotti thought it was best to play him at a position he’s only played twice before in his career, and against an opposition that can hurt you if you make mistakes.
That’s what happens, with the exception that Fede didn’t really pay for the mistakes. He made a bunch of them, but I don’t blame him fully. It wasn’t a good performance from the Uruguayan. He wasn’t able to provide Rodrygo with overloads in the first half which limited the production of both players. He would’ve been much better off resting, while Camavinga took up a place in midfield, Nacho played as a right-back and Miguel started as left-back. But hey, I’m just a writer.
Hopefully, Valverde gets some rest during the week. He needs it.
Rating: 5/10
CB Eder Militao
One of Real Madrid’s better players. Was very tidy in possession, covered for his fellow defenders really well, and had a few great interceptions. Also had an attempt at goal in the second half, although it didn’t go in, obviously. Not much else to say about his performance, because honestly, it was just good. Nothing incredible, nothing laughably bad, nothing even average. Just good. He did what he had to do.
Rating: 7/10
CB David Alaba
Alaba had an overall decent game, he did quite well in dealing with the danger. I think that if Gerard Moreno was playing against them, that would’ve been the real test for Alaba as a centre-back, not just in this game, but in this season so far. That didn’t happen, (in retrospect, I;m glad it didn’t). But yes, I’m loving Alaba at centre-back.
One thing I’m enjoying the most about him is his long-range passing, as I mentioned in the last game’s player ratings. My God, this guy can pass the ball with ease. There were so many lobbed through balls from Alaba to Vinicius that posed a lot of danger for Villarreal. As I mentioned, he was fine defensively as well. A couple of interceptions, clearances and a couple of tackles to wrap up his stat-sheet. More of the same, please.
Rating: 7.5/10
LB Nacho Fernandez
Not to be rude, but does Ancelotti know that he actually has a real left-back at his disposal? For some reason, Ancelotti just doesn’t seem to trust Miguel. And I don’t think you can say that Miguel needed some rest because he played a couple of games, after reading what you read about Fede Valverde.
Nacho didn’t have a good game at all. He’s just not a great makeshift left-back. He does a better job on the other side of the defense. This wasn’t it. He had a couple of decent crosses into the box late in the game, and also a very crucial tackle to keep Villarreal from scoring, that gives him bonus points. But that’s really it. He really struggles in providing width to Real Madrid on the left side, neither does he help Vinicius in any way except for defensive coverage, another thing he wasn’t the best at today. Forgettable night for the Spaniard.
Rating: 5/10
DM Casemiro
Casemiro’s streak of mediocre/bad games continues. The Brazilian struggled in possession, had his usual bunch of very weird sequences of him giving the ball away carelessly. He had three tackles, and won a total of ZERO aerial duels, per WhoScored. I really find it difficult to take many positives out of his performance. It was a little better than his performance against Valencia, but that doesn’t say a lot. Casemiro needs to change things fast if he wants to keep his place in the starting XI.
Rating: 4.5/10
CM Luka Modric
Luka was decent. He couldn’t have done much more with the way the rest of the team performed. He was good with the ball, he tried to pass it around in the hopes of making something happen, but it just wasn’t going to happen. Decent performance, relatively quiet, but ultimately helpless.
Rating: 6/10
CM/AM Marco Asensio
Marco Asensio is brought back to Earth after his statement game three days ago. Asensio was in the right halfspace more than usual, which made absolutely no sense given how little of a threat he poses drifting in from the right against a good opposition. He would’ve done much better if he was sitting in front of a double pivot, or at least moving around enough to make use of all the attackers, like he did against Mallorca. Nothing of that sort, and him permanently switching to the right after Rodrygo’s substitution didn’t make things better for anyone affiliated with Real Madrid.
Rating: 5/10
RW Rodrygo
Quiet, very quiet game from Rodrygo Goes. He’s not great when he doesn’t have the support of the full-back on the overload, which was the case today. He didn’t do a lot, and that hurt Real Madrid’s chances of getting anything out of this game. He’s not his best self on the right when he doesn’t have someone to feed off of, or when he doesn’t have the space to cut inside and cross the ball. Rodrygo struggled a lot, and was subbed off at half-time.
Rating: 5/10
LW Vinicius Jr
A somewhat decent performance from Vinicius Jr, but it was definitely his worst and most subdued of the season. The Brazilian didn’t have space to operate, and was kept at bay by Juan Foyth. There was no support from Nacho Fernandez in the first half and that gave him problems in dealing with Villarreal’s right sided defenders all by himself. I don’t blame him for a mediocre performance, but he did have a couple of moments that could’ve and should’ve ended differently. For example, picking up a careless booking didn’t help anybody. Also, Vinicius had a couple of weird shots, but it’s OK. He’ll improve. I’m not that worried.
Rating: 5.5/10
CF Karim Benzema
Real Madrid’s best attacker, but that doesn’t say a lot, does it? That makes his performance sound better than it actually was. But, Benzema was really the only one who was trying to make things happen, but even then, there wasn’t much, to begin with. He tried to create chances, but wasn’t able to do a whole lot, kind of like Luka Modric. He’ll bounce back.
Rating: 6/10