Real Madrid Player Ratings as Los Blancos barely survive vs. Athletic Club

CM Toni Kroos

It’s hard to believe that in a match in which Real Madrid were outplayed, Toni Kroos was a top performer. Yet the German midfielder was indeed world-class once more on Wednesday night at the Bernabeu. He continued his sublime passing from distance with 14 of 16 long balls completed. And he very nearly scored a beauty from distance on multiple occasions. Kroos controlled the game well despite everything working against his team, and he was also active in recovering the ball. If I could criticize an aspect of his performance, though, his passing just wasn’t incisive enough on a day in which Real were missing the killer blow in the final third from their midfield.

Rating: 7.5

DM Casemiro

Casemiro’s stats look good in this match. He had four tackles, three clearances, 94 percent of his passes completed, and 9 of 10 long balls completed. However, these stats don’t show you all the silly fouls he made, including a needless yellow card and a late foul that gave Athletic Club a last-ditch set piece opportunity. I have a hard time giving Casemiro a strong rating when Real Madrid gave up so many transition opportunities. One man cannot hold all the blame, but when you are supposed to be the defensive anchor, you have to be held responsible for a team performance like this one.

Rating: 5.0

CM Luka Modric

Luka Modric was credited for the assist on Karim Benzema’s goal, and while he meant to shoot on that specific play, his clever backheel (while off-balance, no less) was important to Real Madrid scoring that goal. Modric got some much-needed rest for Fede Valverde in the second half. With four key passes, 8 of 9 long balls, and about 90 percent of his total passes completed, Modric was crisp with his passing and incisive. So it was another quality match for the Croatian.

Rating: 7.0