If you were looking for a beautiful exhibition of #CarloBall, then, surely, you had to know you would not witness such an occurrence against Athletic Club. The best defensive team in La Liga lived up to their reputation and were as physical and frustrating as ever, whereas Real Madrid were a disorganized mess defensively, reminiscent of the outfit that drew the league’s cellar-dwellers Levante 3-3 earlier this season.
But in the end, Real Madrid did what they needed to do. They survived behind another excellent performance from the ever-consistent Thibaut Courtois in goal.
Here are the player ratings from Los Blancos’ 2-1 win over Athletic Bilbao at the Santiago Bernabeu.
GK Thibaut Courtois
Thibaut Courtois made two massive saves to keep a clean sheet against Athletic Club, as his goal faced a constant onslaught of shots and clear-cut chances. There was so much chaos in Courtois’ box, so what’s even more impressive than the two saves is the fact that the Belgian never made a mistake nor allowed a second-chance opportunity for the visitors. Eighth-best goalkeeper in the world? Nonsense. Absolute nonsense.
Rating: 8.0
LB Ferland Mendy
A solid, if not unspectacular performance from the left back. Ferland Mendy did his job defensively and made accurate, safe passes offensively. He didn’t make any huge plays, but he didn’t make any mistakes either. And avoiding mistakes is his main job.
Rating: 7.0
CB David Alaba
Meanwhile, David Alaba made the most embarrassing mistake of the match, completely losing track of an aerial ball that led to a chance that Inaki Williams somehow missed. Alaba has been one of the best center backs in Europe this season, but this was not his finest 90 in a Real Madrid kit. The No. 4 had three interceptions, three clearances, and 98 percent of his passes completed, so all was not bad. However, there was something lacking in this performance in terms of his progressiveness on the ball and his solidity defensively.
Rating: 6.0
CB Eder Militao
Like David Alaba, Eder Militao had a couple of gaffes and misjudgments defensively that Athletic Club really should have punished. However, he more than made up for those mistakes with a whopping nine clearances and three blocked shots, actively roaming and putting his body on the line to meet Athletic Club attack after Athletic Club attack. Militao showed a heart of a lion against the Lions of the Basque Country, and we should remember his performance for the positives. Specifically the play where he cut across to block a header around the six-yard box!
Rating: 7.5
RB Lucas Vazquez
Speaking of having a lion’s heart, Lucas Vazquez had THE stop of the game, sliding in to prevent a shot that was certainly headed for the back of the net and a loss of two points for Los Blancos. Vazquez led the team with 86 pass attempts and completed 90 percent of them, but his attacking influence was minimal. He avoided mistakes and made that key block, but Vazquez did not make good enough decisions on the ball.
Rating: 6.0
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
LW Vinicius Junior
Vinicius Junior was by far the best attacking player or midfielder on the pitch. He was the main reason why Real Madrid scored their lone goal, starting the move from the left-hand side and then making a key pass to Marco Asensio for the shot that eventually led to the goal. Everything good from Madrid’s attack came from Vini on the left-hand side, and he produced a heel-to-heel pass and a turn for the ages. Vinicius was consistent on both ends of the pitch, leading the way with five key passes and five tackles. Thibaut Courtois deserved the Man of the Match, but Vinicius was the most outstanding player in terms of individual quality throughout the 90. And to be frank, he deserved better from his teammates up front.
Rating: 8.5
CF Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema came up with the goods again. Just like against Sevilla over the weekend, Benzema scored a vital goal to the three points with a poacher’s finish, doing so at a point in the match in which things were getting testy for Real Madrid (not that this subsided against Bilbao, however). I still have a hard time giving Benzema a positive rating, though. He was good in the first half but faded badly in the second, going uncharacteristically quiet in all phases.
Rating: 6.0
RW Marco Asensio
Woeful. Marco Asensio forced a save from Unai Simon that led to the goal, but he was the fourth-most important player of the four players involved in that sequence. Asensio continues to be a non-factor for most of the match, and when he does pop up with a chance, he fails to take it. If he is not scoring goals with his sweet left foot, then he isn’t helping the team. And thus, he did not help the team against Athletic Club. Can you name a standout moment from him? I cannot. Another match in which he was the worst player on the pitch.
Rating: 4.0