Real Madrid’s issues against low-blocks in LaLiga have been well-documented, and Madridistas watched as their team ended a winning streak by drawing 0-0 in another display marked by an inability to break through a 10-man defense.
Although Los Blancos dominated with over 80 percent possession and had more than 30 shots, they created very little that was meaningful against a Cadiz side that stuffed the box. Much like the 0-0 draw against Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabeu, you never got the feeling that Real were going to come away with the three points.
Here are the player ratings from Real Madrid’s 0-0 draw with Cadiz.
GK Thibaut Courtois
Thibaut Courtois did not have much to do in goal. Cadiz only created a couple of chances, as they spent the vast majority of the match on the defensive.
Rating: 6.0
LB Ferland Mendy
Ferland Mendy recorded two tackles, per WhoScored.com, and he was never troubled defensively. But these are the kinds of games where you realize his limitations on the ball do affect Real Madrid negatively. He created nothing meaningful and looked a little scared to take the initiative with his passing.
Rating: 5.0
CB David Alaba
David Alaba completed nearly 95 percent of his passes and was never troubled defensively by Cadiz either. I wish Carlo Ancelotti had him push high up the pitch sooner or at least get him in a ‘quarterback’ position in the middle of the pitch to help recycle the ball and create.
Rating: 7.0
CB Eder Militao
It’s hilarious watching how much faster Eder Militao is than the forwards on the other team. He led Real Madrid with three interceptions and was as massive as ever defensively. Yes, it was just Cadiz, but without Militao’s covering, the Yellow Submarine may have walked away with three points just like last season via a counterattack goal.
Rating: 7.5
RB Lucas Vazquez
Thank goodness Lucas Vazquez was not as woeful in the second half, but he cannot rescue a positive day for himself. The right-sided wide man delivered some of the most atrocious crosses we have seen this season. He worked hard defensively and eventually did a nice job of recycling the ball in the match’s second stanza, but I cannot get over how clumsy he was in the first half. That was 45 minutes of wasted time.
Rating: 4.0
CM Toni Kroos
Toni Kroos was magnificent even in defeat, just like the Osasuna match. The 31-year-old led the team with 128 pass attempts, completing a tick over 96 percent of them. More impressively, he had nine key passes and deserved to come away from the match with an assist. Had the front three been more clinical and economical, Kroos would have done so. He is having a splendid season, and you just wonder what his numbers would look like with someone of Kylian Mbappe’s caliber and skill-set in the XI.
Rating: 8.5
DM Casemiro
The best chances of the match, though, were shockingly created by balls over the top into the penalty box from Casemiro. That includes one play in which Karim Benzema was offsides. But Casemiro did have some blemishes, such as a few ill-advised shooting attempts and a terrible challenge. Case will thus be suspended for the final match of 2021 against Athletic Club, though he was lucky the suspension did not extend longer due to a straight red. That said, he had a good game. Casemiro had two tackles, two interceptions, and three key passes.
Rating: 7.0
CM Fede Valverde
Fede Valverde was sacrificed for Luka Jovic in the second half as Carlo Ancelotti desperately searched for a goal that would never come. Despite the substitution out of the match, Fede did not have a bad match. He worked hard to recover the ball and create, finishing with three key passes and two tackles. However, I would like to see Valverde’s end product improve. His overall attacking influence just is not at the level that is needed from a Real Madrid midfielder. Fede is good, but he still needs to push himself to truly become great at this club.
Rating: 6.5
LW Vinicius Junior
I thought this was Vinicius Junior’s most disappointing performance of the 2021-2022 season. While he was not bad, per se, he was wasteful. Vinicius did not do a good job of keeping possession, and his one-on-one ability seemed subdued at times. He got some great balls from Eden Hazard, Toni Kroos, and Fede Valverde, yet he did nothing with them. The magic in Vini’s boots was not quite there on Sunday night. Vinicius was not as adept at creating for others, and something seemed off with his connection with his teammates. He will 100 percent have better matches than this one. But we have to criticize him for not scoring and having just one key pass against Cadiz, despite all the possession Madrid had.
Rating: 5.0
CF Karim Benzema
But the most disappointing player on the pitch was Karim Benzema. He looked awful. Benzema is not 100 percent fit, and it shows. He was wasteful in front of goal and far too hesitant. You would have expected him to score at least once in this match, and that’s all Real Madrid needed. Unfortunately, the superstar striker did not find the back of the net at all. He played a sloppy game and did not make up for it in other ways, which he usually does. The stats say Benzema had five key passes, but I am struggling to remember any of them. At the end of the day, these are the games where you need your star striker to find end product.
Rating: 4.5
RW Eden Hazard
Eden Hazard’s rating for the first half would have been much lower than this, but he did a great job in the second half. The Belgian made some nice flicks and should have had an assist for Benzema, but the striker was uncharacteristically poor on that occasion. Hazard had five key passes, four dribbles completed, and three fouls drawn. He was so much better coming in from the left than from the right, but we already knew that. Unfortunately, because he was so uninvolved in other positions on the pitch, his path to playing time remains blocked. But this was a good performance as a whole. It showed Hazard’s resiliency and showed that the forward can still have a place in the rotation before he presumably leaves the club in the future.
Rating: 7.0