In truth, Real Madrid were fortunate it took 89 minutes for Alex Berenguer to score a worldie, pouncing on yet another Casemiro error in his own half. Because Los Blancos were thoroughly outplayed by Athletic Bilbao at San Mames, finally losing to the Lions after three previous victories in 2021-2022, including in the Spanish Supercup final.
Here are the player ratings from Real Madrid’s 1-0 loss to Athletic Bilbao on Thursday night, as Carlo Ancelotti’s men are officially out of the Copa del Rey.
GK Thibaut Courtois
Thibaut Courtois made some big stops to help keep Real Madrid in the game. He is one of the few players who earned high marks for his performance.
Rating: 7.5
LB David Alaba
David Alaba started at left back with Ferland Mendy injured. He held up well defensively, which you would expect, with four tackles and three interceptions. But he did far too little to distinguish himself offensively, which ended up having a bigger impact on the match. That said, he was often forced into defensive work, because Real were just that ineffectual at carrying the ball in this game.
Rating: 7.0
CB Nacho Fernandez
Nacho Fernandez was magnificent and one of the two best players on the pitch, along with Eder Militao. He looked more like the Nacho who tore it up in Sergio Ramos’ place last season, as opposed to the overly-aggressive, mistake-prone defender we saw to start 2021-22. Nacho had a jaw-dropping four blocked shots and was truly heroic at times.
Rating: 8.5
CB Eder Militao
Eder Militao had one fabulous intervention to deny Inaki Williams a sure-fire goal. He has some great battles with the Basque superstar. Both Militao and Nacho did everything they could to keep Real Madrid afloat and did not deserve to be on the losing side of the proceedings. With five clearances and four interceptions, it felt like Militao was everywhere. He has been one of Real’s best players this season, full stop.
Rating: 8.0
RB Lucas Vazquez
While Lucas Vazquez saw a lot of the ball, recording a total of 95 touches, that merely meant he lost a lot of it. Vazquez did well enough defensively, but in a game in which more was needed in terms of progression and crispness of passing, Vazquez’s flaws held the team back.
Rating: 6.0