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
CM Toni Kroos
To be honest with you, as much as I hate criticizing one of the best midfielders ever, Toni Kroos might as well have taken an extra rest in this game. He just did not look like himself, and Copa del Rey standout Eduardo Camavinga offered more in the few minutes he came onto the pitch.
Kroos played for 76 minutes and had no key passes. He did not offer enough control, nor was his usual passing command on display. This was a true off game from Kroos – not just one “by his standards”, which tends to be the case. Kroos was genuinely underwhelming, and that sums up the shock of how Real Madrid played at San Mames.
Rating: 5.0
DM Casemiro
Casemiro offered some good in this game, mostly with his active defensive interventions, which led to three tackles and three interceptions. However, he cost the team with two key plays. The first was a poor shot directly at the keeper after Marco Asensio ingeniously put him through on goal with a clever flick.
But the second was more devastating. Casemiro has been making bad giveaways all season long in his own half, and he was punished by Alex Berenguer for the matchwinner. He has to take the blame for that play, though he could not anticipate Berenguer making such a play. That’s the thing, though. If a player is this careless in possession, they are giving away chances. And eventually, someone will cash in. Berenguer did exactly that.
Rating: 5.0
CM Luka Modric
When the “holy trinity” fails, Real Madrid tend to flop, too. Los Blancos were not themselves in midfield, and Luka Modric was perhaps the most disappointing of the bunch.
Coming off an excellent January, Modric was anything but excellent in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals. I think maybe people are being a little too harsh on him because of how much is expected from Modric, but he was indeed poor, just like the other midfielders. It’s hard to say what was up, and it is important not to exaggerate. But Modric was off in this game.
Rating: 5.0
LW Vinicius Jr.
Carlo Ancelotti’s decision to make Vinicius Jr. the first sub may have surprised Madridistas, but it makes sense when you take into account that he started for Brazil very recently and was taking a lot of fouls from Athletic Bilbao’s players.
Vinicius was the only consistent threat and ball-carrier for Real Madrid throughout the match. Los Blancos did turn up the intensity after he left, mainly thanks to improved play from Marco Asensio, but it was too little, too late. When Vini is on the pitch and Karim Benzema is not, it feels like he gets no help from his teammates. I bet he can’t wait for Kylian Mbappe. But to be brutally honest, he won’t like how he played against Athletic Bilbao either.
Rating: 5.5
CF/RW Marco Asensio
Marco Asensio was downright horrible for most of the match, though can I really blame him when he should not have been starting as a false nine? It is no coincidence that Asensio was more lively and more effective on the right wing, and he should have had a game-winning assist for Casemiro.
Alas, Asensio turning up the heat was too little, too late. It does not undo roughly an hour of anonymous play from a player who probably shouldn’t get a rumored extension.
Rating: 5.0
CF Isco
Maybe he was offside, but he didn’t know it. And therefore, Isco needs to be docked even more heavily for his miss from point-blank range than Casemiro was, considering Isco is actually an attacking player. Carlo’s decision to sub in Isco as the new false nine was not a bad one, considering Isco was a hero in the last two Copa del Rey fixtures. The Andalusian could not, however, find the magic on Thursday night. That said, he did not put in a bad shift and was better at the position than Asensio. Real’s attack was better with him on the pitch, even if it still was not great.
Rating: 5.5
LW/RW Rodrygo Goes
The worst player on the pitch. By far. Rodrygo Goes was a minus for Real Madrid. I know we all love him, but I have made a commitment to you, the reader, to be as honest as possible, even with players I normally praise.
Rodrygo cannot play like this if he wants to be a long-term option for Real Madrid. This is not an acceptable level in any match for a forward at this club. And while Asensio improved at his favored position, Rodrygo was even more woeful on the left. His decision-making and positioning were worse than what I would expect from a Castilla player in their debut.
Rodrygo had no successful dribbles completed and no key passes in 90 minutes. I don’t want to hear about his defensive work-rate. It was great. But it means nothing in a game in which Real Madrid lost 1-0 and provided no attacking threat. Rodrygo was the main culprit behind the zero attacking threat.
Rating: 3.0