PSG 1-0 Real Madrid: Player Ratings as Thibaut Courtois nearly saves the day for awful Real

LW Vinicius Jr.

Vinicius Jr. has been exceptional this season, but he was anything but stellar at the Parc des Princes. Former Real Madrid right back Achraf Hakimi pocketed the star winger on the same day that Carvajal had a torrid time with the star power of Kylian Mbappe, as he himself was subbed for Lucas Vazquez, too.

There is no doubt that if Benzema isn’t at full strength, Vinicius struggles. We saw that against Villarreal at times this weekend, and he was even more frustrated by Hakimi in the Champions League. That said, he was the only of the forwards that looked even remotely dangerous, drawing four fouls for his team.

Rating: 4.0

CF Karim Benzema

Karim Benzema quite clearly should not have played this game. To be frank, it was arrogant for Benz to push himself to start. I understand why he did, but he was not even at 50 percent effectiveness, and his presence in the starting lineup for 87 minutes held his team back. You cannot tell me that Gareth Bale or Luka Jovic would have done worse than Benz.

And Carlo Ancelotti must shoulder some responsibility, too. He could have easily been firm to Benzema and said, “No, we are going with the medical staff. You are not playing. It is not worth the risk and we have other options.”

Rating: 3.0

RW Marco Asensio

All three members of the Real Madrid attack were subbed early, and that pretty much sums up how woefully ineffective the Madrid attack was. Marco Asensio was the worst of the trio, hence why he was subbed out first. He offered nothing offensively and struggled to track back to help Dani Carvajal against Kylian Mbappe. Par for the course, unfortunately, for a player who cannot help the team beyond his sweet strikes from distance.

Rating: 2.0