Celta Vigo 1-2 Real Madrid: Player Ratings as Courtois, penalties save the day

Real Madrid know very well that no top LaLiga side looks forward to a trip to Balaidos against Celta Vigo. Iago Aspas and his talented teammates nearly led an upset of Los Blancos, but they fell short in the end. Los Blancos won a trio of penalties, with Karim Benzema converting two of them, and that made up for another poor tactical display from a very inconsistent Real side.

Meanwhile, Thibaut Courtois was splendid, strengthening his case for being the team’s most important player this season, alongside the likes of Benzema and Vinicius Jr. in attack/

Here are the player ratings from Real Madrid’s difficult 2-1 win over Celta Vigo, which comes days before a date with the side that knocked them out of last year’s Champions League, Chelsea.

GK Thibaut Courtois

The best player on the pitch without a shadow of a doubt. Thibaut Courtois made a trio of big saves, with none standing out more than his stop to deny LaLiga icon Iago Aspas another splendid free kick goal. Courtois is so good at avoiding mistakes, reading the game, and making great stops that also make sure the ball is away from danger. He did this well with his save from Denis Suarez’s long-range strike, as he both needed to see the ball AND execute the save properly so that the ball went over the bar instead of in a dangerous area.

Rating: 8.5

LB Ferland Mendy

Although Ferland Mendy put in a good shift defensively, I am continually underwhelmed with his attacking work. He is just not offering enough support for Vinicius Jr., and there are even times when he just runs in a straight line and gives the ball away. He did well to earn a penalty, though, so I guess that counts as an attacking contribution.

Rating: 6.0

CB David Alaba

Another good performance from David Alaba, who made a lot of important blocks and clearances for his team. He had a hell of a battle with Iago Aspas and seemed to have to mark three players at once, such was the lack of tactical organization from Ancelotti-squared. Alaba would probably like a more cohesive gameplan, so he could have more freedom to help the build-up play and secure possession.

Rating: 7.0

CB Eder Militao

Eder Militao was one of the few positive performers for Real Madrid in this narrow victory over Celta Vigo. Not only did he win the first penalty, but he was active defensively with a tackle, a blocked shot, two interceptions, and four clearances. We have seen more dominant performances from the 24-year-old central defender, but this was a good display in terms of his footballing IQ and consistency. He did not make mistakes and had a lot of covering to do, as the right flank was horrible for about an hour.

Rating: 7.5

RB Lucas Vazquez

Lucas Vazquez got to start over Dani Carvajal in light of the veteran right back’s poor performance in El Clasico. Well aside from one nice cross to the back post for Karim Benzema, Vazquez was not much better. Javi Galan was clearly superior to Vazquez, who flailed around defensively and was sloppy in the attack, aside from, again, a couple of good passes. Clearly, Vazquez is no solution, and for as much as we have criticized Carvajal, he shouldn’t really be starting over Carvajal.

Rating: 4.0