Chelsea 1-3 Real Madrid: Player Ratings as Karim Benzema transcends football again
Real Madrid and Chelsea played an almost perfectly evenly matched game at Stamford Bridge. Though the Blues had the majority of the possession, it was the Merengues who made their chances count, thanks to having the best striker in world football, Karim Benzema.
After his legendary hat trick in the Remontada over PSG, Benzema had another vintage performance in the Champions League, putting three past Edouard Mendy to lift his club to a 3-1 victory.
Here are the player ratings from Real Madrid’s first leg win in the Champions League quarterfinals, which could have so easily been a defeat without the heroics of their two best players, Thibaut Courtois and Karim Benzema.
GK Thibaut Courtois
We start with Thibaut Courtois, who made a few big stops, none bigger than his save of a longshot from Cesar Azpilicueta, which was just as stunning as his weekend save of an Iago Aspas free kick. Courtois is good for one of those in every match, and this big-game performance at his old stomping grounds – in front of a hostile crowd – should do well for his Ballon d’Or candidacy. No, Courtois won’t win the award – his teammate, Benzema, should – but he absolutely has a case. Real Madrid would not have won this game without him, even if you somehow want to blame him for Kai Havertz’s goal.
Rating: 8.0
LB Ferland Mendy
After a nervy first half, Ferland Mendy settled down and made more defensive plays in the second half. He’s never going to offer nearly enough attacking-wise, and that puts a lot of pressure on Vinicius Jr., who does much more to help Mendy defensively than Mendy does to help him offensively. He finished the game with three tackles, saving his best work for the second half against Hakim Ziyech.
Rating: 6.5
CB David Alaba
David Alaba did well to close down shooting angles and make recovery plays for his team, but he was not as dominant defensively as usual. You wonder if he could do a better job of marking and defending in the air, as that has been a huge problem for the Real Madrid defense as a collective. And Alaba is now the leader of this back line.
Rating: 7.0
CB Eder Militao
It is difficult to rate Eder Militao, who exited the match in the 63rd minute with an injury. There is a clear drop-off between Militao and Nacho Fernandez, even though Nacho is not a bad center back by any means. Militao was clumsy on the ball at times and made a few positional errors, but he did his job decently well enough.
Rating: 6.0
RB Dani Carvajal
Dani Carvajal really, really should have done better for the goal Kai Havertz scored, as he failed to properly mark the German international or even connect with the ball in the air. That mistake will not help Carvajal’s standing among Madridistas, as many fans believe the club legend at right back is now finished at the top level. But in fairness, he improved significantly as the game went on, making several clearances, fighting hard on the ball, and blocking a pair of shots.
Rating: 6.5