Having drawn their last two games with Osasuna 0-0, Real Madrid knew they needed a much better attacking performance in Pamplona on Wednesday night. And though they have about a week until their massive Champions League semifinal first leg tilt at the Etihad Stadium against Manchester City, Carlo Ancelotti made a refreshingly surprising decision to rotate.
The rotations, as Madridistas urged before, did not hurt the team. Far from it. Dani Ceballos supplied a great deal of class in midfield, Eduardo Camavinga put in more good work, and Rodrygo Goes was unstoppable again on the left-hand side of the attack.
Here are the player ratings from Real Madrid’s 3-1 win over Osasuna, as they survived an early scare from the home side after Ante Budimir’s first-half equalizer.
GK Thibaut Courtois
Thibaut Courtois could do nothing about the goal Osasuna scored, and he was not involved much thereafter.
Rating: 6.0
LB Nacho Fernandez
Nacho Fernandez improved in the second half when he moved to center back, but he was woeful at left back, giving up far too much space on the cross that led to the goal. He was often caught out, once again being too slow to track back at left back and too aggressive to make challenges far away from his own box when they were unnecessary.
Rating: 4.5
CB David Alaba
David Alaba scored the opening goal and made several important contributions to the attack, pushing up the pitch with the game tied at 1-1, even forcing another good stop from Osasuna goalkeeper Sergio Herrera. But he had to be taken off at the half with an injury. We can only hope the all-important central defender will be OK for the Champions League battle with Manchester City next Tuesday.
Rating: 7.0
CB Eder Militao
Another below-average performance from Eder Militao, though he did, again, improve somewhat in the second half. I do not blame Militao for the goal that Osasuna scored – that was on Nacho – but he was far from convincing defensively as a whole. He is just shaking off the mistakes before Manchester City, though. I will chalk it up to that.
Rating: 5.0
RB Lucas Vazquez
The best of the defenders in the back four. Lucas Vazquez scored another left-footed goal to add to his season tally, just as he did a little over a week ago against Getafe – another team Real Madrid struggled against earlier in the season. The Galician led the team with 77 passes attempted, completing about 91 percent of them. Vazquez also had a team-high four tackles. You can always count on him to put in a hard-working shift.
Rating: 7.5
CM Dani Ceballos
An excellent, excellent performance from Dani Ceballos, who was the best starter on the pitch after Rodrygo Goes on the left wing. Ceballos created the first goal with a lovely pass to the backpost, and he also played a key role in the second goal.
The center midfielder has rarely received opportunities this season, but he looked good off the bench before this start at Osasuna. In this match, Ceballos was downright brilliant, showing effectiveness in the final third and classy touches in midfield. He can be an asset to some team, and there are now Madridistas who are hoping Ceballos can carve out a role for himself to close 2021/22 – and even in 2022/23. We shall see. This was a huge positive step for him.
Rating: 8.0
DM Eduardo Camavinga
A great performance from Eduardo Camavinga, who is consistently a highlight for Real Madrid whenever he is on the pitch as either a substitute or starter. It was good to see him start despite questions of discipline against Sevilla, as he could have been sent off in that game.
Camavinga received an early yellow card in Pamplona, but this was undeserved. It was a terrible call, and Camavinga won the ball fairly. But the ex-Rennes man did not argue and remained calm thereafter, still showing good defending despite the yellow.
He also had a great pass that was decisive in Real Madrid finding the go-ahead goal in the first half to make it 2-1.
Rating: 7.5
CM Fede Valverde
Though Fede Valverde was also quiet on this day and certainly not as involved as the other midfielders, he did have to deal with Marco Asensio in front of him. Valverde covered a lot of ground, as per usual, recording two tackles and completing about 90 percent of his passes. He continues to be a consistently solid member of the starting XI whenever Carlo Ancelotti calls his number.
Rating: 6.5
LW Rodrygo Goes
For me, Real Madrid’s best player on the pitch for a second match in a row, even above the impressive Dani Ceballos in midfield. Rodrygo was unplayable at times, toying with an Osasuna defense that held Los Blancos goalless in their last two meetings. And his day would have been rated even higher had Karim Benzema converted even one of the two penalties Rodrygo drew for the team on Wednesday night.
Rodrygo is putting it all together with consecutive great performances, shedding the inconsistency woes from earlier this season. He finally got another start in his preferred position on the left wing, and unlike his last appearance there, Rodrygo did not disappoint in the slightest. His dribbling ability and constant desire to drive forward are so valuable to Real Madrid.
Rating: 8.5
CF Karim Benzema
To be honest, Karim Benzema could have been better from the spot, as goalkeepers are figuring out his tendency to go low and to their right side, in line with his favored shooting style as a right-footer. Benzema went to this twice, with the exact same result both times, as has been the issue with a couple of misses earlier this season.
But let’s not get harped up on the penalties. Benzema was pretty good outside of the missed spots kicks, even if he wasn’t as much of a threat as in his recent matches. The No. 9 did some good work in the box and was very key to the build-up play, showing a good connection with the midfielders and Rodrygo on the left-hand side. He tied Rodrygo for the team lead with four key passes.
Rating: 7.0
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RW Marco Asensio
Meanwhile, Marco Asensio did get on the scoresheet with a tap-in as a result of some good instincts in the box, but he was quite poor outside of that. He left a lot of space for the players behind him to cover and seemed lethargic and disengaged off the ball, often hiding behind Osasuna players or resorting to short, useless passes. Once again, Asensio did grow into the game, but it wasn’t enough. Even when he makes forward runs off the ball, he does so in ways that don’t actually allow him to separate enough from the defender to make it worth it for a teammate to go for such a risky pass.
By the end of the match, Asensio wasn’t awful, but he was, once again, the weak link on the pitch for Real Madrid.
Rating: 4.0