Real Madrid faced Real Betis in their opening home match of the year, a match that ended scoreless in the past until today at the Bernabeu. A crisp performance from last season’s winners, who have now grabbed all the points available in the first four league games this season.
It started with Betis outplaying the hosts until Vinicus scored a stunning goal courtesy to a sublime assist from David Alaba, following which Betis dropped back and focused more on obtaining possession from counters. Sergio Canales’ strike kept Betis’ hopes of grabbing a point alive for a few minutes before Rodrygo came on to save Los Blancos.
Overall, a solid performance by Real, which could have concluded with more goals but had to settle for fewer; however, three points were earned. With that in mind, here are the player ratings from Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Real Betis as the club prepares for a busy and demanding September.
GK Thibaut Courtois
Another day, Courtois had to take one for the team and concede a goal he’d not want to earn as a blunder against his own numbers. The player has failed to maintain a clean sheet this season, yet none of the goals have come as his fault. Except for a few minutes in the second half when Betis tried to disturb him, he handled them brilliantly with saves that were far too simple for him.
Rating: 7.0
LB Ferland Mendy
The usual Mendy game. He was dependable and sturdy when it came to guarding the ball and closing gaps. He took an aggressive approach to duels and had a few of his trademark Zidane-esque charging forward moments. That was pretty much it from the Frenchman.
Rating: 7.5
CB Eder Militao
Militao seems to have significantly improved today following a string of blunders. He was confident from the start and had improved awareness in filling spaces and went for responsible tackles that did not give the opponent an advantage. He’s back.
Rating: 7.5
CB David Alaba
David Alaba was more active in attack than defence, but he wasn’t poor at either, just better at the former. Although it is an unpopular stance, perhaps it is time to test Alaba in a central midfield role now that Rudiger is settling in at the back. Regarding how the Austrian will be integrated into an already stacked midfield, I remain uncertain. Anyway, a fantastic performance today with a spellbinding assist.
Rating: 8.0
RB Dani Carvajal
The Spaniard was stable in defence and likewise in offense. He couldn’t stop Canales’ goal, but he could have prevented him from moving into the box sooner. Still, it’s not big a deal. He’ll be alright.
Rating: 6.0