Málaga vs Real Madrid, Liga BBVA 2014-15: Player Ratings

Iker Casillas: 4 - He was shaky. Iker made a few unnecessary errors on plays that he should have handled with ease. Luckily they didn't lead to any goals. But seeing it doesn't inspire confidence. That said, Iker also made a few smart saves - 6 in total - so it helps balance the performance out a bit.

Dani Carvajal: 6 - Dani was pretty solid and had a good game defensively by making 3 tackles but also contributed offensively with a successful take-on and a key pass. It wasn't a spectacular performance by any means but he really improved the offensive gap that Madrid were suffering on the right side on Wednesday night.

Pepe: 8 - Pepe played very well. He seemed to be everywhere in defence and always got in the right position at the right time when Málaga attacked. This was reflected by his 8 clearances, more than any other player. Furthermore, Pepe's passing was very tidy with an impressive 91.2% pass accuracy to boast.

Ramos: 7 - Sergio put in another professional performance. He contributed well by making the most interceptions of any player with 3 and generally along with Pepe helped marshal the defence well. Other than that, Ramos also kncoked the ball about well with a quality 91.7% pass accuracy.

Marcelo: 7 - The Brazilian full back was very active down the left flank once more. He like Carvajal made a successful take-on and key pass. He was always wary of making a good delivery into the box with his crossing but defensively he was good also, making 3 tackles and 3 interceptions. Along with Cristiano Ronaldo he caused a lot of trouble for Málaga's defence on the left hand side of the pitch.

Kroos: 8 - He didn't control the game and dictate the tempo in quite the same high level that he normally does but this was still a top performance from the German technician. His passing was superb, a 93.5% pass accuracy coupled with 4 key passes is evidence of that. Furthermore his crossing into the box was excellent with 80% of his deliveries reaching their intended target. He also made a couple of tackles in the middle of the pitch to help out defensively.

Isco: 7 - The diminutive Spaniard was unfairly red carded a few minutes from the end of the game so we'll just ignore that rubbish and focus on his good game in central midfield for Los Blancos. He made more tackles than nay other player with 4 successful tackles which shows his defensive willingness and capability. Offensively he was more restrained than usual, perhaps a sign of his newly acquired role, but he still produced 2 successful take-ons and a key pass. His passing was pretty tidy too.

James: 8 - I think the Colombian played very well. His crossing was the stand-out feature of his game as he completed more than anyone else with 5 out of 7 attempts reaching their intended target. He was finished there though as he also managed to make 3 key passes to constantly create danger in and around the oppositions box.

Bale: 8 - Gareth had his first really good game for Madrid for a while against Málaga. He was very active compared to recent outings and this was reflected through the fact that he took more shots on goal than any other player. He also completed more successful take-ons than any other player and used his speed to his advantage creating a brilliant chance for Ronaldo. Not just this but Bale made 2 key passes and scored the winning goal.

Ronaldo: 9 - Cristano once again showed everyone why he would be the deserving winner of the Ballon d'Or with a masterful performance. He provided the assist to both of the goals that Madrid scored but also was constantly a menacing threat indicated by his having the joint-most attempts on target and providing more key passes than any other player with 5. With an 88.9% pass accuracy and 2 clearances Ronaldo truly put on a complete display and had it not been for Kameni he surely would've bagged a couple of goals for himself too.

Benzema: 6 - His passing was a bit shoddy compared to his usual high standards but it didn't matter because his movement to get into the correct position to score Real's opener was marvellous. Clinical and predatory; these are adjectives that are constantly being used to describe Benzema's play these days and rightly so. However, other than the goal his wasn't as involved offensively in the match as we're normally used to seeing from him. Karim did manage to contribute defensively though with a couple of tackles from the front which was good.

Subs:

Illarramendi: 7 - Illarra came on for the last 20 minutes or so and performed really well and ensured that Carlo had made an effective substitution as he made the 2nd-most tackles and clearances of any player. Not just that but he completed all of the passes he attempted to help circulate the ball well and keep possession in the final stretch of the match.

Javier Hernández and Raphael Varane were given insufficient minutes to be rated properly.