Real Madrid vs Las Palmas: Player Ratings

Starters

GK: Kiko Casilla
Rating: 7.5/10

Casilla had a solid debut for Real Madrid. He made 4 saves and his particular highlight was a diving save against a good free kick taken by Las Palmas. He also showed his alertness in the first half with two good bits of sweeper keeping and was not at fault for Las Palmas’ goal. You really can’t ask for more from your second keeper.

RB: Danilo
Rating: 7.5/10

Danilo really looked more confident in this match than in any other game I’ve seen him play this season. He pushed forward well, was a good outlet for possession, and provided plenty of width. Defensively this was his best game of the season, and he provided an excellent return of 1 tackle and 4 interceptions.

CB: Varane
Rating: 7/10

He had a quite comfortable game and was barely tested by the Las Palmas forwards. However he should have really done better in marking Hernan for the goal Madrid conceded.

CB: Nacho
Rating: 7/10

Nacho had a similarly quite game and was generally solid throughout the match. His particular challenge to stop Al-Zhar from getting free on goal was class, but his poor marking to allow Las Palmas to score takes his rating down.

LB: Marcelo
Rating: 9/10

After a really poor start to the season Marcelo has really hit top gear in the last couple of matches. He provided a sizeable 4 key passes, dribbled pass 2 players, made 4 tackles, and executed 4 interceptions as part of a dominant all-round performance. His assist in particular was delightful as looped the ball over the Las Palmas defense for Cristiano to score with ease. Las Palmas simply couldn’t live with him.

DM: Casemiro
Rating: 8.5/10

Casemiro was an absolute monster in the center of the park as he made 4 tackles and 3 interceptions. But aside from his defensive stats, he made the tackle to win Madrid the ball 4 minutes into the first half, before springing Isco into space to gift Madrid the lead. For the rest of the match Casemiro confidently distributed the ball in Xabi-Alonso-esque fashion as he attempted 17 long balls and completed 11 of them. This man will be very, very, very, important come the end of the season.

CM: Luka Modric
Rating: 7/10

I would have given Luka a higher rating if he’d played the second half, but unfortunately he was substituted. For the 45 minutes he was on the pitch, Luka dictated the pace of the game and ably helped his team with pressing. He ended the first half with an exceptional 89.5% pass success rate.

CM: Toni Kroos
Rating: 8.5/10

The German quietly had an imperious game at the heart of Madrid’s midfield. He was offensively decisive, as he orchestrated 3 key passes and an assist and was defensively prominent, as he made 4 tackles and 2 interceptions. His passing was on point has he executed 4 out of 4 long balls and completed 85 passes at a 91.8% success rate. With Madrid entering cryo sleep as the 50-minute mark passed, Kroos kept things flowing and ensured Madrid saw out the second half with ease.

RW: Isco
Rating: 8/10

Isco managed his best all-round performance for Madrid this season as he opened the scoring quickly and tormented the Las Palmas defenders. As he began to drift out of the match later into the first half he switched flanks with Jese to rejuvenate his game and keep Las Palmas guessing. He ended the match with 3 shots, 2 of which were on target, 1 key pass, and 2 dribbles. He was hardworking at the other end as he made 2 tackles and tracked back well to cover for his defense.

LW: Jese 
Rating: 8.5/10

Today Jese had a very good first half performance that decided the game for Madrid. Whoscored.com remarkably only awarded him with 1 dribble, but I can assure you he was much more influential than that. From the left he cut inside to devastate the opposing defense and score a fine goal. From the right he used his superb pace and athleticism to burn into the final third and deliver good crosses. His influence decreased understandably in the second half as Madrid played conservatively, but he showed the form that made in famous in the 2013/14 season.

ST: Cristiano Ronaldo
Rating: 7/10

Cristiano Ronaldo started off well by scoring his first header of the season 14 minutes in but was mostly quiet for the rest of the match. His movement off the ball was typically good as he stretched the Las Palmas defense all over the place and he was a good outlet for passes and long balls (he won two aerial battles). However he simply wasn’t able to provide much in the final third other than his shots 3 shots on target (0 key passes and 0 dribbles). All in all a frustrating night by Ronaldo’s standards, but he scored and didn’t have too much work to do (which bodes well for the PSG match).

Substitutes

RW: Lucas Vazquez
Rating: 7/10

Lucas was very good in the 45 minutes that he played as he provided Madrid with defensive soundness and carried the ball forward well on the counter attack. He has proved to be very useful this season and he is seemingly willing to do any job Benitez tasks him with. Madridistas truly have a gift of a player in terms of attitude and hard work. If he had played the whole match he surely would have got a higher rating.

CM: Marcos Llorente
Rating: N/A

Not enough game time to make significant comments.

ST: Borja Mayoral
Rating N/A

Not enough game time to make significant comments.

(All stats taken from whoscored.com)