La Liga, Real Madrid vs Deportivo: Player ratings

It was fair and reasonable to expect more from Real Madrid a week after the 4-0 defeat at the Vicente Calderón, but Los Blancos delivered a sloppy performance

Iker Casillas: 8. Good performance by Real's captain, who was able to overcome the whistles he heard during the whole match to complete a good performance with some important saves that allowed Real Madrid to keep the lead.

Arbeloa: 7. Carvajal's offensive impact was missed, especially considering how good of a partnership he would've made with an inspired Bale today. Still, Arbeloa's contribution on defense was decent and he stopped a couple of good counterattacking chances by Deportivo. He also leaked a good pass to Cristiano Ronaldo that led to Real Madrid's second goal.

Varane: 6. Flat performance by the French defender, who cannot bring back his dominant self just yet. Pepe will be back soon and then Varane will have a chance to prove his worth playing alongside a better defender than Nacho -- though the Spanish performed better than him tonight --.

Nacho: 7. Nacho recovered well from his abysmal performance at the Calderón. He played with confidence and did not turn the ball over much, something that is an improvement from his last couple of matches.

Marcelo: 6. His offensive creativity wasn't there, and Real Madrid struggled defending through his flank. After Carvajal entered the pitch, he played as a central-midfielder for 10 minutes and contributed to Real Madrid's defensive improvement. One way or another, he can do much better.

Kroos: 6. Real Madrid were never in total control of the game, maybe because of Kroos' sub-par display as Real Madrid's defensive midfielder. When Lucas Silva made his debut as a Real Madrid player, Kroos kept playing deep, something that speaks about Ancelotti's intentions. Kroos is his deep playmaker, no question.

Illarramendi: 6. The Basque midfielder could probably enjoy playing a bit deeper, where the opposition's pressure isn't that intense. Illarramendi is going to have a hard time once Lucas Silva gets used to this system, as he's not completely making the best out of his playing time.

Isco: 9. Brilliant goal and an outstanding performance both offensively and defensively. Isco received a standing ovation when he was substituted, one that was well-deserved. This is slowly becoming Isco's team, and there's no chance he gets dropped any time soon.

Bale: 8. Complete performance by Bale. Dribbled with ease and contributed defensively too. He deserved to score a goal, and after hearing some whistles when the players' name were being announced, Bale earned the Bernabéu's applause after some of his plays.

Ronaldo: 6. Ronaldo is still rusty. He assisted Benzema on Real's second goal with a good first-touch, but it was obvious that he wasn't too comfortable on the pitch as he tried to switch positions regularly.

Benzema: 7. Played a similar game to Ronaldo's, but managed to scored by chipping the ball over Deportivo's goalkeeper. He also tried to get involved moving to Real's left wing and letting Cristiano be the team's main offensive reference.

Lucas Silva: 6. Although he was Real Madrid's first substitution, he came in without a real chance of making an impact. But again, it was interesting to see that for the moment, he is being considered a central midfielder to play that kind of box-to-box role instead of being deployed deeper.

Carvajal: -. Not enough time.

Jesé: 7. Jesé enjoyed even less time than Carvajal but still completed a good individual play on Real's right flank and crossed the ball to Ronaldo in what could have been Real Madrid's third goal late in the game.