Roma vs Real Madrid, Champions League 2015/16: Player Ratings

Keylor Navas: 7 - Navas did brilliantly to deny Stephan El Shaarawy in the second half by rushing out from his goal to intercept. That moment capped off a fine goalkeeping display and Navas now has played 7 Champions League games for Real keeping 7 clean sheets and making 13 saves in total.

Dani Carvajal: 5 - Average night for Carvajal who was fortunate not to have a penalty decision given against his late challenge on Florenzi inside the Madrid box. But he did well going forward and made an excellent cut-back for a James Rodríguez effort.

Raphael Varane: 7 - This was a solid game from Varane who won more aerial balls than any other player and also made a critical interception to cut out a dangerous ball from reaching Edin Dzeko after Mohamed Salah had caused problems down the right wing. Furthermore, Varane's vastly improved distribution of the ball must be commended.

Sergio Ramos: 9 - Ramos was immense tonight. Defensively he had a near perfect performance as he registered 10 successful tackles, over double the amount more than any other player on the pitch. Not only did he snuff out the majority of Roma's attacks but his positioning was excellent as he blocked attempts on goal and made necessary clearances.

Marcelo: 6 - The statistics will show us that he made an assist for Ronaldo's goal tonight and he gave Madrid a good outlet down the left wing however he's still giving up too much space in behind him when he does push forward and he was caught out of position a few times with Ramos having to cover to deal with Salah. Also attempted a great volley which flew just wide of Szczesny's post.

Toni Kroos: 8 - One of Kroos' best performances in a while, he gave a masterclass of how to make yourself available for the pass and found the forward players with regularity. Defensively he pressed high up the pitch and there was a real energy to his game today. As always his distribution was immaculate with a 96.4% pass accuracy plus he was on the ball more than any other player with 117 touches running proceedings.

Luka Modric: 7 - Modric provided the perfect foil to Kroos against Roma. He was tidy in possession and his technique on the ball created space for other players to exploit. His first touch and close control gives the entire team composure. Luka also provided the assist for Jesé's late goal.

Isco: 6 - Rather a quiet match for Isco who started on his favoured left hand side but was unable to create any real danger. He did recycle the ball well however and moved more centrally in order to congest the pitch when not in possession.

James Rodríguez: 8 - I was very impressed with James. It is quite telling that he made the joint most key passes as well as 4 successful tackles and his industry throughout was very encouraging. He made more successful crosses than any other plater and picked out a world class cross for Ronaldo which should have been finished. He did all this despite taking two heavy knocks to the head and shoulder.

Cristiano Ronaldo: 7 -The fact of the matter is that Ronaldo scored an important, decisive away goal in yet another big European knock-out fixture, something his doubters have questioned in the past couple of days. Aside from the goal he didn't set the world on fire and he really should have gotten a second after the aforementioned James Rodríguez cross put it on a plate. However, he stepped up when needed to give Madrid the advantage.

Karim Benzema: 7 - The talented Frenchman played well without receiving reward for his efforts tonight as he had the most shots on target and made the most successful take-ons. His presence creates space for his fellow forwards and his neat passes in congested areas with Ronaldo are a joy to behold.

Subs:

Mateo Kovacic: 5 - Kovacic came on to replace Isco but to little effect. He helped Madrid maintain possession but creatively he could have done more to impress.

Jesé Rodríguez: 8 - Jesé came on with only 10 minutes to spare but that's all he needed to show the world what he's capable of as he picked up the ball from a Modric pass ran 30 yards and then drilled a shot into the bottom corner to settle the match and most probably the tie too.