Player Ratings: Real Madrid 2 - PSG 2; 2019 UEFA Champions League Group Stage

Zinedine Zidane did it again. He surprised us all with his starting eleven - giving Isco a surprise opportunity within a midfield diamond consisting of Kroos, Valverde, and Casemiro. Marcelo was given the nod over Mendy, despite competing with Mbappe, and Kroos got the nod over Modric, who has been in great form. The match saw Real Madrid play some of their best football all season against a full-strength PSG side. The 2-2 draw does not do the team justice, full match ratings below:

Thibaut Courtois—8.5: Quick off his line and crucial in many of the saves he made to deny PSG. Maybe should have done better on the Mbappe goal with the communication between he and Varane.

Dani Carvajal—8.5: Dealt with the threat of Di Maria and Mbappe as well as any fullback in the game is capable of dealing with those two offensive menaces.

Raphael Varane—7.5: The Frenchman was foot-perfect for most of the night and this rating may be unfair on him, but probably should’ve done better on the Mbappe goal as he was clumsy trying to clear a low driven cross.

Sergio Ramos—5.5: Not the best night for the captain, was late to many challenges and struggled against the pace of Mbappe.

Marcelo—7: Was brilliant offensively and stuck to his role, pressing Meunier, to perfection. Though, in more fault to the system than the Brazilian, there was often acres of space behind him for PSG to exploit.

Casemiro—8.5: Another phenomenal performance from the Brazilian. Was a rock in the midfield with countless tackles on the likes of Verrati, Gueye, Neymar, and Mbappe.

Toni Kroos—9: A near perfect performance. Would have been a 10 had he nabbed a goal from one of his four on target shots. 7 key passes and a 98% pass accuracy from 100 passes.

Fede Valverde—8.5: The Uruguayan is quite simply a phenom. Not phased at all by the PSG midfield. Another brilliant performance from the young player.

Eden Hazard—8.5: With each passing game, Hazard takes on more responsibility. He was sensational in the opening goal. Hazard picked up the ball and simultaneously, shrugged off Marquinhos, sliced past Meunier, and glided past Gueye in midfield before feeding Carvajal and Fede on the wing.

Isco—8: Played between the lines and was a great outlet for the Madrid attack. Defensively was tasked with man marking Marquinhos and limiting his distribution.

Karim Benzema—9: Two more goals to add to his tally and the Frenchman has debunked the myth that he can’t score in the big games.

Substitutions:

Gareth Bale—6: Nearly scored from a 93rd minute free kick to give Madrid the win.

Luka Modric—6.5: Madrid’s second goal originated from the Croatian’s feet with his trademark outside of the foot pass to Marcelo.

Rodrygo—4.5: Squandered a good opportunity to give Madrid the lead and had a few wayward passes in his brief cameo. A game to learn from.