Player Ratings: Real Valladolid 1 - Real Madrid 4; 2019 La Liga

Madrid slept walked through the first half, yet somehow managed to end the half 1-1. Valladolid has two goals disallowed and had missed a penalty kick, but the fourth time was the charm as they took the lead in the 29th minute through Anuar. The second half saw Madrid produce a much improved performance. Odriozola made amends for his first half blunders and Benzema was clinical, scoring a brace then nabbing an assist to ultimately lead Madrid to a 4-1 win away from home. Full player ratings below:

Thibaut Courtois—5: Of the 16 long balls he played, only 2 were accurate. Faced only 2 shots on target, but failed to impose himself and properly organize the defense in a frantic first 35 minutes.

Alavaro Odriozola—6: Up and down game for Odriozola. His first half was a nightmare. Gave away a penalty kick and failed to properly cover the weak side on the first “actual” Valladolid goal. He completely turned it around in the second half. His speed is breathtaking. Somehow managed to get to a ball he had no right in winning and drew the penalty kick which Benzema dispatched for the go-ahead goal. Constant motored down the right flank in the second half and had 1 key pass. Needs to add a bit more dinosaur eto his game, but has all the tools to be a top level fullback.

Raphael Varane—6: Scored the equalizer, but was in disarray the first 30 minutes of the match. The whole Madrid team was sputtering and Varane failed to deal with the in-swinging crosses from Keko and Plano.

Nacho—5: He and Varane struggled to organize the team in front of them and had to deal with an onslaught of Valladolid counter-attacks. Eventually got an assist, though unorthodox, on Varane’s toe-poked finish to draw the match level.

Sergio Reguilon—5: Not one of Regui’s best performances. Keko and Guardiola gave the youngster a hard time, but still managed 3 tackles and 5 clearances—those numbers among the best of Madrid’s defense.

Casemiro—4: Was nowhere to be found when Valladolid ripped through Madrid’s midfield in transition. Picked up two needless yellows and officially has earned his first sending off in professional football.

Toni Kroos—6.5: Wrongly or rightly was yanked off again for Fede Valverde. It was an improved performance from Kroos, at least in the second half, where he was connecting the Madrid attack. Contributed 4 key passes, the highest on the team.

Luka Modric—7: The Croatians presence grew as the match wore on. Valladolid sliced through Madrid’s non existent midfield in the first half, but Modric and co. regained control after the break. Scored a nice goal after breaking down Fernandez 1v1 and slotting home the finish.

Dani Ceballos—5.5: Stationed on the left of midfield and another one of Madrid’s attacking quartet to have a very quiet game.

Marco Asensio—5: Fans rightly expect more from Marco— there were a few quintessential Asensio runs where he burst through the midfield and galloped up the pitch, but aside from that he failed to leave his mark.

Karim Benzema—8.5: Two goals and one assist, not a bad day at the office for Karim. Dispatched the penalty perfectly for the go-ahead goal and then put away a beautiful snap header off a corner kick for his second of the night.

Substitutions

Fede Valverde—6: Brought a good energy and got stuck into a few tackles during his 20 minute cameo. Covers the pitch well and could potentially get a start in the defensive midfield role next week due to Casemiro’s suspension.

Marcelo—N/A: Entered in the 88th minute for Reguilón

Vallejo—N/A: Entered in the 88th minute for Varane.