Player Ratings: Rayo Vallecano 1 - Real Madrid 0; 2019 La Liga

Real Madrid have suffered their tenth loss of the season. It was a loss to RDT-less Rayo Vallecano who sat 20th in the table. Rayo have the worst defense in the league having given up 62 goals. Zidane’s Madrid showed no life, no passion, and had little structure to their tactical game plan. The Belgian, Courtois, finished as the highest rated for Real Madrid in this match, that note alone, explains it all for Madrid in this match —full match ratings below:

Thibaut Courtois—7: Made a crucial save early in the first half after Pozo was slipped through 1v1 with the Belgian. Ended up facing his eighth penalty of the season, diving the wrong way and surrendering a one goal lead to Rayo who would hold on for the entire match.

Dani Carvajal—3.5: Had a thankless task having to defend against Bebe and Alex Moreno with no additional right winger to support him defensively. Had a number of misplaced passes and heavy touches which resulted in dispossession.

Raphael Varane—6: Rafa Varane was solid and one of the few, if any, who could be salvaged from this awful performances. Made more than one last minute tackles to impede a Rayo counter attack or a potential dangerous shot on goal.

Jesus Vallejo—5.5: Vallejo was harshly called for the penalty after apparently dragging Javi Guerra down by the shirt. Aside from the penalty, Vallejo looked better than most— zipping in passes and trying to organize his defense.

Marcelo—3.5: Countless passes were misplaced, the Brazilian had a 73.2% pass accuracy from his 41 passes and only hit the mark on 4 of his 11 long balls. Contributed very little to the attack and overall was a non-factor in this match. More is expected of a player wearing the captains armband for Real Madrid.

Marcos Llorente—5: It was not a poor performance from Marcos, but there was little to note. He was caught out on multiple occasions as Madrid’s overall press and system was completely disjointed. Did complete 4 tackles and had the highest pass accuracy (92.5%) of anyone on the team.

Luka Modric—2.5: Quite possibly the worst Luka Modric performance ever in a Real Madrid shirt. Lost the ball 7 times in first half alone— most of those dispossessions were in dangerous areas where Rayo countered straight down the throat of a scrambling Madrid defense.

Toni Kroos—6: The German, along with Varane and Brahim, was probably the only other player who brought something to this game for Madrid. Had a team high 5 tackles, a team high 3 key passes, and 90.4% pass accuracy from his team high of 52 passes.

Dani Ceballos—4.5: Looked like Dani was asked to play at the tip of the diamond in Zidane’s 4-1-2-1-2. Hedged more towards the left than centrally and had a few skillful moments but overall failed to have any real impact.

Gareth Bale—3: Missed the best chance of the match for Real Madrid in the 20th minute. Stabbing the ball with the outside of his foot, but his shot was saved. The highest earner at the club has not warranted his prestigious status.

Mariano—4: Only had 12 passes and 23 touches. Failed to get involved and failed to capitalize on the high line imposed by Rayo. Likely will not be a part of the Real Madrid Swazis next season, and did himself no favors with tonight’s performance.

Substitutions:

Brahim Diaz—6: The first substitution used by Zidane was young Brahim. Came in with desire, energy, and just a hunger to attack—all of which was desperately lacking. Drew a foul in a dangerous position just outside the box almost immediately after entering the match. Was fouled 5 times total. Had a few sloppy passes and few opportunities to release the ball early, but showed more in his 20 minute cameo than most did all game long.

Isco—5.5: A much needed substitution for Luka Modric. Completed two dribbles and circulated possession well, but didn’t have enough time to make a major impact.

Lucas Vazquez—N/A: Entered in the 81st minute for Mariano and had 9 touches total.