Player Ratings: Real Madrid 0 - 0 Osasuna; 2021 La Liga

Real Madrid couldn’t breakdown a resolute Osasuna defense. The team from Pamplona came to the Bernabeu with a clear game plan and executing said plan to perfection. Carlo Ancelotti, much like Zinedine Zidane, will need to identify patterns and creative solutions to aid the team in breaking down deep blocks rather than resorting to a plethora of crosses. Full match player ratings below:

Thibaut Courtois—6: Did not face a single shot on target. Osasuna had one chance on the counter, but aside from that Courtois was only called upon for quick distribution.

Dani Carvajal—5: First appearance for the fullback since his injury relapse about a month ago. The rust was there, but got 70 minutes under his belt.

Eder Militao—7: Solid display from the Brazilian who nipped any potential Osasuna counter attack before it started. Anticipated Osasuna passes and did well to keep Madrid’s line high.

David Alaba—7: Like Militao, snuffed out any dangerous attacks and was crucial in keeping the defensive line high to sustain attacking pressure. Would have liked to see him get on the ball more and potentially interchange with Casemiro when Real Madrid had possesion.

Ferland Mendy—5.5: Struggled with ideas to break down a deep block in the final third. Consistently choose the lateral or backward pass and his crossing was off on the night.

Casemiro—5: Attempted to lob Herrera from the halfway line late in the game. Started to act an auxiliary forward in the box to latch onto crosses.

Toni Kroos—8: Completed 112/118 passes and 17/19 long balls. Had a number of long distance shots that he failed to get on target.

Camavinga—4: Poor game from the teenager. Picked up an early yellow, but never restricted his game and nearly picked up a second booking in the first half. Looked uncertain and timid in the final third. Ancelotti substituted the Frenchman at halftime.

Marco Asensio—6: The Spaniard had a few driving runs through the middle which helped open up the Osasuna defense. Carvajal played a great ball into the box from the right half-space which Asensio nearly connected with to open the scoring.

Vinicius Junior—7: Osasuna did a good job of surrounding Vinicius every time he got the ball and limiting his space with 2 or 3 defenders. Managed to still carve open opportunities. including a shot from outside the box that nearly nestled into the bottom corner of the net.

Karim Benzema—6.5: Nearly opened the scoring with a shot that rattled off the woodwork. Just seemed to be a moment late on every cross, but credit is due to the Osasuna defense who were spectacular.

Substitutions:

Rodrygo Goes—6: Added some much needed width on the right and beat his man on a number of occasions, but the final ball was sometimes lacking.

Marcelo—7.5: Perfect game for Marcelo: no transition defense required, sit back in a left back quarter back role and deliver first class crosses. The Brazilian arguably should’ve been brought on earlier.

Lucas Vazquez—5: Little to note from Vazquez’s 20 minute cameo at right back.

Eden Hazard—5: Provided very little spark in his 20 minutes on the field. Vinicius had the opportunity to square him a pass to break the deadlock, but chose to shoot instead and missed the target.