Player Ratings: Real Madrid Castilla 2-1 Gimnàstic de Tarragona

Real Madrid Castilla racked up a big win on Sunday afternoon, beating Gimnàstic de Tarragona 2-1 at the Alfredo Di Stefano. The result drags the reserves back into early promotion contention, closing to within a point of the final play off spot at the time of writing.

Here’s player ratings for the game.

Luis Lopez - 8: Nearly cost Castilla a goal in the first half when he dropped the ball mid throw, giving it straight to a Gimnástic attacker. Outside of that, Lopez was outstanding, especially in the last 10 minutes when the visitors came on strong for an equalizer. It will be interesting to see who wins out when Fuidias is available over the coming matches.

Sergio Santos - 7: A typically solid performance from Santos. Secure defensively and had some good moments in attack with his crossing. A little disappointing he was unable to grab an assist given he was found in some good positions throughout the game. Nonetheless, few complaints about his performance today.

Pablo Ramon - 8: The highlight of the match was his brave run through the Gimnastic midfield, practically grabbing a pre-assist for Oscar Aranda’s opening goal.

A couple of strong interventions defensively, but wasn’t too busy as Castilla dominated possession.

Mario Gila - 6.5: A relatively quiet match for Gila. Wasn’t called into too much action and largely caught the eye with a few long ranged passes into the front three. Nearly had a Ramon-esque run of his own but was dispossessed by the visiting defense before he could upstage his defensive partner.

Alberto Retuerta - 7: The young full back has demonstrated some good assurance defensively and seemed to be deployed on the more reserve side of field compared to Santos and Park on the other side. Forced off with injury in the 69th minute.

Ivan Morante - 6: Didn’t commit any criminal mistakes, but also didn’t show his quality from the center of the pitch. Likely to have better outings in the future.

Carlos Dotor - 6: Certainly the more active midfielder in comparison to Morante. Couple of nervy moments where he was caught by Gimnàstic’s press but managed to play himself out of trouble. Again, capable of better.

Oscar Aranda - 9: Followed up a strong showing in the UEFA Youth League with a dominant display from the center of the pitch. Scored both Castilla’s goals, the first an excellent header largely of his own making and the second a cool finish from Peter’s low cut back. A hub of offensive energy outside of his goals.

Peter Federico - 8: Finally deployed at his natural winger position, Peter played one of his most prolific matches of the season so far. A constant threat in wide areas and never stopped working off the ball. Set up Oscar Aranda’s second goal to cap off a productive afternoon.

Marvin Park - 7: Having impressed in recent months as a full back, Marvin made his own statement further forward. Floated in the cross for the first goal and, like his teammate on the opposite side, worked extremely hard off the ball.

Juan Latasa - 5: His game was overshadowed by an early ankle injury which he briefly played through despite clearly being uncomfortable. Was replaced by Andri Gudjohnsen after some loose touches and limped off. Hopefully it’s nothing serious.

Substitutes

Andri Gudjohnsen - 6: Filled in for Latasa admirably given he’s returning from a massive injury that kept him out of action for most of last season. Nearly scored from a corner in the second half, but couldn’t inch a difficult header on target.

Alvaro Carillo - 6.5: Played a key role in stopping what seemed a certain equalizer for the hosts in the last 10 minutes.

Theo Zidane - N/A: Came on for Aranda in the last two minutes of additional time.