Player Ratings: Real Madrid 2 - 1 Rayo Vallecano; La Liga 2022 - 2023

Real Madrid beat Rayo Vallecano 2 - 1 at the Bernabeu tonight and hold on to second place as Atletico Madrid dropped points at Espanyol. Here are our player ratings on the night:

Thibaut Courtois: 7. The Belgian had little to do and not many saves to make. Most of Rayo Vallecano’s shots were straight at him, and he wasn’t at fault for the goal as he defense let him down.

Dani Carvajal: 5. Did get into some good offensive spots but missed a huge change in the 56th minute which Luka Modric set up him for beautifully. Also failed to track Raul de Tomas on Rayo Vallecano’s goal.

Nacho Fernandez: 6. A rare cameo as the right center-back. Reliable in his build-up play and distribution.

David Alaba: 6.5. Some vital clearances in this game. His passing at certain moments could’ve been better. Good synergy with Antonio Rudiger.

Antonio Rudiger: 7. A solid cameo at left-back despite it not being his natural position. Covered well for Rodrygo, and even had a couple good runs offensively on the wing and left half-space.

Eduardo Camavinga: 7.5. Could’ve been better on the ball under pressure at times, but overall, was Real Madrid’s key escape-valve when Rayo Vallecano were implementing their aggressive high press. Also covered a lot of ground defensively as the team’s anchor.

Fede Valverde: 6. He gets some points for his nice assists — a through-ball to Karim Benzema. But overall, looked anonymous. He could use the summer break as much as anyone.

Luka Modric: 6. A rough game from the Croatian, though he did have one gorgeous outside-of-the-boot pass which should’ve resulted in an assist.

Toni Kroos: 8. The German continues his good form. Heads up play to play a kick free-kick before Real Madrid’s opening goal, and some gorgeous vertical passes throughout. He also tracked well defensively and was a ball-winner in midfield.

Rodrygo Goes: 8.5. Real Madrid’s best player on the night filling on for Vinicius Jr. He was a line-breaker, and had Benzema or Modric been sharper receiving his cut-backs, he may have been able to do even more than his brilliant game-winning goal.

Karim Benzema: 6. His finish was tidy, and though he didn’t do much outside his goal, Carlo Ancelotti did confirm after the game that he was playing with a cut on his foot.

Subs

Dani Ceballos: 7. Good energy off the bench and his distribution was on point. Also had the assist to Rodrygo (though, he didn’t have to do too much apart from getting the ball to him and letting the Brazilian cook).

Marco Asensio: 5.5. Not much to note. The Spaniard only had 16 touches in his 19+ minutes.

Aurelien Tchouameni: N/A. Only played nine minutes and his passing was fine. Some blamed him for Rayo’s goal, but it was Carvajal that left him on an island.