How did the hosts play in their El Clasico win over Barcelona?
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Real Madrid celebrated an El Clasico victory this evening as second half goals from Pepe and Karim Benzema proved to be enough to see off a surprisingly quiet Barcelona side.
Here is how we rated the Real players during their potentially season defining victory:
GK) Iker Casillas 6 – A couple of shaky moments but a lot better than he has been on some occasions this season.
RB) Dani Carvajal 9 – An absolutely exceptional performance from Carvajal who was strong in the challenge, played intelligently and used the ball well.
CB) Pepe 8 – Dominant in the centre of defence and scored the decisive goal just after half time with a stooping header.
CB) Sergio Ramos 7 – Caught the eye less than Pepe but certainly but in a solid performance at the heart of the back four.
LB) Marcelo 7 – The Brazilian offered plenty going forward and by no means did so whilst abandoning his defensive responsibilities.
DCM) Toni Kroos 7 – Excellent on the ball, Kroos has quietly become a crucial player for Real since signing for the club in the summer.
CM) Isco 7 – Has taken his chance after an injury to Gareth Bale and, on this showing, the Welshman may find it hard to get back into the side.
CM) Luka Modric 8 – Exceptional display from the Croatian midfielder who is as important as anyone else to this Real side.
FW) Cristiano Ronaldo 7 – A quiet night for Ronaldo, who is often the decisive man in these fixtures but was largely peripheral as other players took centre stage.
FW) James Rodriguez 7 – Much like Ronaldo, deferred responsibility to others on the night, but played tidily enough.
FW) Karim Benzema 8 – Unlucky to only score once, Benzema ran the Barcelona defence ragged all evening and put in a superb centre forward’s performance
SUB) Asier Illarramendi 7 – Thrown on to shore up the midfield and did it effectively.
SUB) Sami Khedira 6 – His substitution was a time wasting exercise as much as anything else.
SUB) Alvaro Arbeloa 6 – As with Khedira, just brought on to stop Barcelona gaining any rhythm.
MAN) Carlo Ancelotti 9 – Won the tactical battle against rookie Luis Enrique and didn’t allow his players’ heads to drop when they fell behind.