La Liga 2017-18: Alaves 1-2 Real Madrid - Player Ratings

Real Madrid travelled to Deportivo Alaves on the matchday 6 of the La Liga hoping to improve on their timid start to the season. After all, the reigning champions had already fallen down the pecking order courtesy of two draws and a loss against Levante, Valencia and Real Betis respectively.

A trip to Alaves, a side which had not scored a goal in their opening 5 games appeared to be the perfect solution to get the Los Blancos back on the track.

It was a brace from Dani Ceballos, who was making his first Real Madrid start, on the either side of a Manu Garcia goal that looked to have set the game in the favour of the visitors. However, it was not to be as Real Madrid were stretched until the very end and largely had the goal post to thank for their victory.

Here are the player ratings from the game.

Deportivo Alaves

Alaves tried their best to hold their own for most parts of the game

Fernando Pacheco - 5/10

Pacheco should consider himself very lucky for having conceded only 2 goals on the evening as he had a torrid time in between the sticks and had the wastefulness of Real Madrid players to thank for keeping the scoreline respectable. While there was very little that the Spanish shot-stopper could have done to keep the first goal from going in, it was his weak punch that fell through to Cabellos for Real’s 2nd goal.

Carlos Vigaray – 5/10

The right-back had a pretty poor first half as he failed to add to his side’s defence as well as attack. The 23-year-old did not create any chance and was wasteful in possession thus forcing his manager into substituting him at the stroke of half-time.

Guillermo Maripan – 6.5/10

The Chilean lined-up alongside Ely at the heart of the Alaves defence and while there was an evident difference in quality between him and Real Madrid attackers, there was no denying that the centre-back put in a spirited performance to ensure that his side remained in the game until the full-time whistle was blown.

Rodrigo Ely – 7/10

Given the quality that exists in the Real Madrid attack as well as Alaves’ tendency to leak goals frequently in the current season, many expected that the game at Alaves came at the right time for the Los Blancos. However, Ely had different plans as he put in a spirited performance coupled and frustrated the Real Madrid attack with a barrage of vital clearances to make the game a contest.

Ruben Duarte – 7/10

Duarte was amongst the most enterprising Alaves’ players on the evening as he constantly probed the Real Madrid defence down the left-flank while also ensuring that he did his fair share of the dirty work to not afford the visitors anytime and space on the ball on the left flank.

Daniel Torres – 6/10

Torres was a bundle of energy through the game and constantly broke Real Madrid’s rhythm with a host of interceptions and blocks. However, his passing was wayward at times and there was very little that he did to add to his side’s attack.

Manu Garcia – 6.5/10

It was Manu Garcia who helped Alaves get back into the game with a thumping header in the 40th minute. The defensive midfielder arrived in the box to finish off a great move by the likes of Burgui and Haddadi to catch the trio of Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane and Keylor Navas by surprise. However, the 31-year-old could face retrospective ban after it appeared as if he had deliberately elbowed Lucas Vazquez in the face and was lucky to be not sent off in the 67th minute.

Burgui – 7/10

Alaves’ best moment in the game arrived when Burgui whipped in a through ball to Munir Haddadi on the right flank from which the former Barcelona man set up Garcia’s goal. His quick and precise pass caught the Real defence napping. The central midfielder linked up excellently with his fellow Alaves attackers and looked the likeliest of the players from the home team to slice open the visitor’s defence.

Alvaro Medran – 5/10

The attacking midfielder, who is currently on loan from Valencia, was largely anonymous through the evening as he failed to add any real quality to the Alaves midfield that had truly tested the Real Madrid midfield’s mettle. While he was tidy with his passing, there was very little that he did with the ball at his feet to threaten the Real defence and was guilty of disrupting the hosts’ rhythm at times.

Ibai Gomez – 6/10

Ibai Gomez was another of Alaves players who made their presence felt in the game against the reigning Champions with his industriousness. The former Athletic Bilbao man had the most touches amongst the Alaves attackers and constantly looked to get in behind the Real defence. However, he failed to create any real opportunity and was well handled by the opposition midfield.

Munir El Haddadi -7/10

The Barcelona man, who is currently on season-long loan at Alaves must have pleased his primary employers with his performance on the evening. The 22-year-old created his side’s only goal of the evening after timing his run perfectly to collect a pass from Burgui and then putting in a pinpoint cross for Garcia to head home.

While his side might have lost this game, the youngster should take a lot of heart from his performance and will need to carry on with the good work to ensure that his side are not involved in a lengthy relegation battle.

Substitutes

Alfonso Pedraza – 8/10

Another day and Pedraza could have been the hero that Alaves so desperately needed. The 21-year-old came on in the 65th minute and wrecked havoc on the Real defence not once but twice as he looked to pull his side back into the game. He was unlucky to have struck the post twice in a space of 6 minutes and had luck been on his side, he could have guided his side to an improbable win against the Champions.

Alexis Ruano – 6/10

Ruano was brought in at halftime to replace Vigaray and it would be fair to say that he failed to prove an upgrade on the player he replaced. He was wasteful in possession and while he did whip in 2 crosses, they failed to test the Real defence.

Ruben Sobrino – NA

Real Madrid

Ceballos' brace made the difference

Keylor Navas – 7/10

The Real Madrid shot-stopper had a decent game. While there was hardly anything he could have done to keep Manu Garcia’s header from going in, he ensured that his side remained in the lead with a solid showing in one on one situation.

Dani Carvajal – 6/10

With no real replacement for the player at the club, Carvajal’s performance might come as a worrying sign for Real Madrid fans. While he was tidy with his passing throughout the game, he failed to add to his side’s attacking threat and was also vulnerable at the back. He received a deserved caution in the 32nd minute and with a lot of game set to come thick and fast, Zinedine Zidane might have to find a solution to this emerging problem at the earliest.

Raphael Varane - 7/10

Varane was another of Real Madrid defenders who had a mixed evening. While he was seen making crucial interceptions and clearances at times, it was the French defender who was at fault as he failed to react to Haddadi’s cross for Garcia to thump home. His night could have gone from bad to worse had his failed clearance that led to a chance for Pedraza late in the game gone in.

Sergio Ramos – 6/10

While he did have a few moments of defensive lapses, he managed to ensure that Alaves could not capitalise on the same and led the defence, albeit in an average manner. However, he was at fault for missing a glorious opportunity from three yards out late in the game as Real sought to put the game to the bed. While scoring goals isn’t his forte, being a defender, we expected the Real Madrid man to finish the move that could have saved us all the drama that surrounded the game towards the end of it.

Nacho – 7/10

Nacho was perhaps Real’s best defender on the evening. While he was at fault for Alaves’ goal as he failed to deal with Haddadi, his runs down the left-flank ensured that the Alaves defenders were kept busy through the game. His movement on and off the ball created pockets of spaces for his teammates to exploit and he constantly stretched the Alaves defence with his runs down the flank.

Casemiro – 7.5/10

Considering that it was a terrible evening for the Real defence, Casemiro performed admirably to plug the leaks that appeared in the Real defence. He was tidy with the ball at his feet, constantly looked to create chances for his teammates while also ensuring that he kept the Alaves midfield occupied as he looked to control the tempo alongside the likes of Isco and Ceballos. Casemiro has always been a player that disrupts the opposition’s rhythm and he did so yet again with a few crucial tackles to hand his side a mini-victory in the centre of the park.

Dani Cabellos – 9/10

It was his first La Liga start for Real Madrid and Dani Ceballos, who joined Real Madrid from Real Betis in 2017 did not disappoint his manager. He scored the all-important brace to hand his side an advantage in the game and remained a threat to the Alaves defence until he was replaced by Marcos Llorente in the 71st minute.

He partnered Isco as the side’s central midfield pairing and while the duo might have gotten off to a rather tame start, especially in comparison to the side’s regular pairing of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, they proved to be a handful for the Alaves defence.

This was perhaps the best game to hand him his first start as a Real player and now that he has repaid his manager’s faith in full, we expect him to get more game time in a season that promises to be lengthy and arduous.

Isco – 7.5/10

It was not until the 20-minute mark that Isco really arrived into the game. He had been an onlooker until then but once he had his foot in the game, he ensured that he left a mark of his own. He was Real’s best player alongside Ceballos and created 4 chances in the 90 minutes that he was on the pitch to give his side the cutting edge in the attack.

Lucas Vazquez – 6/10

The thing about Lucas is that while he can be an absolute joy to watch when he goes on his runs, his decision remains poor to this day and is perhaps undermining his skills as a footballer. Against Alaves, the attacker yet again twisted and turned his way out of precarious situations but subsequently disappointed his teammates with his choice of passes and that was the story through the evening.

Given his potential, it is perhaps time Zidane had a long talk with the attacker about his final product and what they could do together to improve it.

Cristiano Ronaldo – 7/10

While Cristiano Ronaldo had the least touches (25) amongst the Real Madrid players who started the game, he was surprisingly involved a lot in the build-up to his side’s attack. It was his flick to Asensio that created Real’s opening goal and the Portuguese superstar was always willing to bring his teammates into the game.

However, it must be noted that he still looks rusty, especially by his standards and will need more game time to hit the ground running yet again.

Marco Asensio – 7/10

After being announced as the best U-21 player by the French football magazine L’Equipe, all eyes were on Asensio as he was handed another start by Zinedine Zidane and the up and coming Spanish superstar was a joy to watch. He linked up excellently with the likes of Ceballos (with whom he has been involved extensively in the Spanish youth teams) as well as Isco and constantly poked and probed the Alaves defence in order to improve on his side’s goal tally on the evening.

It was Asensio who assisted Ceballos’ opening goal thus taking opening his assists account for the season.

Substitutes

Marcos Llorente – 6/10

Llorente was introduced in the 71st minute for Ceballos. However, the 22-year-old failed to replicate Ceballos performance. On the overall, it was a healthy 19 minutes for the midfielder.

Borja Mayoral – NA