La Liga 2017/18: Deportivo La Coruna 0-3 Real Madrid, Player Ratings

Real Madrid's curtain raiser against Deportivo La Coruna went just as the doctor ordered with the reigning Spanish champions getting off to a flyer with a 3-0 win. Zinedine Zidane made just one change to his playing eleven which played FC Barcelona last week as Nacho Fernandez replaced Raphael Varane. With Cristiano Ronaldo out injured, Madrid played a diamond formation and scored two in the first half.

Gareth Bale opened the scoring and Casemiro followed suit soon after the half hour mark. Toni Kroos put the cherry on the top with a strike from the edge of the box to give Madrid all three points. Deportivo's Florin Andone missed a penalty in the last few minutes which would have been a slight consolation for the hosts. On that note, here are the player ratings from Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna:

Deportivo La Coruna

Ruben Martinez: 4/10

The local lad spilled Luka Modric's shot which led to the first goal by Gareth Bale. It was an easy save for which Martinez made a complete hash of. He distributed the ball well but his mistake for the opener cost his side to lose all the early momentum in the game.

Juanfran: 6/10

Juanfran was a solid presence at the back for Deportivo and was one of their best players on the night. He sensed the danger brilliantly and made the Madrid attackers work hard to get past him. The Real Madrid academy graduate made as many as 7 interceptions in the game.

Fabian Schar: 4.5/10

Fabian Schar got into a tussle with Sergio Ramos

The centre back's involvement in an unnecessary altercation with Sergio Ramos in the second half was his most noticeable involvement in the game. Schar had a match to forget as he could not match the pace of the opposition and was often found wanting.

Sidnei: 5.5/10

Sidnei was brilliant in the air and won all his aerial duels. He was also good with the ball and helped Deportivo to build attacks from the back. But he was below par on one on one situations and got beaten easily at times.

Luisinho: 5/10

The fullback got forward with intent whenever he was presented with the opportunity. But for the majority of the match, he was pinned back to his position and was found napping on a couple of occasions.

Guilherme: 6/10

The midfielder ran the show for Deportivo. He dictated the play for the hosts and also struck the upright once. It was one of their best chances in the game and could have helped Deportivo to try and mount a comeback.

Pedro Mosquera: 5.5/10

Mosquera played some incisive through balls from deeper midfield but sadly Andone could not finish it off well. He had a decent game overall but had a problem or two when back peddling and helping out his back line.

Federico Cartabia: 6.5/10

Cartabia made Deportivo a threat going forward with his passing range troubling the Madrid defence. He could have had an assist but again it was Andone who could not finish his chance. Cartabia had to drop deep to get on the ball but he did that perfectly. He also showed tremendous work rate on the night.

Celso Borges: 5/10

The attacking midfielder started brightly and linked up well with Andone. But as the time went on, Borges failed to find his man and ultimately lost possession on numerous occasions. He was substituted in the 65th minute.

Zakaria Bakkali: 6/10

The former Valencia winger looked lively as ever against Real Madrid. He made life difficult for Dani Carvajal and beat him on two occasions. Bakkali lacked an end product to his game as he could muster only one shot in the match. He was later booked for a bad challenge on Carvajal.

Florin Andone: 4/10

Two one on one chances. One penalty. You would think that a team's first choice striker will get on the score sheet from at least one of the three best chances in the game. Florin Andone scored none. It was not Andone's day perhaps as he shot straight at Navas on two occasions and fluffed his spot kick badly.

Substitutions

Bruno Gama: 5.5/10

He replaced Bakkali early in the second half and looked eager to make a difference. Gama made one key pass in the game and most importantly, won his side a penalty in the 87th minute.

Adrian Lopez: 5/10

Lopez could not do much in his second half cameo to trouble the Madrid defence. Lopez's linking play was good but his teammates could not take full advantage of it.

Borja Valle: 5/10

The midfielder had very little time to help his side score a goal. He delivered one cross into the box which was dealt with ease by Sergio Ramos.

Real Madrid

Los Blancos celebrating the opening goal

Keylor Navas: 8/10

The Costa Rican made two huge saves in the opening 15 minutes which set the tone for his side's performance. Navas also saved a penalty late in the game but it was going wide anyway. His distribution was also brilliant with Navas starting off the campaign with a delightful showing.

Marcelo: 7.5/10

The Brazilian was at his marauding best! It was a textbook performance from Marcelo who proved to be too difficult to handle for Deportivo. He was a constant threat on the left flank and also provided an inch-perfect cross for Casemiro to score Real Madrid's second goal.

Nacho Fernandez: 8/10

Nacho took his chance with both hands and gave a solid display beside Ramos. He kept a close eye on Andone and made him toil hard after the first 15 minutes. Nacho's pace helped Madrid to get back into shape quickly after Deportivo looked to hit Madrid on the counter.

Sergio Ramos: 3/10

The captain received two yellow cards in the second half and was again shown the door in a La Liga game. But Ramos should have been sent off earlier for his shove on the face to Fabian Schar. It was a stupid reaction from the defender and deserved a three-match suspension. Before all the nonsense, Ramos was playing brilliantly and also made one goal-line clearance.

Daniel Carvajal: 5.5/10

This was not the performance which we have become accustomed to with the full-back. Carvajal struggled against Bakkali and also looked nervous on the ball. He also gave away a needless penalty late in the game.

Casemiro: 8/10

Casemiro seems to have added another dimension to his game with his late runs into the box giving Real Madrid another option up front. He scored yet again from point-blank range to give Madrid a two goal lead before the break. This was the Brazilian's seventh goal in 2017.

Toni Kroos: 9/10

Toni Kroos was the man of the match

Another game, another master class from the midfield maestro! Kroos dominated the entire game with his passing and late runs troubling Deportivo to great lengths. He capped it off with a well-taken goal and was also judged the man of the match.

Luka Modric: 7.5/10

The Croatian was Real Madrid's link between defence and attack. He ran with the ball with intent and created numerous half chances. Modric had a big hand in the first goal as it was his shot which was spilled by the Deportivo custodian.

Isco: 7.5/10

It was a lively performance from Isco where he linked up with his teammates brilliantly and created space for himself with his neat touches. His run between the two defenders made the third goal for Madrid possible as he teed up Gareth Bale who passed onto Toni Kroos.

Gareth Bale: 7/10

A goal and an assist to start off the new season for the Welshman. Bale was in the right place at the right time to score his goal and found Kroos perfectly for the third goal. But he could not dominate against the Deportivo defenders and hardly beat them in one v one situations.

Karim Benzema: 7/10

Just an assist for the Frenchman tonight but an unselfish one. He teed up Bale for the opener and also had a huge hand in the third goal. Benzema dropped deep to get involved and showed tremendous game sense throughout the 90 minutes.

Substitutions

Marco Asensio: 6/10

Asensio looked bright in his short cameo and had a free kick saved by Martinez late on in the game.

Marcos Llorente: 7/10

The midfielder replaced Casemiro and did his job with perfection. He completed all his passes and made some timely interceptions.

Lucas Vazquez: 6/10

Just as Asensio, the winger looked eager to make a difference but could not carve out an opportunity to find a shot. He won a free kick in the 85th minute which was hit firmly by Asensio.