Real Madrid 2-1 Atletico Madrid: Los Blancos Player Ratings as they secure key win in first leg over city rivals | UEFA Champions League 2024-25

Real Madrid took a massive step towards the quarter-finals with a 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Round of 16 clash in the Champions League on Tuesday, March 4. Los Blancos will be hoping to seal the deal at the Metropolitano next week.

Coming off a 2-1 loss to Real Betis in La Liga last time out, Carlo Ancelotti made three changes to the side. David Alaba, Lucas Vazquez, and Luka Modric made way for Raul Asencio, Fede Valverde, and Eduardo Camavinga.

On the other hand, Diego Simeone's side were coming off a win against Athletic Club. They also made three changes with Julian Alvarez, Jose Gimenez, and Marcos Llorente coming in for Alexander Sorloth, Robin Le Normand, and Nahuel Molina.

It was the perfect start for Real Madrid, taking the lead inside four minutes through Rodrygo. Valverde did well to find the Brazilian attacker, who danced past the defense and unleashed a strong effort past Oblak to open the scoring.

The visitors were under pressure but managed to find the equaliser after 32 minutes of action. Alvarez jinked past Camavinga with ease before releasing a beautiful curling effort past Thibaut Courtois to level the tie.

It was more of the same in the second half as the hosts continued to enjoy the lion's share of the possession. It paid dividends as Brahim Diaz restored their advantage 10 minutes into the second period. Another piece of individual brilliance saw the attacker get past multiple defenders before scoring from a tight angle to make it 2-1.

Real Madrid managed to see the game off with relative ease as Atletico struggled to make inroads going forward. The result sees Ancelotti's men carry a vital lead into the second leg next week. Here are the player ratings:

Real Madrid Player Ratings

Thibaut Courtois - 6/10

He had to make only one save all night and could not do much to keep Alvarez's stunning effort out.

Fede Valverde - 7/10

A clear upgrade from Vazquez at right-back despite being a natural midfielder, Valverde brought energy and was an assured presence at the back. He also collected an assist for the side's first goal.

Raul Asencio - 6.5/10

The youngster was mostly calm at the back and dealt well with Atleti's rare forays well.

Antonio Rudiger - 6.5/10

Rudiger was solid in defense and looked to join the attack to provide an extra body against the visitors' deep-lying defensive line.

Ferland Mendy - 7/10

A strong performance from the Frenchman, making the case to earn more minutes. He offered nothing for the attackers down his flank while he also contributed well in attack, bagging the assist for Diaz's goal with a tidy pass.

Aurelien Tchouameni - 6.5/10

Tchouameni provided some much-needed stability in midfield and was also comfortable on the ball.

Eduardo Camavinga - 5.5/10

A difficult season continues as Camavinga was not at his sharpest against Los Rojiblancos. He was beaten too easily by Alvarez for their goal and was caught out of position at times.

Brahim Diaz - 7.5/10

Playing in a more central role, the Moroccan was vital to Real Madrid's win. He scored a brilliant goal and was impressive in both facets of the game, finishing with one goal, one chance created, three accurate long balls, three tackles, and four interceptions.

Rodrygo - 7/10

Rodrygo continued his strong recent form with a great performance, capped off by the early goal he scored. He was a constant threat down the right and arguably the side's best attacker on the night.

Kylian Mbappe - 5/10

A disappointing outing for Mbappe, who really struggled to get into the game, with his only effort on goal a speculative long shot that was easily saved.

Vinicius Jr - 6/10

A tale of two halves saw the Brazilian fail to make much of an impression in the first half but he was much more lively in the second as the side came close to adding a third goal.

Substitutes

Luka Modric - 6.5/10

Came on to offer control in the midfield and did exactly that, helping Real Madrid see the game out.

Lucas Vazquez and Endrick - N/A

The pair came on too late and did not play enough minutes to merit a rating.