Real Madrid were handed a shock 2-1 defeat by Celta Vigo in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-final at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday. This is Los Blancos’ second consecutive defeat after having had an unbeaten run of 40 games in all competitions.
Celta, who were forced to sit deep in their own half for much of the game, took advantage of the counter-attacking opportunities they got and made the home side pay as they got two crucial away goals. Real will now have to win by a margin of two or more goals or a scoreline of 3-2 in the second leg next week at the Balaidos.
Here are how the players fared:
Real Madrid (4-3-3)
Kiko Casilla (Goalkeeper) – 6/10
Casilla did not have many saves to makes during the match. He probably could not have done much with the goals that were scored as they came from defensive errors.
Danilo – 6/10
The right-back had a tough time against Theo Bongonda and he was at fault for the first Celta goal as he seemed well out of position.
Raphael Varane – 5/10
Varane, who is usually solid at the back, did not have a very good game as he was not able to handle Celta players pressing on him. He made a risky pass that led to Celta's second goal.
Sergio Ramos – 5/10
Ramos was probably lucky not to have been sent off in a tiff with Iago Aspas. His positioning for the second goal scored against Real was not ideal which led to Jonny Castro going clean through.
Marcelo – 6/10
Marcelo does come up with moments of brilliance, however, he has his fair share of moments of stupidity too. His back-heeled clearance in the box in the 64th minute fell kindly to Aspas, who finished well to give Celta the lead. The Brazilian did equalise with a thumping finish five minutes later.
Luka Modric – 6/10
Modric was not able to run the game as well as he usually does. However, he was one of the better Real players as he worked tirelessly.
Casemiro – 6/10
The Brazilian is solid through the middle and this forced Celta to play more on the flanks as he kept things tight more often than no.
Toni Kroos – 6.5/10
Kroos played a deep-midfield role as he pulled the strings for Madrid with his passing range, initiating attacks with his vision.
Lucas Vazquez – 5.5/10
Although Vazquez was one of the best attacking threats for Real, his blunder in the 70th minute led to Celta's second goal. He probably held on to the ball too long and was closed down quickly by Celta players.
Cristiano Ronaldo – 5.5/10
Ronaldo had a quiet game and failed to create much for his side. His decision making at times let his team down.
Marco Asensio – 5.5/10
Asensio was taken off early in the second half after he had quiet first half and receiving a knock
Substitutes
Alvaro Morata – 6/10
Morata was not able to make much of a difference after coming on a sub in the 53rd minute.
Mateo Kovacic – 6/10
Kovacic played only the last 20 minutes and tried to create something for Real, however, he had limited opportunities to do so.
Karim Benzema – 6/10
Benzema played only 10 minutes on the pitch but had a golden opportunity to level for Real when he missed from seven yards out.
Celta Vigo (4-2-3-1)
Sergio Alvarez (Goalkeeper) – 7.5/10
Alvarez had a good game as he made a number of saves for his side keeping them in the game. He could not do much about Marcelo's finish.
Hugo Mallo – 7/10
Mallo did not offer a lot in attack, however, he was solid at the back and kept Madrid’s attackers at bay.
Gustavo Cabral – 6.5/10
Cabral had a fairly good game and made some important blocks for his team. He might have been found wanting on a few occasions.
Facundo Roncaglia – 6/10
Roncaglia made a few errors that he probably was lucky to have paid the price for. His tug on Ronaldo in the first half could have easily been awarded a penalty.
Jonny Castro – 8.5/10
Castro had an excellent game as he was defensively brilliant and also scored the winning goal for Celta when he finished expertly in the 70th minute.
Marcelo Diaz – 7/10
Diaz passed the ball around well whenever Celta had the ball and made some important defensive contributions.
Nemanja Radoja – 7/10
The Serbian midfielder showed his strength in midfield as he shielded his defence and initiated attacks for his side.
Daniel Wass – 6.5/10
Wass did a good job of closing down Real's players but could not offer much in attack.
Pedro Pablo Hernandez – 7/10
A good performance from the Chilean midfielder as he pressed Real players who had the ball and gave them no easy route to pass.
Theo Bongonda – 7.5/10
Bongonda was a constant threat to Danilo on Celta's left flank as he used his pace to good effect. His cross led to the first goal for Celta.
Iago Aspas – 9/10
Aspas had a complete game for Celta as he finished brilliantly for the first goal and also provided an assist for Castro to finish their second goal after intercepting Vazquez's attempted pass.
Substitutes
Sergi Gomez – NA
Gomez came on in the 82nd minute and had too little time to make an impact.
Pione Sisto – NA
Sisto came on for the last three minutes and did not have a lot of time.
John Guidetti – NA
Guidetti was an 89th-minute sub and did not have enough time to make any contribution.
