Cristiano Ronaldo and Jese Rodriguez scored as Real Madrid saw off a spirited Roma performance with a 2-0 victory and set the tone for a routine entry into the quarter-finals of this season’s UEFA Champions League.
After a first half devoid of clear-cut chances, the game burst into life in the 57th minute when Cristiano Ronaldo’s strike from the edge of the box – following a great run from the wing – took a deflection off Roma captain Alessandro Florenzi and flew past a diving Wojciech Szczesny. Roma pressed hard for an equaliser, but were ultimately given the sucker punch by substitute Jese in the 86th minute as Real took a comfortable lead to the Santiago Bernabeu for the second leg three weeks later.
We observe each player’s performance during the game and assign them a rating on a scale of 1-10:
AS Roma
Wojciech Szczesny – 6.5
Szczesny made a few routine stops, but nothing really that deserved a pat on the back. Ronaldo’s deflected goal was out of his reach and he couldn’t have seen Jese’s late strike early enough to commit himself to a save.
Alessandro Florenzi – 7.5
Roma’s captain was a vivacious character on the right throughout the game. His partnership with Salah was menacing and Roma’s most likely goal-scoring source. He was unfortunate on a couple of occasions – Ronaldo’s goal deflected off him and a penalty shout went against him when Dani Carvajal appeared to have snapped his legs with the ball nowhere in the proximity.
Kostas Manolas – 7
Manolas closed down Karim Benzema quite well throughout the game. Most of the low crosses were taken care of well by the Greek defender but he could do nothing about the 2 goals.
Antonio Rüdiger – 8
A brilliant game for the German, who dealt with each Real Madrid attack with relative assurance. His height helped him rise above everyone else when crosses came flying in. Like Monalos, he too was personally helpless to stop the two goals from being scored.
Lucas Digne – 7
The PSG loanee gave a good account of himself for large periods at left-back, occasionally making the forward dash to force a goal-scoring chance for Roma. He didn’t give James Rodriguez the space he needed to thread his way through the Roma defence, which is a green tick in his profile. Digne could be held guilty for not stopping the sucker-punch that led to the second goal, but Roma badly needed an equaliser.
William Vainqueur – 6.5
He was guilty of giving the ball away in midfield multiple times, resulting in a majority of Roma attacks coming from the wings. Vainqueur was unable to be the dictating figure typical of a central midfielder.
Miralem Pjanic – 6
The set-piece specialist’s tendency to get rid of the ball from his feet by playing one-touch football proved costly, as his passes were being constantly intercepted by Luka Modric and Isco in midfield. None of his corners too were dangerous enough to test the Madrid defence.
Mohamed Salah – 7.5
His absolutely searing pace on the right wing gave Marcelo a headache at the end of the game. His partnership with Florenzi was working wonders, as they were able to shift the ball to the other end of the pitch within the blink of an eye. He was the centre of Roma’s high-press in the last 20 minutes, creating chance after chance in a bid to grab that equalising goal. A quality finish, however, was the only thing lacking in the Egyptian’s otherwise impressive performance.
Radja Nainggolan – 7
The funky-haired Belgian tried his utmost best to dictate Roma’s play in the attacking third, sending Mohamed Salah on his way down the flanks and also attempting to conjure a series of passes with Vainqueur and Pjanic. The duo’s underwhelming form meant that Nainggolan had to stick largely to the former route.
Stephan El Shaarawy – 6.5
El-Shaarawy was thwarted on two occasions by some excellent Real Madrid defending – one by a strong Varane wipe-out and the other by some good touch-and-go sweeping work by keeper Keylor Navas. The Egyptian couldn't do too much of note apart from those two chances.
Diego Perotti – 6.5
The striker found himself bereft of goal-scoring chances with just a single attempt on goal – which was blocked. He was well checked by Sergio Ramos, ultimately enduring a disappointing night on the whole.
Substitutes
Edin Dzeko – 7
The ex-Manchester City man was a lively figure on the left wing after replacing Stephan el Shaarawy, getting a couple of cracks at goal, one of which hit the side netting when he had only Navas in front of him.
Daniele de Rossi – 6.5
The veteran replaced Vainqueur to bring some creativity and energy to the Roma midfield. De Rossi though, failed to inspire his side to an equaliser.
Francesco Totti – N/A
Roma’s everstay came on too late to make any sort of impact.
Real Madrid
Keylor Navas – 7
A potentially match-saving clearance to deny an onrushing El Shaarawy early in the second half was the Costa Rican’s high-point in an otherwise dull game for him.
Dani Carvajal – 7
Carvajal was everywhere on the right side for Real Madrid, keeping Lucas Digne at bay while advancing up the field himself to link up with Luka Modric and James Rodriguez. The Spaniard could deem himself lucky not to have conceded a penalty when he took down Florenzi with the ball nowhere close.
Sergio Ramos – 7.5
A disciplined performance at the back for Real’s captain. He was outrun by Mohamed Salah during a counter-attack but otherwise had a pretty solid game. Ramos gained more strength and confidence to match Salah as the game progressed.
Raphael Varane – 8.5
A brilliant defensive display by the young centre-back, who continues to grow in stature as one of Europe’s top defenders. His pace and strength to deny El Shaarawy from pulling the trigger late in the first half was reflective of his assurance at the back for Zinedine Zidane’s side. He also made a defiant clearance in the second half to stop a whizzing Mohamed Salah ball from finding a Roma player in the box.
Marcelo – 7
Nearly produced the goal of the Champions League season with an outside of the boot strike which narrowly went off target. Performance wise, he was largely subdued by a defensive masterclass from captain Alessandro Florenzi. As a result, he failed to make too many of his crosses count.
Defensively he was suspect as well, constantly threatened by the pace of Mohamed Salah on the wings. His assist for Ronaldo’s opener gives him the extra ratings.
Toni Kroos – 7
The German sat very deep for Real Madrid, almost as a third centre-back. Dictated most of Real Madrid’s attacks through Luka Modric and Isco. Defensively solid, he prevented the likes of Radja Nainggolan and Miralem Pjanic from creating a clear cut chance.
Luka Modric – 7
Luka Modric was always threatening to unlock the Roma defence with his intensity-filled runs on the right side of midfield. The Croatian linked up well with Carvajal and James to keep the PSG-loaned Lucas Digne on his toes, but failed to find that killer pass to disturb Roma’s centre-halves.
Isco – 7.5
Isco played more or less the same role as Modric on the other side of the pitch. He however, managed to be more incisive through the Roma midfield, although it helped his cause that he had Cristiano Ronaldo to work with.
James Rodriguez – 6.5
Not the best of games for the Colombian star, although he did manage to create a couple of chances from the right wing. Rodriguez could not produce that moment of magic he is so renowned for and should have hit the target when he headed wide unmarked from around 10 yards out.
Cristiano Ronaldo – 8
The 3-time Ballon d’Or winner managed to silence his critics by netting away from home for the first time since late November. It was a brilliant goal – onside from a Marcelo pass down the wings, a trademark back-heel to unsettle Florenzi, followed by a curler – albeit deflected – into the top corner.
He burst into life following the goal, haring down the wings and getting into good positions in an attempt to extend Real’s lead.
Karim Benzema – 7
A frustrating evening for the French striker, despite his heavy involvement in most of Real Madrid’s work in the final third. Was effectively closed down by Kostas Manolas.
Substitutes
Mateo Kovacic – 7
Kovacic replaced Isco at the hour mark and made a number of dangerous run-ins from left central midfield at a Roma defence distraught after having conceded the goal.
Jese – 7
He did his job in the last 10 minutes by completing a typical Madrid counter-attack with a good low strike through a defender’s legs and put the ball firmly in Real Madrid’s court going into the second leg.
Casemiro – N/A
The Brazilian replaced Ronaldo in the 89th minute to shut up shop.
