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

Real Madrid

Kiko Casilla: 4.5/10

There’s a reason Kiko Casilla is Real Madrid’s 2nd choice keeper and against Girona, the 31-year-old showed it. The Spaniard was a bag of nerves in between Real’s sticks and the Los Blancos fans held their breath every time he came out for a cross.

In fact, on several occasions, he stood their motionless as the ball travelled past him to hit the post twice. Lest we forget he conceded 2 goals to an 11th placed team. The sooner Keylor Navas comes back, the better.

Achraf Hakimi: 5/10

For the first time since his breakthrough on the first team scene, Achraf Hakimi showed the tentativeness of his age. He was nervous, shaky and error-prone and subsequently, he was taken off in the 65th minute.

Raphael Varane: 6/10

The Frenchman’s game was hampered when he got injured just before half-time. As a result, Zidane took the youngster off at the break and Madrid’s defensive woes were further exposed.

Sergio Ramos: 4.5/10

The Madrid captain didn’t lead from the back at all. He was irrational, poorly positioned and rash in his decision-making. The Spaniard was at fault for the two goals just as much as Nacho was.

Marcelo: 5/10

It’s hard to think of another time when the Brazilian was so ineffective in attack. Marcelo barely created any chances, neither did he produce several dangerous crosses.

Toni Kroos: 5.5/10

The German controller may have maintained a 92% pass accuracy, but he only created 2 chances throughout the 90 minutes. And neither of those chances were clear-cut for his forwards.

Casemiro: 4.5/10

For once, the Brazilian enforcer was totally inept in his positioning. Girona were able to consistently counterattack through the middle as the defensive midfielder left gaping holes in his irrational surges forward.

Luka Modri?: 5/10

The little magician just wasn’t on his game today. Luka Modri? struggled to influence the game in the final third, misplacing 9 passes and only creating 1 chance.

Isco: 5.5/10

A man usually central to Madrid’s link-up play in attack, Isco just wasn’t allowed the space to work in. He completed 69 passes and only created 1 chance all game. He did score Madrid’s only goal of the game, but besides that, he was ineffective.

Karim Benzema: 5.5/10

The Frenchman is often critiqued for his lack of goalscoring threat, but no one can deny his ability to create for others. It was his great work that created Real’s only goal of the game. However, as the game went on, Benzema’s influence dwindled. In the end, the 29-year-old roamed the final third aimlessly for the rest of the game.

Cristiano Ronaldo: 5/10

The best player in the world continued his poor run of form in the league. The 32-year-old has only scored 1 goal in 540 minutes of La Liga football. It seems as though his poor run of form has deeply affected his teammates, who seem to be showcasing a similar level of pitiable quality. Against Girona, Ronaldo attempted 7 shots on goal, misplaced 6 passes and was dispossessed once.

Substitutions:

Nacho Fernandez: 5/10

Nacho’s performance highlighted how big a loss Raphael Varane was at halftime.

Marcos Asensio: 5/10

The youngster looked out of place in the left wing-back role and could only muster up a few crosses.

Lucas Vasquez: 5/10

Like his Spanish compatriot, Vasquez struggled to make any meaningful contributions from the right flank.