Real Betis 3-5 Real Madrid: Player Ratings

After the high of beating PSG in midweek, Real Madrid travelled to face a stern test against Quique Setién’s Real Betis. In a thrilling encounter, Madrid won 5-3 on the night with Marco Asensio scoring an all-important brace. It could have gone wrong for the champions who were 2-1 behind at halftime.

After Asensio had scored the opening goal, Aissa Mandi and a Nacho own goal pegged Madrid back. Sergio Ramos then scored the equalizer and the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Marco Asensio got onto the act. Sergio Leon scored Betis' third but Karim Benzema scored Madrid's fifth right at the death and confirmed all three points for the visitors.

So without further ado, let's take a look at the player ratings from a La Liga classic between Real Madrid and Real Betis:

Real Betis

Antonio Adan: 3/10

Conceding five in a game is never a pleasant sight for a goalkeeper. Adan had that displeasure against Madrid. Although he made a couple of decent saves on the night, the custodian should have done better for the first goal where he parried Ronaldo's shot straight to Asensio. For the fourth goal, Ronaldo's shot went straight through Adan and he was expected to do much better than that.

Junior Firpo: 7/10

The wing-back was a constant threat on the right flank and had a hand in two goals. Junior scored one and had a major hand in another where his shot was saved by Navas and then was bundled back in his own net by Nacho.

Jordi Amat: 5/10

The former Swansea defender looked a bit off the pace against Real Madrid's pace and could have done better against Sergio Ramos for Madrid's second goal.

Marc Bartra: 5/10

Bartra started many of Betis' attacks from the back and looked comfortable in possession. But he was found wanting on numerous occasions and did not do his primary job well.

Aissa Mandi: 7/10

The centre-back was the home side's best defender on the night. With a 100% passing accuracy, Mandi was brilliant in possession and also stood his ground in his duels. He also scored Betis' opener getting on the end of a Joaquin cross.

Antonio Barragan: 4/10

Up against Asensio, Barragan needed to be at his best defensively. Sadly, he did not bring his A-game to the table against the youngster and was beaten badly. The left fullback lost as many as eight duels on the night.

Fabian: 6/10

Real Betis' midfield outran their opponents during the majority of the time. Fabian was at the forefront of it and unlocked Madrid's defence successively. He also attempted 2 shots on Madrid's goal but did not succeed in finding the back of the net.

Andres Guardado: 7/10

Guardado's long balls caught the eye in this game. Be it changing the flanks or playing a ball over the Madrid defence, the midfielder did it with aplomb. He also attempted an audacious lob from the halfway line which landed on the roof of the net.

Ryad Boudebouz: 7/10

Boudebouz was proving to be too tricky to handle for the Madrid midfield. He was passing the ball well and getting in the channels to trouble the visitors. He completed all his dribbles on the night and won his individual battle against Casemiro.

Loren Moron: 5/10

The forward had a bright first half where one of his shot from long range had Navas worried. But Moron faded as the game went on and also received a booking in the second interval.

Joaquin: 8/10

The Betis hero was again crucial in all of the hosts' good work going forward. His pinpoint cross led to the first goal from Mandi and it was his deft pass which put Junior one on one with the keeper for Nacho's own goal. A constant threat for the Meringues!

Substitutions

Javi Garcia: 5/10

Garcia replaced Amat and played the final quarter of the match. He steadied the ship for Betis but could have marked Benzema better for the fifth and final blow to the home side.

Sergio Leon: 8/10

Leon took just nine touches of the ball after coming on in the 81st minute. He scored one goal from those nine touches and had momentarily brought Betis back into the game.

Cristian Tello: 5/10

The former Barcelona winger arrived along with Leon but could not create the same impact as that of his teammate.

Real Madrid

Keylor Navas: 6/10

Navas made a world class save against Joaquin off a free kick. It was destined to go into the left top corner. He looked assured with his passing but should have done better with the initial Junior shot which was then bundled home by Nacho.

Dani Carvajal: 7/10

Against Real Betis' 3-5-2 formation, Carvajal was often double-teamed by Joaquin and Junior on the right flank. He had an average first half because of the duo but emerged back to his best in the second. His mazy run led to Madrid's third goal where he beat as many as four players and assisted Marco Asensio.

Sergio Ramos: 6/10

The captain failed to sort out his troops in the midst of a Betis onslaught in the first half. But just as the entire Madrid side, Ramos looked extra confident in the second interval and scored the all-important equalizer for his side. Ramos rose the highest from a Vazquez corner and thumped the ball in the back of the net.

Nacho Fernandez: 5/10

The central defender scored an unfortunate own goal where he could not sort out his footing to clear the ball away. Nacho improved from the setback and delivered some important clearances and blocks in the second half.

Marcelo: 7/10

The left-back was looking sensational in the short time that he was on the field before he was taken off with a hamstring problem. Until Marcelo's departure, Real Madrid were looking like the better team but the tables turned soon after.

Casemiro: 5/10

The Brazilian's bad patch continues. Casemiro was too slow to recycle the ball and was left in no man's land for the Betis opener. He also looked second best in his challenges against Boudebouz. Casemiro redeemed himself to a certain extent by delivering a pinpoint long ball to Ronaldo for the fourth goal.

Matteo Kovacic: 6/10

The Croatian had a torrid first half where he was beaten fair and square by the Betis counterparts. Kovacic looked aggressive in the second half and improved his performance levels considerably. He controlled the tempo of the game later on and was highly effective.

Lucas Vazquez: 8/10

The hard-working youngster delivered brilliant crosses into the box, one of which was met successfully by the captain. As always, Vazquez showed tremendous work rate and produced two assists to make a solid case for himself to start more regularly for Real Madrid.

Marco Asensio: 9/10

The man who changed the entire complexion against PSG was at it again, this time against Real Betis. His first was a poacher's goal with Asensio being at the right place at the right time. His second one was neatly timed as he managed his run to perfection, opened his body for the shot and then side-footed it to score a memorable brace.

Gareth Bale: 5/10

The Welshman does not look convincing as a striker and it again reflected against Betis. He was alarmingly quiet in the first half. But Bale made two runs behind the home side's backline but both of his shots were saved by the rushing Antonio Adan.

Cristiano Ronaldo: 8/10

The big man is back among the goals and continued his goalscoring run against Betis. He scored with a bullet of a shot for Madrid's fourth and had a big hand in the opening goal as well. Ronaldo has now managed a staggering 10 goals in his last 6 games in all competitions.

Substitutions

Theo Hernandez: 6/10

Theo was on the back foot for the time that he played in the first half. But he looked at his marauding best in the second and made many darting runs forward, overlapping Asensio perfectly on numerous occasions.

Isco: 6/10

The playmaker was brought on to inject some quality in Madrid's midfield for the last half hour of the game. He did his job to the tee and held on to the ball well.

Karim Benzema: 8/10

Benzema played just five minutes for Real Madrid but it was his goal that put the cherry on top for the visitors. He started the move, playing a one-two with Vazquez and then calmly slotted it home with his first touch.