Player Ratings: Almeria 1-2 Real Madrid – 2022/23

Real Madrid kicked off their LaLiga title defence with a hard-fought win away to Almeria.

Largie Ramazini opened the scoring for the hosts after Antonio Rudiger’s error allowed him to run through. Lucas Vazquez squared things up for Real Madrid on the hour mark after the team greatly improved in the second-half.

With the score at 1-1, Alaba replaced Ferland Mendy on 74 minutes. Carlo Ancelotti was using a break in play created by Luka Modric winning a foul on the edge of the Almeria area. Alaba trotted on and curled the set-piece over the wall, off the post, and into the back of the net.

After Barcelona’s failure to win on Saturday, Real Madrid have taken first advantage in what will be a long race for the league title.

Player ratings:

Starting XI:

Thibaut Courtois: 7/10

Not much he could do for Almeria’s goal, Courtois was let down by his defence. Overall, he wasn’t tested much.

Lucas Vazquez: 9/10

By far Real Madrid’s best player on the night. The Galician scored in the first-half only for it to be disallowed for offside. Lucas scored again in the second-half, and this time the goal stood. Excellent performance.

Antonio Rüdiger: 5/10

Caught napping for Almeria’s opener. The German didn’t look comfortable out there tonight.

Nacho: 6.5/10

You could tell from their performances that Rüdiger and Nacho haven’t played together before. The two looked shaky at the back and Almeria’s towering striker, Umar Sadiq, was a little too much to handle at times.

Ferland Mendy: 6/10

Fede Valverde: 8/10

Karim Benzema: 7/10

Vinicius Jr: 7.5/10

Substitutions:

Luka Modric: 7/10 – Came on to replace Camavinga after the break. The Croatian added more calm and balance to his team’s midfield.

Eden Hazard: 7.5/10 – Came on to replace Tchouaméni. The Belgian looked very sharp since coming on, playing a small part in both of his team’s goals.

David Alaba: 9/10 – Came on to replace Mendy. The Austrian scored a belter of a free kick with his first touch just seconds after coming on. Two goals in two games for Alaba so far this season.

Dani Ceballos: N/A – Came on to replace Vinicius.

Casemiro: N/A – Came on to replace Toni Kroos.