Player Ratings: Elche 1-1 Real Madrid
Real Madrid end the year in disappointing fashion after dropping points against newly promoted Elche leaving Zidane’s side two points off Atletico who have two games in hand.
Luka Modric scored early on in the first-half with a close-range header after Marco Asensio’s shot deflected off the crossbar. Despite dominating proceedings, Real Madrid failed to add to their lead. This would prove costly as Elche equalised from the penalty spot in the second-half after Dani Carvajal had brought down Antonio Barragan.
Despite many chances to take the lead, Los Blancos failed to take advantage resulting in another two dropped points. These are our player ratings:
Starting XI:
Thibaut Courtois: 7/10
Guessed the right way for the penalty but couldn’t quite save it. Made a few key stops including a save from a last minute free-kick to save Real Madrid from further embarrassment.
Dani Carvajal: 6/10
Unnecessarily gave away the penalty that ended up costing Real Madrid. Rash and sloppy performance from Dani who is normally one of the most reliable players in this squad.
Raphael Varane: 7/10
The Frenchman had a rather decent game overall in defence. Not much to say about his performance.
Sergio Ramos: 7/10
Marcelo: 7/10
Toni Kroos: 8/10
Constantly looked to build out from the back and find his teammates using his vast array of passes. The German was one of the better performers in what was a rather disappointing night.
Casemiro: 7/10
Casemiro looked to be playing a more advanced role in the first-half. With Sergio Ramos playing so far forward in the second-half, the Brazilian had to drop a lot deeper to cover for his captain.
Luka Modric: 8/10
Real Madrid’s shining light once again. The Croatian opened the scoring for Real Madrid and despite his age, he looked the most energetic out there on the pitch.
Lucas Vazquez: 6/10
Karim Benzema: 5/10
Asensio: 6/10
Substitutions:
Eden Hazard: 5/10 – Came on to replace Vazquez with thirteen minutes left. Good to see him back on the pitch.
Valverde: 5/10 – Came on to replace Kroos but had too little time to affect the game.
Vinicius: N/A
