Player Ratings: Valencia 1-2 Real Madrid – 2021/22

Two late goals from Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr at the Mestalla earn Real Madrid all three points and keep Los Blancos top of LaLiga.

Real Madrid started the game very poorly and Thibaut Courtois was the reason behind the first-half ending goalless. Valencia continued the second-half just like they did the first and came close to scoring on a number of occasions. Los Che finally managed to find a way past Courtois around the hour mark after Lucas Vazquez had allowed Foulquier’s cross to bounce off of his head and fall nicely to Hugo Duro who volleyed home.

It looked like Valencia were heading to the top of the table with just four minutes left, but Real Madrid found a late equaliser through Vinicius. The Brazilian found the back of the net after his shot beat Valencia goalkeeper Mamardashvili following a deflection off Foulquier’s knee. Vini wasn’t done there. After scoring the equaliser, he then crossed for Benzema who scored with his shoulder on the 88th minute earning Los Blancos a massive three points. Our player ratings:

Starting XI:

Thibaut Courtois: 8/10

Another excellent performance from the Belgian. Courtois made some important saves, especially in the first-half, keeping the score level. He could’ve perhaps done a little better for the Valencia goal but he can’t be blamed for it.

Dani Carvajal: 5/10

Eder Militao: 7/10

Despite Real Madrid looking shaky at times, Militao had another good game at the back. The Brazilian looks to be forming a good understanding with Alaba.

David Alaba: 7.5/10

A few nervy moments aside, Alaba was solid at the back and managed to deal with Maxi Gomez pretty well.

Nacho: 6.5/10

Fede Valverde: 7.5/10

Casemiro: 6/10

Casemiro struggled big time tonight. The Brazilian mistimed a number of tackles and was often caught out of position. The Brazilian looked unusally sloppy and was replaced by Camavinga.

Luka Modric: 6.5/10

Not Luka’s best game. The Croatian looked to get on the ball and get things moving in midfield but was often outnumbered in the middle of the park and looked tired at times.

Eden Hazard: 6.5/10

Karim Benzema: 9/10

Vinicius Jr: 9/10

Substitutions:

Lucas Vazquez: 5.5/10 – Came on to replace the injured Carvajal. The Galician didn’t have the best of games and was at fault for Valencia’s goal.

Rodrygo Goes: 6.5/10 – Came on to replace Modric. The Brazilian didn’t see much of the ball but was direct and positive when he was found by his teammates. Came close to scoring but his shot went just wide.

Eduardo Camavinga: 7/10 – Came on to replace Casemiro. The Frenchman showed great energy and determination in the middle of the park and Real Madrid looked a lot better when he was on the pitch.

Isco: 7/10 – Came on to replace Valverde. The Spaniard was positive on the ball and was a big reason behind Real Madrid’s improvement late on.

Luka Jovic: 6/10 – Came on to replace Eden Hazard. The Serbian came close to scoring and looked sharp during his short spell on the pitch.