El Clásico: Real Madrid player ratings in Barcelona defeat
Levante - Real Madrid live: LaLiga Santander 2019
Keylor Navas: He denied Paulinho with a great save on the half-hour mark, and kept Real Madrid in it while he could. However, the flaky defending in front of him ensured that his efforts were in vain. He was left all alone against Luis Suárez on the opener, and had little chance of stopping Lionel Messi's penalty, either.
Dani Carvajal: The defender will go into the Christmas break on a real downer. Going forward, he offered the greater threat of Real Madrid's two full-backs. He might have conceded a penalty for a first-half challenge on Gerard Piqué, and ended up giving away a spot-kick after an hour, with a goalline handball that saw him shown a straight red card...
Raphael Varane: The Frenchman was decent enough before the break, but endured a disastrous second half. With the season now approaching its halfway stage, he continues to be less than fully convincing.
Sergio Ramos: The captain failed to show his usual authority in defence. He might have been sent off after clashing with Luis Suárez in the second half. At 2-0 down, he sought to make a difference going forward and, with seven minutes to go, almost nicked a goal.
Marcelo: The Brazilian was once more some way short of the lethal attacking weapon that could often be relied upon to open up games for Real Madrid. He appeared to spend more time being exasperated with the referee than seeking to make a difference.
Casemiro: It's hard to remember a worse display from the defensive midfielder. He didn't look comfortable in the mobile line of four cooked up by Zinedine Zidane, slowing everything down and failing to offer sufficient cover. He was replaced by Marco Asensio with Real 2-0 down.
Mateo Kovacic: He began the match putting the squeeze on Sergio Busquets, before then focusing his attentions more on Messi. His defensive work on Barcelona's opening goal, when he laid out the red carpet for Ivan Rakitic to stride forward, was unacceptable. The Croat was supposed to be Real's antidote to Messi, but in the end only succeeding in making the team worse.
Toni Kroos: The German is another player who comes out of this match with fingers pointing at him, just when he appeared to be rediscovering his form. When he had to rotate his position and step into the position behind the strikers, he looked lost.
Luka Modric: Real Madrid's best player in the first 45, during which he even managed to draw a yellow card for Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen. But he fought a lone battle against a Barça side who controlled the tempo of the game.
Cristiano Ronaldo: The Portuguese continues to struggle against Barcelona at the Bernabéu, with his record now reading just five goals in 14 Clásicos on home turf. And that's despite him having chances to score, particularly when Marc-André ter Stegen denied him with a smart stop with his feet. He ended up in a state of despair.
Karim Benzema: The striker's nightmare in front of goal continues. He had the best opportunity of the first half, but headed against the post shortly before the break. And that was that. Even Zidane, his unfailing champion, finally decided he had to come off...
Substitutes:
Nacho Fernández: Zidane brought him on for Benzema. Incomprehensible.
Gareth Bale: He did more in 20 minutes than Benzema did in nearly 70, and offered up clear evidence that he should have started. He looks in good physical shape; that's one of the few positives that Real Madrid can take out of today's game.
Marco Asensio: He gave it his best shot, but this was a Clásico that was as good as lost by the time he got on. Little blame can be attached to him.
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| Classification | PTS | WM | TM | LM |
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| Upcoming matches |
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