REAL MADRID 3 - REAL SOCIEDAD 1
Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad player ratings
A great night for Modric, who participated in all three goals, while it was not a night to remember for Sergio Ramos.
Courtois: had no fault in the Willian goal. Saved two decent shots from Odegaard and pulled off a fine save towards the end to deny Isak.
Carvajal: offered himself again and again in attack to combine with Valverde and Rodrygo, with more presence than efficiency. In defence, he controlled Oyarzabal well.
Varane: the best of the Madrid defence, did well to control Willian José.
Ramos: Gave away the opening goal because of a very wayward back pass to Courtois. He settled a bit after that and improved but was far from his best. Picked up a yellow in the second half for an ugly challenge on Odegaard.
Mendy: decent defensive performance and also effective in attack. Had one shot at goal and served a great cross to find Rodrygo unmarked in the second half. Received a standing ovation when he came off in the 834rd minute.
Modric: great match for the Croatian, who set up Benzema’s opening goal with a textbook set piece delivery, as well as Valverde’s second goal, before scoring himself.
Casemiro: supported Madrid well in the most nervous moments after they went 1-0 down. The security that he offers in front of defence is priceless. He had a chance to draw Madrid level in the first half with his head before Benzema’s goal.
Valverde: it was the Uruguayan's least effective performance this season from a physicality perspective. Although he made up for it by scoring the second goal. After the break he strengthened his presence in the midfield before coming off in the 76th minute.
Rodrygo: a relatively subdued night for the Brazilian. His best chance came from the aforementioned cross but he couldn’t get enough power or direction on the header to trouble Remiro in goal. Made way for Bale in the 67th minute to rapturous applause.
Benzema: had little participation until his goal in the 37th minute. He later set up Modric’s goal before almost scoring a second for himself with a rocket strike from outside the box in the dying seconds.
Hazard: another good game for the Belgian, who appeared all across the attacking front line, setting up plenty of plays as well as almost finishing a few.
Bale: Came on to loud whistles in the 67th minute. He had a couple of decent plays and played his part in setting up Modric’s goal. In the end he received some applause, but the general feeling is that the Bernabéu crowd is done with him.
