Real Madrid player ratings vs Real Zaragoza

Areola: Excellent save from Kagawa in the first half. Wasn't called upon too often in those early exchanges. Very little asked of him afterwards either but that save came at a very important time. Made another really good save from Luis Suárez late and then rejected Blanco moments later - 8.

Carvajal: Very active in attack. Made a couple of dangerous runs deep into Zaragoza territory in the first half. Battled throughout and was solid defensively too. Nice delivery for Benzema's goal - 7.

Ramos: Made a couple of nice clearances in the middle of the first half when Zaragoza were pushing. Looked off the pace as the game dragged on and was replaced by Nacho midway through the second half - 6.

Varane: Goal to kick things off. Recovered the ball a number of times at the back with his positioning. A threat from corners and a solid game from the French defender when Ramos wasn't at his best - 9.

Marcelo: Linked well with Vinicius. Reeling in the years with some of his runs into the box but attacking has never been his problem. Not too many questions asked of him going backwards. A few very sloppy touches too to go with some very positibe play but he doesn't like the same Marcelo of yesteryear with no burst when he does break the line - 6.

Kroos: Dangerous cross for the first goal. Won the ball back and played Vázquez in for the second. Controlled the middle for Madrid when necessary and while they were more open without Casemiro, Kroos worked hard to cover for his absence - 8.

Valverde: One of his quieter games. He played in Casemiro's role and didn't press as high as he likes to. Didn't show the same personality in that deeper role but is still learning that position as it never felt natural to him all night - 6.

James: Tried to be creative but a little out of touch at times. Played Vinicius in really well for the third and showed off his left foot with some nice passes - 7.

Vázquez: A fairly typical performance and he got a goal in the first half that pretty much ended Zaragoza's good spell and hopes of a comeback - 7.

Vinicius: Run down the left that ended up going out for a corner that led to the goal. Had Zaragoza defenders back-tracking for the whole game and looked like a player whose confidence is rising by the game - 9.

Jovic: Anonymous. Dropped deep to get involved but just couldn't figure out how to. Another poor performance from an expensive work in progress - 5.

Substitutes:

Benzema: Perfect sub's performance. Scored the fourth late on with a finish at the back post.

Brahim: Involved in the fourth with a pass to Carvajal. Came on late and didn't have much time to do anything else.

Nacho: Replaced Ramos and have one good intervention.