Real Madrid player ratings as Zidane's men lose to Man City

Thibaut Courtois:

A solid presence between the sticks, Courtois came to Real Madrid's rescue with saves from Gabriel Jesus and Bernardo Silva in the first half, and twice from Riyad Mahrez in the second. However, his poor clearance almost cost Madrid just before the break, and he was helpless to keep out the visitors' two late goals.

Dani Carvajal:

Carvajal put in a poor display, making several errors - chief among which was his foul on Raheem Sterling to give away Manchester City's winning penalty. Opponents clearly see the opportunity to get in behind Carvajal as a weakness in Madrid's defence, with no little justification.

Raphael Varane:

Varane gave a focused performance when it came to cutting out City's attacks and providing cover in behind Carvajal. He brought the ball out from the back well.

Sergio Ramos:

Ramos looks more at ease with Ferland Mendy to his left. The captain had been effective in getting to the ball before Mahrez and Gabriel Jesus until the Brazilian found space behind him to nod home the leveller (with the aid of a nudge). Ramos was then sent off for bringing Jesus down when he was through on goal.

See also | "Sergio Ramos should not have had red card" - Iturralde

Ferland Mendy:

Having been a substitute against Celta Vigo and Levante, the Frenchman returned to the left-back berth and was very solid at the back, not allowing Mahrez to beat him even once. However, he struggles to make an impact going forward.

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Casemiro:

Dropped in between the centre-backs to help Real Madrid bring the ball out, but also hurt Los Blancos' circulation by being sloppy in possession on more than one occasion. For example, one overconfident backheel allowed City to launch a counter-attack that saw Mahrez go close.

See also | Casemiro: "We sat back for 15 minutes..."

Federico Valverde:

Intense and competitive, he sought to create danger in attack but lacked precision. He picked up a yellow card for pulling back Ilkay Gündogan shortly after the break, and increasingly looked to be running on empty in the second half.

Luka Modric:

With Toni Kroos on the bench, the playmaking onus was on Modric. The Croat covered a lot of ground in the midfield and worked hard to support his team-mates, but could not connect with Karim Benzema.

Isco:

A surprise inclusion against Paris Saint-Germain in November, Isco again started on the big Champions League night and got the game's opening goal, collecting Vinicius' pass and finishing past Ederson. He was fielded in an unfamiliar role on the right (albeit with the freedom to drift), which is perhaps why we had not seen too much of him before he found the net.

Vinicius Júnior:

Incisive on the left wing, he could and should have scored when Ederson parried Benzema's header into his path, but slipped and was unable to turn the ball home. Had a real good battle with Kyle Walker and set up Isco's goal after robbing the City defender, before being substituted for Gareth Bale.

Karim Benzema:

In his 100th Champions League appearance for Madrid, Benzema came close to opening the scoring with a header that was only kept out by a wonderful Ederson save.

Substitutes:

Gareth Bale:

Given 15 minutes, Bale scarcely had an opportunity to offer anything going forward.

Luka Jovic:

Came on for Isco, but had no time to do anything.

Lucas Vázquez:

Came on for Modric but, like Jovic, had no time to make an impact.