The midfielders sink against Atletis intensity. Good substitutions by Ancelotti but poor game-plan. It was a poor performance that could be decisive for the Liga BBVA title. Yes, Real Madrid got a point when they could have easily lost all three of them at stake. But they did lose the opportunity to almost put the nail in the coffin of this title. Goalkeeper: Diego López: C+ Disappointing performance by Diego López, who let Gabi score from long range with a powerful but centered shot. Its not easy to find mistakes made by López since he signed for Real Madrid a year ago, but today Atlético de Madrid got ahead because of him. Furthermore, this will only put some more pressure on him as the Spanish press will surely use it to claim for Casillas starting spot. Defenders Álvaro Arbeloa: C Another disappointing match by Arbeloa. Carvajal didnt do any better -more on that later-, but Arbeloa never supported his teammates on the midfield, and that left Gareth Bale in a very uncomfortable position. He wasnt that great defensively either, so thats what you call a poor match. Pepe: B- Pepe and Ramos struggles have nothing to do with their performance but with the midfielders. Costa is a very good striker who managed to get the best out of the Portuguese defender. He will hopefully recover his good form soon. Sergio Ramos: B- The exact same thing can be said about Ramos. Were used to much-better performances from both defenders this season, but Atléticos goals were not their fault. Fàbio Coentrao: D When Coentrao starts for Real Madrid the fans expect to have a solid defensive performance by the Portuguese winger, but Kokes goal caught him out of position. Its true that he should not be chasing Arda Turan there -that was Alonso or Di Marías duty-, but his decision cost Real Madrid. Furthermore, the team improved a lot since Marcelo entered the pitch. Midfielders Xabi Alonso : C- Gabi and Mario Suárez completely shocked Alonso. Its a bit worrying to see this kind of performance from him at a crucial match for the season, to be honest. Luka Modric: D Just when everybody thought Luka Modric was the Man of the Season for Real Madrid, he completed this terrible performance. Atléticos intensity just dismantled his game and you can tell he didnt want the ball at all until the last minutes of the game -when Atléticos pressure wasnt there anymore-. Luka Modric should be used to these intense games coming from the Premier League, but his performance could have not been more disappointing. Ángel Di María: D The other player to blame for Atletis first goal. Di María was playing really well since moving to the midfield but todays match stopped his good form. And Isco was much better... Attackers Gareth Bale: C- Uncomfortable again on that right wing. Hes much better with Daniel Carvajal behind him. Ancelotti needs to find something that makes Bale participate a lot more on the teams collective play. And he needs to do it soon. Cristiano Ronaldo: B Scored the equalizer but had a big opportunity off a header to put Madrid ahead shortly after. Still, he came to play and managed to rescue the point. Karim Benzema : B A good goal by Karim Benzema and a couple of good plays too. He would have done a lot more had he received the ball from the midfielders. Substitutions Marcelo: B+ Marcelo changed the game. Entirely. He made his point to start every crucial game at that left back position. At least, Ancelotti will realize how wrong he was. Dani Carvajal: C+ He should have done a lot more against Atléticos tired defenders. Carvajal tried to go forward a couple of times but never found a way to impact the game. And he lost what couldve been a crucial ball shortly after entering the pitch. Isco: B Isco is a midfielder. He needs to get a lot of touches. He did and he made an impact. That left side of the pitch with Marcelo, Isco and Cristiano almost won the match for Real Madrid.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Mar 2014 05:21:16 +0000
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