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RB Leipzig 3-2 Real Madrid: Player ratings
Real Madrid’s first defeat of the season was always coming, and destiny had it that it came in Germany against RB Leipzig. Carlo Ancelotti fielded a rotated team at the RB Arena and the men in white paid the price by going down 3-2 to Marco Rose’s men.
Los Blancos needed just one point against Leipzig to seal the first spot in their UCL group. However, it was not to be and that mission carries forward to the next matchday.
Vinicius Jr’s header and Rodrygo’s late penalty gave the visitors consolation, but it was clear from the first minute that the hosts were the team in control and with the better chances. Christopher Nkunku, Timo Werner and Josko Gvardiol were all on target for Leipzig and pioneered a special win for the German side.
Madrid Universal brings you the player ratings from Tuesday’s clash.
Thibaut Courtois: 6.5
It is not often that one sees the Belgian shot-stopper concede three goals in one game. Cannot be held directly responsible for any of the setbacks, but could have done slightly better on the second goal. He also made three saves on the night to save Real Madrid’s blushes.
Lucas Vazquez: 4
A very poor outing for the makeshift right-back as he struggled both in defence and attack. Looked helpless when Leipzig broke on the counter and managed just six defensive actions.
Eder Militao: 5
While the Brazilian was involved in nine defensive actions including three vital clearances, it was not his best showing. Militao’s poor marking opened the way for Leipzig’s second and third goals on the night and had a direct impact on the final result.
Nacho Fernandez: 4
Started the game as a centre-back but was soon swapped to the left-back position after he struggled to cope with Leipzig’s pacey attacks. Looked like a fish out of water even at left-back and failed to control Mohamed Simakan’s run that resulted in Werner’s goal.
Antonio Rudiger: 5
A disastrous performance from the German international who made just two defensive contributions in the entire game. Started as a left-back but soon swapped with Nacho to take over as the centre-back. Yet, he saw no respite in his favoured position.
Aurelien Tchouameni: 7
Began the game with a few nerves and made a blatant error leading to Leipzig’s second goal of the night. However, he came out with a fresh mind in the second half and delivered a strong performance. Real Madrid’s dominance in the opening period of the second half was predominantly because of Tchouameni’s orchestration and hard work off the ball.
Toni Kroos: 7
The German international had one of his routine top-class nights, as has been the norm with him throughout his career. Made over 100 touches on the night with close to 90% pass accuracy. He completed nine of his twelve attempted long balls and was strong in defence.
Eduardo Camavinga: 5.5
The hype around Camavinga seems to be a sinking ship for the youngster and he is barely giving the manager any reasons to start him. The game last night was amongst his better performances, but that is not saying much. The Frenchman tried to break the lines and get into advanced positions but his passing often let him down.
Marco Asensio: 6
The Spaniard made his first start of the season in Germany but failed to make the most of it. It was his ball that opened the door for Vinicius Jr’s goal. Even though he recorded a game-high of three key passes, Asensio’s involvement in the game constantly fluctuated between the two extremes.
Rodrygo: 7
The Brazilian youngster started the game as the centre-forward in Karim Benzema’s absence and did a reasonable job as the striker. He had three shots on target, attempted six dribbles and worked hard off the ball. Eventually won the penalty in the final minute and scored it with a calm head.
Vinicius Jr: 6.5
The youngster was a constant threat on the left wing and had a big role to play in the buildup. Scored Real Madrid’s only open-play goal of the night with a well-worked header but also missed a couple of clear chances in the second half.
SUBSTITUTES
Dani Carvajal: 4
Had just 14 touches in 21 minutes of action with a poor pass accuracy of 70%.
David Alaba: 4
Insignificant contributions on the field in his limited time.
Eden Hazard: 6
The only noteworthy moment in the Belgian’s cameo came when he combined with Vinicius and Asensio in the closing minutes of the game to create a big chance. Nevertheless, the best of the three substitutes on the field.
The derby weekend is here as Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are set to lock horns on Sunday afternoon at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.
After an eventful transfer window and a stuttering start, Atletico Madrid reaffirmed their position as genuine title contenders and have done decently well so far this season.
With four wins, a draw and a defeat to their name, they sit on 13 points after six games.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, have only had one defeat and are on 15 points after as many games, only behind Barcelona who sit on a perfect record.
Diego Simeone’s men had a shaky start to the season, but have picked up steam in recent weeks with seven goals scored and none conceded in their last two games.
Given their strong record against Real Madrid at home, they will look to take all three points tomorrow.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid.
A test away from home
It is no secret that Real Madrid’s form on the road this season has been poor, not necessarily for the results themselves but how the team have conducted themselves in away grounds.
For the first time in years, there appears to be a sense of uncertainty around Los Blancos’ ability to produce results away from home.
For long periods in the game, they appear willing to hand over the momentum, and the resultant pressure has seen them collapse.
A last-gasp winner from Carlos Espi handed them the win against Espanyol away from home, and they went on to lose against Real Betis in their second away fixture of the season.
Most recently, they bottled a 2-0 lead against Elche and again required a stoppage-time winner from Espi to take the three points.
Tomorrow’s game, in that sense, is extremely challenging, for it is not only away from home but against an opposition of high quality.
Playing Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano is as challenging as games get, and Real Madrid have an extremely poor record at the venue.
Since 2017, Real Madrid have only won twice at the Metropolitano with three defeats and three draws. Last season, they suffered a 5-2 defeat and the game went on to break the team’s momentum.
Heading into such a tricky clash with an ongoing crisis away from home makes Sunday’s clash very complicated for the Merengues.
Arda Guler has to return
After a long time, Jose Mourinho took the Yan Diomande experiment to the next level and handed the player back-to-back starts for Real Madrid.
Clearly, the new signing still has a long way to go in terms of his adaptation, but he has been promising as an attacking outlet in his few appearances.
Diomande started both against Rayo Vallecano and Elche, but there is a strong case to drop him for the Madrid derby and play Arda Guler instead.
The Turkish international was on the bench against Rayo Vallecano and played as a No. 10 against Elche, with Jude Bellingham rested. Now, with the Englishman set to return, the manager has a decision to make.
Mourinho has made it clear that he wishes to ease Diomande into Real Madrid’s dynamics to reduce the pressure on his shoulders. Fielding him from the start in a derby would contradict that idea.
Beyond that, however, Guler has shown far more utility and promise as an attacking and creative outlet than Diomande, making the right-wing decision quite clear for the manager.
Real Madrid with and without Guler have been two completely different stories this season, and the team will require every last bit of creative inspiration that he has in him to get past Atletico Madrid tomorrow afternoon.
There is also a case for Brahim Diaz to be brought in, and the Moroccan star is also probably ahead of Diomande on the pecking order. Guler, however, stands out as a top option even ahead of Brahim.
Eyes on Vinicius Jr.
For years, Vinicius Jr. has always utilised the big stages to make his statements, for he has been a player to speak through performances and not words.
For instance, he scored a stunning solo goal last season against Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup at a time when he was least expected to do so. At that point, he had not scored in 16 straight games, but the big moment called out to him.
It is clear that the Brazilian is not going through his best moment right now once again. The past few weeks have been hard on him, especially after he did well at the World Cup and returned to Madrid with higher expectations on him.
So far this season, Vinicius has only scored one goal in seven games. Beyond the goals, however, he has not looked like his usual threatening self on the flank and has not created half as many chances as he usually would.
Such is the player’s situation that his place in the team is being called into doubt for the first time in years. After all, Yan Diomande can play on the left and showed glimpses of his ability in the previous game.
All eyes, thus, will be on Vinicius on Sunday to see if he can step up to the occasion and make his presence felt when it really matters. He has always been one for the big stage, and tomorrow’s stage is the biggest yet this season.
