Real Madrid had to dig deep to beat an impressive Almería in their first game back in the top-flight.
UD ALMERÍA
Fernando: 8.5 – Made 13 saves on the night, an impressive display to keep out several Real Madrid opportunities.
Chumi: 5.5
Kaiky: 7.5 – The 18-year-old Brazilian oozed class beyond his years, going toe-to-toe with Vinícius multiple times and showing impressive pace and defensive awareness.
Rodrigo Ely: 7 – Dogged performance alongside his compatriot, unlucky to be on the losing side.
Srdan Babić: 6.5
Sergio Akieme: 6.5
Samú Costa: 6
Íñigo Eguaras: 7 – Assisted Ramazani’s goal with a brilliant long ball, catching the Real Madrid rearguard unawares.
Lucas Robertone: 6.5
Largie Ramazani: 7.5 – Calmly slotted past Courtois to give Almería the lead and was a constant thorn whenever the hosts went on the offense.
Umar Sadiq: 6
SUBSTITUTES:
Curro Sánchez: 5 – Squandered a good shooting opportunity late on.
Dyego Sousa: 5
José Carlos Lazo: 6.5
Arnau Puigmal: 6
Francisco Portillo: 6
REAL MADRID
Thibaut Courtois: 7 – Did not stand much of a chance in saving Almería’s goal, but an assured performance nonetheless, making 5 saves.
Lucas Vázquez: 8 – Scored in the first half but was ruled offside. Eventually grabbed his goal to score Madrid’s equaliser in the 61st minute.
Antonio Rüdiger: 5.5 – Slow to react for Almería’s goal.
Nacho Fernández: 6
Ferland Mendy: 6.5
Aurélien Tchouaméni: 4.5 – Difficult La Liga debut, struggled to influence the game.
Eduardo Camavinga: 4
Toni Kroos: 7
Fede Valverde: 7 – Another tireless performance from the Uruguayan, operating more centrally than usual due to Vázquez’s frequent overlaps.
Karim Benzema: 7 – Given little space to operate in by Almería’s compactness, but linked up with Vinícius and co.
Vinícius Jr.: 8 – Was the catalyst to every positive Madrid movement in the final third, relentlessly driving at the Almería low block with his directness and creativity.
SUBSTITUTES:
Luka Modrić: 7 – Influential in restructuring Madrid’s midfield proceedings after a disarrayed first half.
David Alaba: 7.5 – Slammed home a free-kick with his first touch of the game to win Madrid all 3 points.
Eden Hazard: 7 – Sharp off the bench.
Casemiro: 6
Dani Ceballos: 6
GSFN