PLAYER RATINGS | Espanyol 1-3 Real Madrid

Espanyol took the fight right to Real Madrid, but late goals ensured all three points went to the reigning champions. We have rated the performance of the players who made an appearance at the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat last night.

ESPANYOL

Benjamin Lecomte: 5 – Made a couple of good saves but was sent towards the end of the game for fouling Ceballos.

Óscar Gil: 6.5 – Struggled to deal with Vinícius initially but grew into the game. Played a crucial role in the equaliser and kept the Brazilian in check during the second half.

Leandro Cabrera: 7 – Superb defensive performance from the Uruguayan and even went in goal after Lecomte’s red.

Fernando Calero: 7

Brian Oliván: 6

Vinícius Souza: 6.5

Edu Expósito: 6.5

Sergi Darder: 7 – At the heart of Espanyol’s buildup play.

Rubén Sánchez: 7 – Exuberant outlet on the right, making some driving runs at the Madrid defence.

Javi Puado: 5

Joselu: 6.5 – Scored the equaliser after receiving a fortuitous rebound off Militão.

SUBSTITUTES:

Keidi Bare: 5
Nico Melamed: 5
Dani Gómez: 5

REAL MADRID

Thibaut Courtois: 8 – Made a couple of spectacular saves to keep Espanyol at bay.

Lucas Vázquez: 7

Éder Militão: 7 – Quick and alert defensively; unlucky to be on the end of a deflection which set up Joselu’s equaliser.

Antonio Rüdiger: 7

David Alaba: 5 – Struggled to deal with Espanyol’s combinations on his side.

Aurélien Tchouaméni: 7 – Played an exquisite through ball to set up Vinícius’ goal.

Luka Modrić: 5 – Unusually ineffective with Espanyol enjoying a lot of momentum before he was substituted.

Toni Kroos: 6

Fede Valverde: 6.5

Karim Benzema: 7 – Very inefficient night for the most part, but played a key role in securing Real Madrid’s victory with a brilliant volley at the far post and a superb free-kick.

Vinícius Jr: 7.5 – Was the best player for most of the first half, scoring with great movement and composure.

SUBSTITUTES:

Rodrygo: 7 – Added momentum to Real Madrid’s attacks and assisted Benzema’s winner with a superb cross.

Eduardo Camavinga: 7 – Freshened up the midfield and made a couple of charging runs to open up opportunities.

Dani Ceballos: 7 – Won the late penalty and was a positive influence off the bench.

Dani Carvajal: 6

GSFN

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