It was a mixed night for Real Madrid against Olympique Marseille, in which they picked up all three points, but also raised some questions about their own performance.
Real Madrid Player Ratings
Thibaut Courtois – 7
Could do nothing about Timothy Weah’s opener, and was equal to his second effort, as well as other efforts from Mason Greenwood and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. All expected to be saved, but was quick off his line too.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – N/A
Came off with injury after three minutes.
Eder Militao – 5
Looked vulnerable on several occasions, and was lucky Aubameyang did not punish him after misjudging the ball in the first half. His shakiest showing of the season.
Dean Huijsen – 6
With his ability on the ball limited by Marseille’s pressing and possession, Huijsen had an ordinary game against an attack that found joy often.
Alvaro Carreras – 7.5
The best of the backline for Real Madrid. Although Greenwood did cause issues, Carreras had some good interventions at the far post, and stepped in to press well.
Aurelien Tchouameni – 7
Had some nice interventions going forward, and winning the ball back high up. That said, OM broke through Real Madrid’s press on a number of occasions, forcing Tchouameni to pick up a booking to cover for those flaws.
Fede Valverde – 6
A discreet performance from Valverde, who neither stood out on the ball, nor hunted his opposition as regularly as he might have liked.
Franco Mastantuono – 6.5
Started off brilliantly, with his combative approach nearly fashioning the opener. Had some nice plays, but there is no denying he had to score his best chance, which would have made life far easier for Real Madrid.
Arda Guler – 5
Was generally quite good early on, and had some lovely combinations with Kylian Mbappe. However he failed to make the most of the space he did get, and the major blot was the Marseille goal, in which he was the prime culprit for sleeping on the ball.
Rodrygo Goes – 7
A decent performance, but after the penalty increasingly was absent. Did well to win the penalty, and got a couple of shots off early on. Unlikely to make it hard on Xabi Alonso to drop him though.
Kylian Mbappe – 8.5
The best player on the pitch once again. Mbappe’s two goals were from penalties, but he forced several good saves from Geronimo Rulli, and had Mastatuono’s finishing been better, he would have had a lovely assist too. Real Madrid’s match-winner.
Substitutes
Dani Carvajal – 3
Alonso gave an impassioned speech about Carvajal’s competitive character, his leadership and personality before this match. An adequate performance before that, but his sending off was cardinal sin for a captain.
Raul Asencio – 6
Largely unremarkable performance, which is good for a defender.
Brahim Diaz – 6
Came off the bench, and put in his customary effort, but the feeling is he is still a long way removed from his best.
Vinicius Junior – 7
Provoked the penalty, and had a couple of dangerous runs, even if he did pass up the chance to lay one off for Mbappe. Similar performance to that of Rodrygo, albeit he provoked more panic from the defence.