Real Madrid have won the first two games of the 2023-24 La Liga season, as they came from behind to get a win at the Power Horse stadium against Almeria.
Going down to an early goal was always going to make things complicated, and that too from one of their own players on loan at Almeria, Sergio Arribas.
However, Real Madrid once again showed the character that has been one of their key attributes throughout their rich history to get a win in these difficult circumstances.
Almost every player put in a good shift in this match, as can be seen from the player ratings below:
Andriy Lunin: 7.0
Almeria tried to unnerve the still-young goalkeeper with long-range shots throughout the game, but the keeper effectively kept all of them out of the net. Still, his catching could have been better as some of these shots resulted in Almeria corners.
Dani Carvajal: 8.5
Carvajal continues with the hot form that he displayed in the first match of the season, as he kept his flank under control defensively, and also contributed significantly to the attack. Could have gotten a couple of assists and even a goal, but was unlucky not to get his name on the assist or goal sheet.
Toni Rudiger: 7.0
Effectively kept dangerous Almeria players like Luis Suarez on bay with some timely tackles. Kept the defence stable with his physicality and experience as Almeria frequently pushed forward to endanger Lunin’s goal.
David Alaba: 7.0
Was an effective protagonist as he played the ball out from the backline to build up attacks all night. Also was good defensively as he had four clearances and one blocked shot.
Fran Garcia: 7.0
Constantly kept running up and down on the left flank to support Vini Jr. whenever the team had the ball and was looking to attack. Needs more time to gel with his teammates though as most of his runs were ignored, and ran offside a couple of times as well.
Aurelien Tchouameni: 8.5
Had another impressive showing as the pivot in a diamond midfield structure. The youngster completed 4/4 long passes, 2/2 successful dribbles, and had one key pass, thus contributing significantly to the team’s offense. Defensively, made three interceptions to keep Almeria from building pressure on Madrid’s goal.
Fede Valverde: 7.5
Had a good game as he had three shots on goals, though none of these actually resulted in a goal. Also made three key passes, and helped defensively by covering for Carvajal whenever the right-back got into attacking positions.
Toni Kroos: 8.0
Started the game poorly as he failed to track Arribas, which resulted in Almeria drawing the first blood in the starting minutes of the match.
However, recovered well, and also had a beautiful goal at the end of the first half, which was unfortunately ruled out for a foul by Carvajal during the build-up. Also gave an amazing pass to Bellingham which resulted in the Englishman’s second goal.
Jude Bellingham: 9.5
Another amazing performance from the new star at Real Madrid as he helped the team come back from behind with his two goals. Added further misery to Almeria’s night by assisting the third goal scored by Vinicius Jr. The Englishman continues to impress by building on the performances from the last match.
Vinicius Junior: 7.0
Scored a good goal from a central position, making the ball drop after lobbing it over Maximiano. However, lost the ball frequently and was unable to pick Fran Garcia out at times when the left-back was making forward runs.
Rodrygo Goes: 7.0
Despite not getting on the scoresheet, Rodrygo was a constant threat to Almeria’s goal, coming particularly close on three occasions.
Substitutes
Eduardo Camavinga: 5.0
Came on for the final 18 minutes, but could have simply sat the match out as he was nursing a physical problem that he suffered from in training. Still put in a solid appearance.
Luka Modric: 6.0
Also joined the match for the final 18 minutes, but had some notable moments. One of them being the creation of a good opportunity after combining with Carvajal. Produced some nutmegs to get the crowd entertained.
Joselu: 5.0
Only had around 10 minutes on the pitch, in which he got into good positions but did not really get the required service.
Brahim Diaz: 6.5
Was substituted too late to make a real impact on the match, but still had a mesmerizing solo run which could have ended with a goal, but the Spaniard decided to pass the ball to Joselu instead.
Lucas Vazquez: N/A
Came in with energy and freshness to help the team close out the match.
