Spanish La Liga player ratings: Real Madrid 1 – 0 http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sevilla-FC-c40484 (Part 1)
Real Madrid and Sevilla went head-to-head last night in Spanish La Liga. While Sevilla have been a disappointment this season and they never expected a win at Santiago Bernabeu, it was a must-win fixture for Real Madrid, for a defeat or even a draw would
have left Galacticos four or five points adrift the league leaders going into winter break.
Jose Mourinho’s men showed their winning mentality yet again by grinding out a hard-fought 1 – 0 victory despite being a man-down in the second half.
Bettor.com now rates the players who took to the pitch.
Real Madrid
Iker Casillas – 6
Saint Iker was hardly tested in this game and had an easy outing. Furthermore, Casillas was steady as ever whenever called into action.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sergio-Ramos-c33096 – 6.5
The former Sevilla prodigy had a good return to first team football as he was frequently seen galloping forward to good effect. While Ramos was solid in defence, his deliveries from wide positions lacked quality at times.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Pepe-c29670 – 7.5
Usually, it’s Carvalho stealing the headlines but it was the Pepe show last night. The strong centre back made two world-class tackles to deny clear goal scoring opportunities in the first half and stayed tall and strong after Carvalho’s dismissal – a performance
to be proud of.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ricardo-Carvalho-c30973 – 5
The usually classy Portuguese went missing last night as it was a performance ridden with mistakes and errors in judgement. To make matters worse, Carvalho got himself a red card for persistent fouling and only Di Maria’s winner saves the Portuguese some
blushes.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Álvaro-Arbeloa-c5282 – 6
Arbeloa filled in for the suspended Marcelo but failed to offer the same attacking instinct the Brazilian possesses. Nonetheless, it was a steady outing from the Spaniard.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sami-Khedira-c32325 – 5.5
Khedira clearly missed the services of his usual midfield partner; http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Xabi-Alonso-c37045, and struggled to make an impact on the proceedings.
Lassana Diarra – 7
It was an excellent outing from the tough tackling midfielder who won countless tackles and kept the midfield ticking and linked up well with his fellow attackers. This performance will go a long way in getting Lass a first team place in the future.
Mesut Ozil – 6
Ozil was not his class self last night as he struggled to make an impact. However, the German showed his quality in the build-up to Di Maria’s winner.
Angel Di Maria – 7
Di Maria saved the day, once again, for the Galacticos with a late goal. However, having said that, the Argentine was frequently seen diving to get favours from the referee and that is not what you expect from a sportsman.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Cristiano-Ronaldo-c9629 – 6
Ronaldo was well marshalled by Rojiblancos for much of the game and had a quite game. Also, the Portuguese sensation failed to trouble Sevilla with any of his free-kicks.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Karim-Benzema-c20350 – 5
Benzema has many positive qualities but consistency is not one of them. Last night, the Frenchman was missing in action as he hardly troubled the opposition backline. Jose will want Kaka and Higuain back in the line-up at the earliest and for good reasons
too.
Substitutes:
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Raul-c30652 Albiol – 5.5
Albiol was brought on following the goal in a bid to add numbers to Los Merengues backline.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Esteban-c12907 Grenero – 5.5
A rare outing for the Real Madrid youngster who failed to make a telling contribution in the 30 minutes he was afforded.
Pedro Leon – 6
While it was not a vintage performance by any means, Pedro Leon did help in the Madrid goal as it was his shot that led to Di Maria’s goal.
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