Modric 10, Alaba 7 | Real Madrid 2-0 Girona: Player ratings | OneFootball

Real Madrid won in La Liga after three winless games on the trot, thanks to a 2-0 success versus Girona at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. The Whites remain hot on Barcelona’s heel, jointly leading the league on points with them but trailing only due to goal difference.

A crucial but uneventful result for Carlo Ancelotti’s side also marked David Alaba’s first start in 434 days after his recovery from an ACL rupture.

Luka Modric opened the scoring with a magnificent volley from outside the box on the 41st minute for Los Blancos after a dominant start to the first half, while Vinicius Junior secured the game with a neat finish on the 83rd minute.

Real Madrid would have felt that they could have scored more goals in the match but three points as well as a clean sheet meant that they were the happier of the two sides nonetheless.

In a match in which Antonio Rudiger and Federico Valverde were also handed deserved rests after very long, here is a look at the player ratings for the home side.

Thibaut Courtois – 7/10

Courtois made a good stop off Donny van de Beek in the first half to keep the scoreline level. That was his only moment of action in a game where the rest of his work only included distributing the ball.

Lucas Vazquez – 7/10

A good display from Vazquez on his return from injury. He looked comfortable on the ball when going forward and had Arnaut Danjuma’s number for most of the game.

Raul Asencio – 7/10

Asencio was not called into much action defensively but when in possession, Real Madrid tried playing out from the back through him and he did so with good effect, completing 96% of his passes.

David Alaba – 7/10

Alaba’s first start in over a year saw him make a great interception less than a minute into the game but an otherwise tranquil night saw Donny van de Beek struggling to get the better of the Austrian.

Ferland Mendy – 7.5/10

Perhaps the Merengue’s best and most active defender throughout the game, Mendy nullified Viktor Tsygankov with a hard-fought display at the back, and interestingly for most fans, looked comfortable on the ball too.

Aurelien Tchouameni – 8/10

Tchouameni was effective in repelling Girona’s attempts to play aerially as he won three duels, made five clearances and two recoveries in the 90 minutes he spent on the pitch.

Luka Modric – 10/10

Modric is ageing like fine wine and almost single-handedly sealed the win for Real Madrid. He scored a beautiful goal and created six chances, including for the team’s second goal.

Brahim Diaz – 7/10

An average display by Brahim Diaz, who struggled to get into the opposition’s box. Miguel Gutierrez kept him for the 70 minutes he spent on the pitch before Dani Ceballos came in.

Rodrygo Goes – 7.5/10

Rodrygo missed an easy chance which he would have dispatched on nine out of 10 occasions. Nonetheless, he looked good on the left flank versus Arnau Martinez and created one scoring chance.

Kylian Mbappe – 7/10

An inefficient game in front of goal by Mbappe’s form and lofty standards. He could have scored a couple of goals as he got into good positions, but did contribute eventually with an assist.

Vinicius Junior – 8/10

Vinicius scored for the first time in over four matches. He was probably the team’s best attacker on the pitch as he continuously got into dangerous areas with the intent of causing the opponents some harm.

Substitutes

Dani Ceballos – 7.5/10

After coming on with 20 minutes left, Ceballos did not have much to do on the pitch with the game within the home side’s control. He created one chance, however, and completed 96% of his passes.

Eduardo Camavinga – 8/10

Camavinga played in a slightly advanced role as compared to usual. He made full use of the freedom by dribbling into the final third and created two chances, both of which the offensive players missed.

Antonio Rudiger – N/A

Rudiger came on with barely any time left on the clock.

Endrick – N/A

Endrick was introduced in stoppage time and barring a glittering dribble, he did not have much more to do.