Courtois 8.5, Camavinga 9.0 | Villarreal 1-2 Real Madrid: Player ratings | OneFootball

Real Madrid have moved to the top of the La Liga standings, at least temporarily, thanks to a 2-1 win over Villarreal at the Estadio de la Ceramica on matchday 28 of the competition. Kylian Mbappe fired two goals in six minutes after Juan Foyth had given the home side an early lead to guide the Whites to their first away success in the Spanish top flight against the Yellow Submarine in over eight years.

Rather than a dominant performance, it was a pragmatic display by the visitors, who were coming into the game less than three days after labouring to the Champions League quarter-final at Atletico Madrid’s expense on Wednesday.

A number of individuals stood out for Real Madrid nevertheless and before looking ahead to the Leganes clash a fortnight later from now, here are the player ratings from the last game.

Player Ratings

Thibaut Courtois – 8.5/10

Courtois was brilliant and largely responsible for the win, thanks to making nine saves in the game against a potent Villarreal attack.

Lucas Vazquez – 8/10

A good display by Vazquez at right back. He assisted Mbappe’s second goal, created two chances, made four clearances, two interceptions and was not dribbled past even once.

Aurelien Tchouameni – 7.5/10

Ayoze Perez troubled Tchouameni for the first 15 minutes of the match but the Frenchman had his number thereafter. Apart from not being alert in the play that led to Villarreal’s goal, it was an above average display from the Frenchman at centre back.

Raul Asencio – 7.5/10

Asencio did not look comfortable as the left-sided centre back but kept Nicolas Pepe’s threat out. He made a few important blocks and interceptions throughout the game.

Fran Garcia – 7/10

Fran Garcia kept Canadian international Tajon Buchanan at bay with easy. He did not attack much with Vazquez doing the better share from the right flank but provided decent defensive stability.

Eduardo Camavinga – 9/10

A superb performance by Camavinga, who dominated the midfield. He was all over the pitch in the first half and made numerous tackles and recoveries in the second.

Federico Valverde – 8/10

Valverde performed well in midfield though he understandably looked tired, so did not contribute much defensively. He created the chance for the team’s winning goal and helped distribute the ball around well while the team was in possession.

Jude Bellingham – 7.5/10

Not the best of displays by Bellingham either although he played an important role in transitioning from defence to offence with his fantastic dribbling ability.

Brahim Diaz – 6.5/10

Apart from being involved in Mbappe’s first goal, Brahim was a spectator for much of the game. He did not complete any take-ons in the attacking third but worked hard when the team was without the ball.

Kylian Mbappe – 8/10

A match-winning display by Mbappe was far from his best. Nonetheless, he scored a couple of goals that added three more points to the board for Real Madrid, thus doing his core job to good measure.

Rodrygo Goes – 8/10

A decent display by Rodrygo on the left flank. He linked up well with Bellingham and Mbappe, and helped Fran Garcia defensively when the team was under the cosh early on.

Substitutes

Antonio Rudiger – 7/10

Rudiger won a few aerial duels and made an important tackle on Pepe in his half hour on the pitch.

Vinicius Junior – 7/10

Vinicius was brought on to help the team push for a third goal and though he succeeded in one-on-one situations against Foyth, he was not as impactful due to Mbappe being too tired to link up effectively.

Luka Modric – 8/10

Another important cameo off the bench by Modric, who helped Real Madrid keep hold of the ball as they protected a narrow lead at one of their bogey grounds in La Liga from recent seasons. He had a 93% pass accuracy.

Arda Guler – 5.5/10

Guler was a spectator for much of the 10 minutes he was on the pitch. He had a chance to pass to Mbappe for possibly the team’s goal but selfishly shot the ball over the crossbar from a tight angle.