Real Madrid Player Ratings v Olympiakos: Xabi Alonso marks as Vinicius and Mbappe steal the show | OneFootball

Real Madrid were in equal measures thrilling and terrifying in Piraeus against Olympiakos, as they somehow battered the Greek side, and only escaped with a one-goal win.

Andriy Lunin – 7.5

Even if Real Madrid conceded thrice, Lunin made two crucial saves in the first half, and looked sharp all night. A good return to action.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – 6.5

Similar performance to against Elche; Alexander-Arnold showed his quality in the delivery, but was caught out too often.

Raul Asencio – 5.5

Both El Kaabi and Mehdi Taremi were happy enough to go up against him, and while the Iranian striker rose in the air for Olympiakos’ second, he was several yards away and on the ground.

Alvaro Carreras – 5

Perhaps unfair as it wasn’t his position, but lost Taremi on a couple of occasions. Real Madrid looked vulnerable from crosses all evening, and Carreras, filling in for Huijsen was their most frequent offender.

Ferland Mendy – 7

A decent showing from the Frenchman, who was not the problem in Real Madrid’s shaky backline, despite the usually wanting cover in front of him.

Arda Guler – 8

During Real Madrid’s dominant 20 minutes in the first half, Guler was at the heart of it. He orchestrated Real Madrid exploiting the vast space in front of them, and capped it with an assist. Faded a little in the second period.

Aurelien Tchouameni – 6.5

Had a really solid game in midfield, the only midfielder who did so. Perhaps unsurprisingly looked out of place in defence, but nevertheless, he was found wanting for Olympiakos’ final assault.

Fede Valverde – 4

The worst thing you can say is that the game passed him by almost without incident. Started out on the right, moved inside at times, but couldn’t find any purchase in the match.

Eduardo Camavinga – 7.5

After a very concerning opening 10 minutes, Camavinga settled in and started to take the ball off Olympiakos players regularly. His assist for Mbappe was a pass we’ve rarely seen from him too, which was encouraging before a

Vinicius Junior – 9

By a distance, the best peformance of the season. Desperately unfortunate that his disallowed goal, lobbed effort onto the roof of the net, or his shot narrowly wide didn’t get him on the scoresheet, but his brilliant first assist restarted the match for Real Madrid. His second was of similar ilk. The best Vinicius since… the 2023-24 season?

Image via RTVE

Kylian Mbappe – 9

Mbappe makes things look so easy. A four-goal haul, each taken with consummate ease. Twice he beat the offside trap by curving his run superbly, caught just once. Winning games is the norm with Mbappe in this form.

Substitutes

Fran Garcia – N/A

Final few minutes for Fran Garcia at left wing.

Jude Bellingham – 5

Had one shot deflected wide, but got a little lost in the middle of the pitch as Real Madrid took their foot off the gas. Nearly missed this game as a precaution.

Brahim Diaz – 5.5

Unremarkable performance from Brahim, who had one nice run, but continues to look less than he did two seasons ago.

Dani Ceballos – 5

Ceballos came on for Camavinga, and in theory, that would provide Real Madrid with more control and possession. The opposite was the case. Los Blancos struggled to impose themselves with Ceballos in the middle.

Image via Luis Gabriel / LaPresse

Xabi Alonso – 4.5

On the one hand, he got the best out of Mbappe and Vinicius for the first time this season, and his use of Guler in the supply chain was good. Real Madrid exploited the space behind Olympiakos’ defence to devastating effect.

Even with defensive absences though, this shouldn’t have been quite so easy for the Greek attack. It didn’t take much subterfuge to unpick the backline, Carreras didn’t pay off as an alternative centre-back, and even with Asencio struggling, removing him jeopardised their lead late on. Not to mention, a fourth game in a row where Real Madrid have been unable to control the game.