Real Madrid endured another disappointing loss in the group stage of the Champions League campaign at the hands of CSKA Moscow, who had defeated them in Moscow as well. It also showed that how over-confidence can backfire as Santiago Solari went in with an inexperienced lineup, which, once put under pressure, came down like a house on fire.
The Galacticos, who have already qualified for the knockout stages, started strongly and dominated the proceedings from the word go as the CSKA players defended their goal in numbers. However, Fyodor Chalov scored the opening goal of the match against the run of play, and the Real Madrid starting lineup suddenly started missing their first team stars. Georgi Shchennikov added a second in the 43rd minute, and Arnor Sigurdsson scored the third goal for the Russian giants in the 73rd minute as they scripted a humiliating loss for the reigning European champions in their own backyard.
Here is how the Real Madrid players were rated from their disappointing defeat against CSKA Moscow.
Thibaut Courtois: 5
Made a few good saves but was largely ineffective when it came to keeping the opposition attackers from scoring goals.
Alvaro Odriozola: 5
Maybe it is time for the young Spaniard, who is making significant strides with his attacking prowess, to get his defensive game right. After all, he should understand that he is primarily a defender and not an attacker.
Jesus Vallejo: 4
Worst possible performance from the defender as the CSKA Moscow attackers made a mockery of the backline and scored two in the first half itself. Looked unsure about his decision making throughout the match.
Javi Sanchez: 5
Was impressive in the first portion of the game, but once the opposition started putting pressure on him, he completely succumbed to that and committed some horrendous defensive errors.
Marcelo: 6
Was active as usual participating in the attack, which led to the second goal as the CSKA wing back Mario Fernandes found enough space to stroll with the ball into the box and pass it to Shchennikov, who put the ball in the back of the net without any resistance.
Federico Valverde: 6
Passed the ball well and looked in great touch in the first thirty minutes but gave the ball away quite cheaply after that on many occasions.
Marcos Llorente: 6
Showed some great skills to get the ball in the danger area a few times but was far from threatening on most occasions.
Marco Asensio: 7
Was agile from the word go and paired up well with Benzema to get the ball into the opposition box on a number of occasions. However, was unlucky not to find the back of the net.
Isco: 5
Looked skilful but lazy from the start of the match and gave the ball away on many occasions to let his side down.
Vinicius Junior: 8
Undoubtedly the best player of the night as his nimble footwork bamboozled the opposition defence throughout the match.
Karim Benzema: 6
Found himself in space on a number of occasions but was unfortunate not to get the goal. Was substituted at the start of the second half.
Substitutes
Gareth Bale: 4
Nothing special from the costliest Galactico ever as he picked up another knock and limped throughout the night after coming on as a substitute to restore some pride for Real Madrid.
Toni Kroos: 5
Was ineffective with his passing and made a number of wrong judgements after coming on in the 58th minute.
Dani Carvajal: 6
Looked to add some enthusiasm with his darting runs but lacked the finishing.
