Real Madrid entertained AS Roma at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Wednesday night hoping to kick off their UEFA Champions League defence with a victory. Los Blancos began the encounter on the front foot and managed to create some chances in the first half. The home team took the lead through Isco’s brilliant free-kick just before half-time.
The Galacticos kept the pressure up in the second half and made the points secure when Gareth Bale scored in the 58th minute to hand Julen Lopetegui’s side a two-goal advantage. Mariano came off the bench to score in injury-time and put the icing on the cake in a commanding 3-0 victory for Madrid on the night.
Let’s take a look at how each Real Madrid player performed during the match against AS Roma.
GK: Keylor Navas – 6/10
The Chilean keeper had a quiet night in goal for the Galacticos. He made a few good saves and kept a comfortable, clean sheet.
RB: Dani Carvajal – 7/10
The Spanish full-back was a good outlet down the right flank. He got a fantastic chance to score in the first half but failed to convert from close range.
CB: Raphael Varane – 6/10
He had a comfortable day out at the heart of the Galacticos defence. He dealt with the threat of Edin Dzeko with ease and kept AS Roma’s chances to a minimum.
CB: Sergio Ramos – 7/10
He was aerially dominant at both penalty boxes and was a significant threat from set-pieces. The Spaniard didn’t have much to do defensively and kept a clean sheet on the night without breaking a sweat.
LB: Marcelo – 6/10
Not a bad day out for the Brazilian left-back! He got an assist late in stoppage time when he played a delicate pass to Mariano who scored with a brilliant strike.
CM: Luka Modric – 8/10
The Croatian pulled strings from midfield and played some fantastic through balls to the Madrid forwards during the match. His marvellous pass in the 58th minute put Gareth Bale through on goal who scored with a good finish from close range.
CM: Casemiro – 6/10
The Brazilian did enough to break down some of the AS Roma attacks and provided some added protection to the Galacticos back four.
CM: Toni Kroos – 7/10
The German had a good game and quietly went about his business in the middle of the pitch.
RM: Gareth Bale – 8/10
The Welsh winger scored a brilliant breakaway goal to make the three points secure for the home side. He has now taken his tally to 5 goals in 6 matches for Los Blancos.
ST: Karim Benzema – 6/10
The Frenchman was unable to find the back of the net but led the line quite effectively in Lopetegui’s system.
LM: Isco – 8/10
The Spaniard executed an excellent free-kick just before half-time which gave Madrid an ideal platform to go ahead and earn a commanding 3-0 win on the night.
Substitutes:
LM: Marco Asensio – 7/10
The Spaniard put on a nice little cameo in the second half. His incredible turn and no-look shot was expertly saved by the Roma keeper.
ST: Mariano – 8/10
He scored a fantastic goal from 20 yards in injury-time to put the icing on the cake for Madrid.
CM: Dani Ceballos – N/A
He did not have enough time to make an impact.
