Player Ratings: Real Madrid 2–1 Rayo Vallecano
Thibaut Courtois — 8
Made three saves, and none bigger than the huge breakaway stop in the second half. Another game where he quietly preserved the points.
Fede Valverde — 8.5
Real Madrid’s best player. Defended aggressively (seven clearances), ran tirelessly off the ball, and was basically unstoppable carrying through Rayo’s lines.
Raul Asencio — 6.5
Didn’t do much wrong. Unfortunately had to come off injured at half-time.
Dean Huijsen — 6.5
Some strong tackles and a few good passes, but his distribution was once again suicidal. Gave the ball away far too often and forced his teammates
into unnecessary pressure situations.
Eduardo Camavinga — 7.5
A constant problem-solver. Drifted into an inverted left-back role to help Huijsen with an outlet and progression. Did get caught defensively a couple times, but overall a very useful performance.
Franco Mastantuono — 4
Poor control and offered zero line-breaking value on the night. The defensive effort was there, but not nearly enough influence with the ball.
Arda Güler — 8
Excellent movement, sharp passing, and active pressing. He unlocked multiple big chances in the first half and gave Madrid much-needed connectivity between the lines.
Aurélien Tchouaméni — 5
Still looked sluggish despite a couple good defensive moments. Failed to track Jorge de Frutos on Rayo’s goal — a costly lapse.
Jude Bellingham — N/A
Forced off injured after just 10 minutes.
Kylian Mbappé — 6.5
His passing in transition let him down and he wasn’t as efficient as usual in 1v1 situations. But he was ice cold from the penalty spot to win the game.
Vinícius Jr. — 7.5
A spectacular golazo to open the scoring, plus several great line-breaking actions throughout. Constantly threatened the block.
Substitutes
Dani Ceballos — 8
Brought good tempo off the bench and played a couple of quality through balls.
Gonzalo García — 6
Minimal impact. Arbeloa used him on the right wing instead of centrally, and he just doesn’t thrive there.
Brahim Díaz — 4
Poor decision-making and execution all night.
Rodrygo Goes — 7
Provided needed dribbling on both wings against Rayo’s low block. Helped restore some attacking unpredictability.
David Alaba — 6
Minimal impact.
