Thibaut Courtois: 8.5. Made five saves, including two outstanding stops. Another performance in which his interventions were crucial, even if the final score suggests a comfortable evening.
Fede Valverde: 9. Dominant at right-back. His movement helped create relentless overloads down the right, and his distribution kept Madrid’s attacks flowing. Finished with three key passes and a game-high 116 touches, while contributing four tackles, five clearances, and a goal-saving defensive intervention. An
enormous contribution on both sides of the ball.
Antonio Rüdiger: 7. Good in possession and produced an excellent recovery to stop Cardoso from breaking through in the first half.
Dean Huijsen: 7.5. His vertical distribution and long-range passing were brilliant, helping Madrid advance the ball and find teammates beyond Leipzig’s pressure. Could have defended the conceded goal better, but also registered seven interceptions and earned a couple of ovations from the Bernabéu for his defensive interventions.
Álvaro Carreras: 5. Looked short of confidence. His passing down the flank was poor, and some ill-advised defensive gambles left him exposed.
Bernardo Silva: 7.5. Scored his first Real Madrid goal and remained a constant outlet for his teammates. Always showed for the ball, offering solutions under pressure and helping Madrid move possession forward.
Eduardo Camavinga: 7.5. A sharp performance on both sides of the ball. Particularly impressive in possession, where he handled tricky situations with composure and helped Madrid work through pressure.
Arda Güler: 9. Phenomenal again. Constantly created opportunities for his teammates and deserved an assist for his first-half pass to Bernardo. Almost every possession brought another good decision. His creativity from the right wing was a recurring problem for Leipzig.
Jude Bellingham: 7.5. Helped unlock the defense in the build-up to Madrid’s first two goals, choosing the right pass on both occasions. This was not his best overall performance, but he still produced moments of quality with his dribbling and playmaking, finishing with three key passes.
Vinícius Júnior: 6.5. Had two very good attempts on goal, but also gave the ball away poorly on a couple of occasions and struggled to make the most of his opportunities in transition. Contributed one important defensive recovery. His confidence looks low, and the Bernabéu whistled him several times, including when he was substituted in the 69th minute.
Kylian Mbappé: 8. Made the wrong decision on a couple of transition opportunities, but those moments were outweighed by everything else he contributed: a golazo, an excellent headed cut-back assist, and good combination play. Particularly effective when linking up with Güler and Valverde on the right. Also heavily involved in the opening goal.
Substitutes
Yan Diomande: 8. Needed only 20 minutes to score one of the goals of the season and provide an assist. Added a couple of beautiful dribbling sequences, too. A spectacular cameo.
Marc Cucurella: 7. Was not asked to do a great deal, but was solid at both ends of the field.
Brahim Díaz: 7.5. Brought good energy off the bench and supplied the assist for Diomande’s goal.
Endrick: N/A.
Carlos Espí: N/A.
