Real Madrid player ratings vs. Man City: Squandered chances tell familiar story

 With his job on the line, Xabi Alonso could do nothing but watch as Real Madrid fell 2–1 to Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.

The Spanish giants started brightly at the Bernabéu, taking the lead through Rodrygo, who bagged his first goal since Mar. 4. Yet a late collapse in the first half allowed Nico O’Reilly and Erling Haaland to give the Cityzens control of the game.

Real Madrid wasted a few glorious chances in the second half and were once again jeered by their supporters once the final whistle sounded. The 15-time European champions have now dropped points in six of their last eight matches across all competitions.

Los Blancos sit seventh in the Champions League league phase standings, while Manchester City have jumped into fourth place. The bigger story of the night, though, remains with Alonso’s uncertain future on the touchline at the biggest club in the world.

Real Madrid Player Ratings vs. Man City (4-4-2)

GK: Thibaut Courtois—7.3: Would have liked to do better with City’s first goal, but recovered well. His defense once again did him little favors.

RB: Federico Valverde—6.7: Did his best out of position. Kept Jérémy Doku silent for the most part and made Toni Kroos proud with his ability to switch the field of play.

CB: Raúl Asencio—6.1: Impressed with his physicality and pitched in on the right flank when needed. Brought a much-needed edge to the game.

CB: Antonio Rüdiger—6.3: Supposed to be the leader of a makeshift defense, yet he made a needless error that gifted City a goal.

LB: Álvaro Carreras—6.6: Kickstarted his side’s best counter attacks with a few silky touches inside his own half. Redemptive performance after his woes against Celta Vigo.

RM: Rodrygo—8.1: A star is reborn. Bagged his first goal in eight months and created the most chances in yet another sensational performance against the Cityzens.

CM: Dani Ceballos—6.4: Mustered unimaginative passes and barked out orders before Alonso came to his senses and replaced him in the 67th minute.

CM: Aurélien Tchouaméni—6.3: Failed to have a true impact on the game and delivered some uncharacteristically poor service when called upon.

LM: Jude Bellingham—7.9: Set up Real Madrid’s only goal in a bright first 45 minutes. Poor finishing and frustrated tackles marred his second half.

ST: Gonzalo García—6.0: Had no role in his 58 minutes on the pitch. Had just 14 touches, none of which were memorable or impactful.

ST: Vinicius Junior—6.2: Got off to a lively start, but was completely out-staged by his fellow countryman. Let Rodrygo down with poor service on the counter attack and fumbled a few glorious chances.

Subs not used: Andriy Lunin (GK), Fran González (GK), Fran García, Joan Martínez, Jorge Cestero, Víctor Valdepeñas, Franco Mastantuono, Kylian Mbappé.

Man City (4-1-4-1)

Starting XI: Gianluigi Donnarumma; Matheus Nunes, Rúben Dias, Joško Gvardiol, Nico O’Reilly; Nico González; Bernardo Silva, Rayan Cherki, Phil Foden, Jérémy Doku; Erling Haaland.