Player Ratings: Real Madrid 1 - 1 Manchester City; 2023 UEFA Champions League Semi-Final First Leg

Full match ratings below:

Thibaut Courtois—8.5: Multiple big saves including a denial on a Kevin De Bruyne opportunity from inside the six yard box. Was a constant outlet for the team to provide numerical superiority when playing out of the back or looking to break the City press.

Dani Carvajal—8: Warrior display from Dani Carvajal who continues to produce in the big games. Battled all night long with Jack Grealish and looked to take advantage of any space in behind the winger.

Antonio Rudiger—9: It had to be a big night for Rudiger in place of Militao, up against the mighty Haaland, and the German exceeded expectations. Rudiger was all over Haaland from minute 1 to 90, never letting the Norwegian out of his sight. Imposed himself physically and never lost concentration.

David Alaba—8.5: Produced a great last-ditch tackle to deny Haaland a shot on goal. Like the whole of the backline, defended with great concentration for 90 minutes. Succesful in breaking through City’s press with combinations between himself, Camavinga, Kroos, Modric, and Vinicius down the left.

Eduardo Camavinga—9: Another fantastic performance from Eduardo Camavinga on the biggest of stages. The duel between he and Bernardo was one of the defining battles of the game, with the 20-year-old often coming out on top. His “cobra-tackles”, quick touches, and movement off the ball were a constant headache for Pep’s City. Finished the game with 5 completed tackles and 3 key passes — producing on both ends.

Toni Kroos—8: Many were worried about a formation leaving Toni Kroos as the lone pivot, but he was able to perform admirably. Strong in the tackle and on multiple occasions doubled down on the likes of Haaland, KdB, or Bernardo to help the team win the ball back. Pivotal in building out and often filtered out to the left back position to get on the ball and face forward with a full vision of the entire field.

Fede Valverde—7: Won all of his ground duels, all of his aerial duels — including two against Akanji, and completed one dribble where he megged Akanji and failed to find Benzema on the final pass. Would like to have seen him arrive in the City box on more occasions, but otherwise was solid and composed and clean in midfield.

Luka Modric—6.5: Had to put in a major shift defensively tracking runners and trying to cut off passing lanes. He and Benzema struggled to communicate and cover the movement of Stones and Rodrigo, but improved in the second half.

Rodrygo—7.5: Never frazzled under the City press or even some of the more physically daunting players on the City team. His smooth dribbling and high footballing IQ meant he was able to be a positive force every time he got on the ball. Nearly unlocked the City defense early with a ball in behind to Benzema.

Vinicius Junior—9: Absolutely sensational goal worthy of the super-star that Vincius Junior has become. There were fun duels all over the pitch and the Walker vs Vinicius battle was no different. The Brazilian tweaked his game to drag Walker out of shape and take quick sharp touches to beat the fullback.

Karim Benzema—5: Got on the end of a Luka Modric free kick late in the game, but Ederson came up with a huge save. Will feel slightly starved of service in this one, but still had moments where he may have wished to have done better inside the box. Struggled with tracking the movement of Stones and Rodrigo when City had the ball.

Substitutions:

Nacho Fernandez—N/A: Late substitution for Luka Modric shifting Camavinga to midfield.

Tchouameni—7: Nearly scored a world-class screamer from outside the box. Came in and played a simple yet composed game.

Marco Asensio—N/A: Only 5 touches and 4 passes during his 9 minutes on the field. Swung in a mouth-watering cross from a corner kick but a Madrid head was not able to connect.