Another match, another victory. Madridistas expect nothing less, but how did the individual players do for both sides? Here, we take a look at who did their reputation some benefit and who is wishing perhaps they hadn't even shown up at the stadium.
Cristiano Ronaldo- After a poor performance on the weekend, Cristiano has bounced back well. Ronaldo found a great mix of unpredictability and efficiency as his step-overs and flicks led to dangerous balls. He found the scoresheet twice on the evening, once with a sublime freekick earned just outside the box by Benzema and finished his brace with a clear penalty he earned in the second half. His body language still betrayed frustration which he will certainly have to work on if he wants to prove himself the best in the world this season.
Sergio Ramos- While Ronaldo received a clear penalty, Ramos was denied a very reasonable claim for one. Besides his attacking addition to the match, Sergio Ramos continued to demonstrate why he is nothing short of world class as a center back and is likely to find himself in that spot for the national side even if he eventually shifts back to fullback for Madrid. Bonus points for doing so well with a backline far from familiar.
Lassana Diarra- Speaking of the unfamiliar backline, the least natural member deserves perhaps the most praise. Diarra did extremely well in the right fullback position using his impressive combination of pace, stamina, and balance to patrol up and down the flank. Then, Mourinho decided to shift Lass over to the opposite side and the Frenchman didn't skip a beat. Proving that he can do well in a big match at either fullback position is huge for Lass's chances of seeing minutes. Altintop will have to consider himself unlucky given the Frenchman's performance.
Hugo Lloris- Sometimes the opposition keeper gets to outshine Iker not necessarily because they are a superior tender of the sticks, but because they get more action. Hugo certainly had more chances to prove his merit, but the saves he made were nothing short of excellent and the kind of play that Casillas himself would be proud to have on his own highlight reel. Unlucky to lose this match, but he was only beaten by a truly impressive free kick and of the course the always daunting penalty kick.
Mouhamadou Dabo- The former Valencia man has a terrible evening as he capped off a poor performance with giving up a penalty that put the match to bed. No attempt to play the ball though so it was always going to be a penalty, perhaps he thought he could get away with it due to Ronaldo's reputation as a diver? Either way, the darkest moment of a rather dim night for Dabo. Lyon will be glad to have Cissokho back.
Ederson- Another stand-in, this one for Michel Bastos, Ederson had a poor performance where he made it a habit of failing to win or retain possession. It is tough to compete with Madrid when the Whites have their hearts in it, but Ederson remained invisible throughout the night as he failed to help Dabo cope. Perhaps the few times he was noticeable was when he was giving up fouls
Yoann Gourcuff- Capable of so much more, the enigmatic Frenchman failed to perform up the caliber he is capable of. Had some of the best opportunities for Lyon on the night and yet he failed to truly test Iker Casillas. Perhaps it is rust that the young man is still trying to shake off, but Lyon fans must really be questioning how much they paid for him.
Since this article is going up almost 24 whole hours after the game started (yikes!) I have the privilege of adding some extra comments that range from the mundane to the outrageous.
Lass and Ramos were chosen as men of the match by the guys who did the Q&A yesterday (Javi is still editing it, coming soon)! They also praised Lloris actually. So there's a consensus on the winners this time, yay!!!
Answer 1: I sure hope Carvalho still has a spot on the team after he's been renewed... With all the injuries our defense went/is going through, I'd say yes, but if you mean as a starter, then I don't know. Could it depend on the type of team we're facing? Or when it comes to defense, that doesn't matter? Good question anyway, I'll ask it in the next Q&A ;-)
Answer 2: Since we're qualified already, I'd say to rest them all, or to try new combinations. I know we're still supposed to fight for the top posiiton of the group, but I don't care that much for it. I'd rather we tried to build more line-up options.
Seriously, how come Ozil wasn't a winner on this? He put a MOTM performance, RM site also cited him as MOTM (along with Ronaldo). Created so many scoring chances & involved in the winning both that free kick & penalty. But I do agree that Ronaldo, Ramos, & Lass were also the stand out performers from that game.
And how come Gourcuff the loser? He's much better compare to the other Lyon's attackers. Gomis was way worse.
I suppose Oezil is perhaps the gravest of my omissions. He had a fantastic match, but the Winners and Losers section tends to spread focus out across all parts of the pitch unless for something extraordinary. So Cristiano is the primary reason for the Oezil snub, but I could see how someone might disagree with my decision.
As for the Gourcuff, he has such a fine reputation, his inability to make good on this was highlighted when he squandered the few good chances that his side was able to produce. The nature of the beast that the anonymous player doesn't do his reputation as much harm as the high profile profile player that spurns his chances. You might say he played better since at least he found the chances, but this isn't just a player rating list, but a reputation analysis.
