Real Madrid CF

3.04

• 
  36

  22

  3.00

  Diego López Rodríguez

  There was nothing he could do to prevent Welbeck heading United into the lead, but he raced off his line bravely to prevent the England forward from meeting Van Persie's cross later in the first half. In a match of strong goalkeeping, he played his part with a decisive display that minimised the potential effect of the absence of Iker Casillas.

• 
  57

  18

  3.50

  Raphaël Varane

  One poor header back to his goalkeeper aside, he performed with a confidence that defied his relative inexperience at age 19 and distributed the ball from defence calmly. That said, he was extremely lucky to escape punishment for a foul on Evra when the left-back might have advanced on Diego Lopez.

• 
  22

  43

  2.50

  Sergio Ramos

  Failed to cope with the explosiveness of Welbeck when the striker headed United into the lead. The movement of the visitors' forwards gave them a potent counter-attack but Ramos was generally able to shepherd shooters into difficult positions, even if the Red Devils' forays were not always cut out at the source.

• 
  49

  15

  3.50

  Fabio Coentrao

  Got forward to good effect from left-back and was twice denied a goal by De Gea's brilliant athleticism. Effective in forcing Rooney to spend more time tracking back than attacking.

• 
  18

  32

  3.00

  Arbeloa

  Contributed little to Real Madrid's attack as he had plenty to think about in a defensive capacity, with the interchanging and overlapping of Kagawa, Van Persie and Welbeck sometimes stretching him. Came into the game more as United retreated deeper and deeper, but played little more than a supporting role on the right.

• 
  42

  17

  3.00

  Sami Khedira

  A useful physical presence in midfield, recycling possession for the most part but also possessing the ability to power through the middle. De Gea did well to stop one half-volley from 20 yards.

• 
  73

  15

  3.50

  Mesut Özil

  Drifted in between the lines to good effect and was the main route of Real Madrid's play through midfield. His agility and ability to create angles is a joy to behold and he worked some good openings that were not taken advantage of by the home team.

• 
  42

  12

  3.00

  Xabi Alonso

  United sat deep in defence so he found passing into the space behind the back four difficult, and was limited to spreading the ball to the flanks. Demonstrated his quick-thinking by releasing Ozil with one brilliant long pass from a free kick.

• 
  69

  14

  3.00

  Ángel Di María

  It was a surprise to see him substituted, as he had cut across the penalty area repeatedly to engineer shooting opportunities only to be regularly thwarted by De Gea. Also supplied the cross from which Ronaldo levelled the score.

• 
  89

  10

  3.50

  Cristiano Ronaldo

  Brought his team level with a wonderful header after a phenomenal leap that drew his knees level with the helpless Evra's head. Might have added to his tally in similar circumstances but nodded wide under pressure from Evans. His main contributions came in his physicality, as he used the aforementioned aerial dominance to bring others into play.

• 
  25

  41

  2.50

  Karim Benzema

  Largely ineffective during his hour on the field. Contributed little to the build-up play, instead electing to sniff out opportunities in the penalty area, but saw little of the ball.

Substitutions

• 
  22

  20

  Pepe

  A late replacement for Alonso in central midfield.

• 
  51

  24

  3.00

  Luka Modric

  Introduced for the last 15 minutes and nearly crafted the winning goal when his low cross was just swept away from the preying Ronaldo.

• 
  22

  26

  2.50

  Gonzalo Higuaín

  Replaced Benzema but was not much more effective, only really getting sight of goal when he dropped off to pick up the ball from deeper positions.

Manchester United

2.96

• 
  188

  11

  4.00

  David de Gea Top of the Match

  Made a sublime save to deny Coentrao in the first half but and, in less orthodox but equally brilliant fashion, frustrated the left-back again with a tremendous block with his feet at the back post. Did not let his team down on his return to his home city.

• 
  37

  37

  2.50

  Rafael

  Sir Alex Ferguson had spoken of the Brazilian defender's fearlessness before this fixture but that translated into over-exuberance in the early stages. He was too aggressive in the tackle and often drawn out of position and unsurprisingly booked as a result in the first half. More settled as the match progressed.

• 
  48

  23

  3.00

  Patrice Evra

  Should never have been allowed to be left alone with Ronaldo at the back post, and was powerless to resist the Portuguese star in the air. Rushed up and down the left flank but did not have a great deal of joy in an attacking sense, although he was extremely unlucky that Varane was not punished for a trip when he might have raced through on goal.

• 
  80

  16

  3.50

  Phil Jones

  Continues to prove his credentials as an accomplished defensive specialist, sitting in midfield with Carrick and anticipating and snuffing out Real Madrid counter-attacks. Seems to be increasingly gaining the trust of his manager and on this evidence it is easy to see why. The only real blemish was a questionable barge on Di Maria in the box that he got away with.

• 
  50

  15

  3.00

  Rio Ferdinand

  Made a brave sliding challenge to deny Ronaldo when he attacked a low cross into the six-yard box. Kept most of the play in front of him and ensured nothing fell to Benzema in the box.

• 
  47

  16

  3.00

  Jonny Evans

  Did just enough to put off Ronaldo when it looked as if he might rise for a second headed goal, though, was lucky as he had been caught out of position. Otherwise, he was reasonably solid, although occasionally troubled to his outside when Evra was overloaded.

• 
  47

  17

  3.00

  Michael Carrick

  Did not have much chance to influence the game in an attacking sense as he spent most of his time in the United half, but was sensible in his use of the ball and stayed in position to shield Ferdinand and Evans.

• 
  41

  54

  2.50

  Wayne Rooney Flop of the Match

  Mainly restricted to simple lay-offs and hopeful long balls to Van Persie. Defended diligently for the most part but you could sense he was frustrated not to be able to exhibit more of his ability as an attacker.

• 
  84

  16

  3.50

  Danny Welbeck

  Almost allowed a free role behind Van Persie and his physicality was effective. Shook off Ramos to flick a header across goal to open the scoring and was inches away from adding a second when he stretched to get a touch to Van Persie's tantalising cross.

• 
  58

  35

  2.50

  Robin van Persie

  An unselfish display but will rue the chance he missed to give United a 2-1 lead. He will not receive many more clear-cut openings in the Champions League this season but failed to get good contact on his shot from 10 yards and left Alonso with enough time to clear off the line. Otherwise, he held the ball well and brought his team-mates into play with some excellent passing.

• 
  44

  41

  2.50

  Shinji Kagawa

  Looked the player most likely to stretch the Real Madrid defence, making several good runs to latch on to the service provided by Van Persie. But he was sometimes slow in getting his shots away and usually crowded out by the home defence.

Substitutions

• 
  20

  34

  2.50

  Antonio Valencia

  Gave United a new outlet on the right flank and raced up and down the wing diligently, but could not engineer any chances of note.

• 
  21

  20

  Anderson

  A late replacement for Rooney in midfield.

• 
  36

  23

  3.00

  Ryan Giggs

  Tightened the United midfield by sitting deeper and narrower than Kagawa had done, but took too long in releasing the ball when presented with a good chance in the Real Madrid penalty area late in the game.