Player Ratings: Real Madrid 1-0 FC Zurich

Albiol – 7: Always available to dash away from the centre of defence to cover the flanks.

Pepe – 7: Alert at the back to snuff out any through passes or high balls. Also wary of Alphonse’s shooting tendencies and closed him down quickly.

Arbeloa – 7: Had an excellent outing at left-back. Joined in the attack and showed a few tricks of his own and barely troubled at all in defence.

Lass – 7.5: Once again an ever present force in the middle of the park, either to mop up loose balls or to continue an attacking run.

Xabi Alonso – 7: The deep-lying playmaker is starting to really settle in, picking out a number of breathtaking long passes and creating havoc from set-pieces. Came close to scoring with a blistering shot in the first half.

Kaka – 8: Unquestionably one of his best games in the white shirt. Showed great ball control, passing range and composure. Made a typical through ball assist for Higuain’s goal and replicated the move late in the game for Van der Vaart, who couldn’t put the chance away.

Raul – 7: Another typical industrious display. Rarely made it into Zurich's penalty area but playing behind the striker, he was full of running to recover lost possession.

Marcelo – 8: Worked tirelessly. Chased down almost every ball in attack and had a few shots on goal himself. Clearly enjoying himself much more as a left-sided midfielder than as a left-back.

Higuain – 8: Took his chance with aplomb with a cool finish. Didn’t see too many opportunities after that in an overcrowded Zurich defence but still made life difficult for a few opposing defenders.

Substitutes:

Van der Vaart – 5.5: Could have scored at least twice. First saw a well struck volley saved but then ballooned a shot when he was clean through on goal.

Ronaldo – 7: Showed his full array of tricks in just 20 minutes on the pitch. Almost scored a late goal as he announced his return in style.

Granero – 5: Only had a few minutes on the pitch, but supplied Ronaldo with the through ball that almost saw the Portuguese score.

FC ZURICH

Leoni – 7: Atoned for his fumbles in the reverse fixture with a number of decent saves to keep the score down. He did leave his near post wide open for Higuain to score.

Stahel – 6: Kept extremely busy as most of Madrid’s attack went down the left through Marcelo and Arbeloa.

Barmettler – 5: Stepped off his line and played Higuain onside to score. Made that same mistake on a couple of other occasions but lucky to escape unpunished.

Tihinen – 6.5: With two lines of defences in front of him, the captain marshalled his rearguard off the ball for most of the game. And he did a commendable job of shutting down the Madrid attack.

Koch – 5: Left bamboozled by Sergio Ramos’ speed and skill. Couldn’t cope with Higuain either and often needed a team-mate to help him stop the Madrid duo.

Gajic – 6: After an anonymous first period, he looked more threatening in the second half, drawing a handful of fouls down Madrid’s left flank.

Aegerter – 4: Woeful in defence, woeful in attack. Constantly nutmegged or beaten by Kaka and company. Had two chances to shoot early in the second half but completely fluffed them.

Rochat – 4: Awful collaboration with Aegerter in the middle of the park. Always ended up in each others way and allowed Madrid’s attackers to slice through between them time and again.

Djuric – 5: Had time and space to exploit down the left side of the flank with Sergio Ramos bombarding forward but he failed to make use of it when he had the ball on his feet.

Margairaz – 6: Lurking just behind the striker, the playmaker tried his best to split the Madrid backline, but Pepe and Albiol had little trouble cutting him off.

Alphonse – 7: The only Zurich player to show any attacking intent in the first half with a number of decent attempts at goal. Continued to look dangerous after the break but eventually ran out of steam.

Substitutes:

Vonlanthen – 5: Other than a few basic touches of the ball, he couldn’t make an impact to change the game.

Mehmedi – N/A

Schonbachler – N/A

KS Leong, Goal.com