Real Madrid CF

2.71

• 
  383

  117

  3.50

  Iker Casillas

  Pulled off a few very good stops which saved Madrid from defeat. Denied Feghouli with a neat block where he turned the ball round the post and pulled off an important save from Jordi Alba in the dying minutes. Distribution from the back was excellent as usual.

• 
  162

  382

  3.00

  Pepe

  A decent display that was marred by comedy behaviour from the Portuguese. Was dominant aerially and did not allow Aduriz much room to affect the play up front. However, a series of dives and attempts to con the referee left even his team-mates extremely frustrated.

• 
  100

  288

  2.50

  Marcelo

  Not the best performance from the Brazilian. The same cohesion and communication that he usually has with Ronaldo down the left was non-existent tonight as they were on opposite wavelengths for the majority of the game. Got in decent positions in and around the box but failed to find a shot or important pass.

• 
  131

  231

  3.00

  Arbeloa

  Was a typically solid performance from the full-back. His attacking play was nothing particularly special but he was always perfectly positioned at right-back to break up the play and get in a few very important interceptions on Piatti and Mathieu.

• 
  152

  206

  3.00

  Raúl Albiol Tortajada

  Showed a clean pair of heels on more than one occasion to deal with the pacey Valencia attackers and got through his game with composure. Distribution from the back was also sound and was always willing to cover for Pepe whenever his team-mate attempted a marauding run from the back.

• 
  95

  263

  2.50

  Sami Khedira

  Had a nosebleed whenever he found himself in advanced areas on the pitch and did not know what to do when in possession in the final third. Defensively was solid as always and broke up a few counterattacks but did not offer anything in terms of creativity.

• 
  160

  314

  3.00

  Mesut Özil

  Caused a few problems when he found space in the hole and turned sharply towards the Valencia goal, but his passing was nowhere near the standard usually expected of the German. As the game went on his performance became laboured and as a result he drifted out of the match.

• 
  130

  234

  2.50

  Xabi Alonso

  Was involved in more of a battle in midfield than perhaps he was expecting and this slightly hampered his ability to spray the ball around the park. Did have his moments in which he was the catalyst for counterattacks but his position was too deep for him to pick out a defence-splitting pass.

• 
  268

  484

  3.00

  Cristiano Ronaldo

  Should have scored his 50th goal of the season tonight. Was unlucky when he struck the post within the first 10 minutes with a deflected shot from 25 yards but there was no bad luck involved when he found himself through on goal and instead of shooting when he had the chance, took an extra touch and ended tripping himself up.

• 
  159

  281

  2.50

  Karim Benzema

  Movement was very sharp throughout the match but his runs were not always spotted by team-mates. Spent too much time on the wing and in deeper positions when he should have been stretching the central defenders with runs. Should have scored in the second half with a left-footed close range strike that was saved by Guaita.

• 
  153

  356

  2.00

  Gonzalo Higuaín Flop of the Match

  Was deployed on both wings at different points during the first half but found it difficult when attempting to come inside or wander into the box. Struggled to break down the strong Valencia defence and his touch on the counter was slightly off the pace. Replaced at half time with Di Maria.

Substitutions

• 
  280

  179

  3.00

  Kaká

  Came on as Real Madrid attempted to find a winner but was unable to pick out a pass or get a shot on goal.

• 
  86

  216

  2.50

  Callejón

  Late substitution.

• 
  138

  311

  2.00

  Ángel Di María

  Was introduced at half-time and saw plenty of possession during his time on the pitch. However, attempted to shoot on goal time and time again when the pass was the better option and also wasted a couple of attempted crosses into the box. Very nearly scored with a strike from the left that was saved by Guaita.

Valencia CF

3.21

• 
  954

  30

  4.50

  Guaita Top of the Match

  Earned Valencia the point this evening and pulled off a number of world class saves in the match. Denied Ronaldo with a smart save to his right and also somehow managed to get a glove on a shot that looked destined for the bottom right corner. Took the pressure off his side a number of times by claiming the ball from set-pieces.

• 
  323

  25

  3.50

  Adil Rami

  Put in a number of very important tackles on the edge of the box which put a stop to Real Madrid attacks and took the pressure off. In the last few minutes he defended heroically and put his body in front of every cross, pass, and shot.

• 
  257

  26

  3.50

  Jordi Alba

  Was fired up for the match and was always in the face of the Madrid attackers attempting to win back possession. Provided an extra body in attack down the left and was always a willing runner on the overlap.

• 
  202

  23

  3.50

  Víctor Ruiz

  Organised the defence very well and this frustrated Madrid as they struggled terribly to find space to manoeuvre in and around the box. Headed absolutely everything out of the box and like his centre-back partner, was terrific in the last 10 minutes to help his side hold out.

• 
  186

  27

  3.00

  Ricardo Costa

  Was not up against a Marcelo and Ronaldo that were in full flow tonight and this made his performance calm and collected at right-back. Also displayed some attacking prowess down the right as he put in a number of decent crosses into the Madrid box.

• 
  223

  26

  3.00

  Mehmet Topal

  Ran himself into the ground for his team and summed up Valencia's determination with a dogged display in midfield. Was always available as an extra defender and continually tracked the runs of Ronaldo on the left and Di Maria on the right.

• 
  205

  23

  3.50

  Sofiane Feghouli

  Was unlucky a few times in the match when he made terrific darting runs in and around the penalty area that went unseen by his team-mates. Tested Casillas with an accurate shot aimed for the corner from 15 yards that the Madrid goalkeeper saved.

• 
  165

  26

  3.00

  Parejo

  Played a much deeper role tonight which basically saw Valencia have three men in the middle of the park. Did not really establish a link between defence and attack and was usually too far away from Aduriz to create any link-up play.

• 
  277

  17

  4.00

  Tino Costa

  Was employed in front of the defence and kept his post with discipline. Did not really have the opportunity to dictate the play from midfield as he was usually attempting to win back possession. Was incredibly unlucky not to score when he crashed a shot off the crossbar from 30 yards.

• 
  164

  30

  3.00

  Aritz Aduriz Zubeldia

  Was not given tremendous support in attacking areas during his time on the park so he cut a pretty lonely figure up top, where he was marshalled well by Albiol and Pepe. Still played with determination and attempted to put himself about.

• 
  195

  24

  2.50

  Pablo Piatti

  Dropped into deeper positions to collect the ball for most of his time on the pitch which did cause Madrid problems with him playing in the hole. Stretched the opposition defence with a few lung-bursting runs through the centre.

Substitutions

• 
  154

  30

  3.00

  Jérémy Mathieu

  Came on midway through the second half as Valencia looked to hit Madrid on the counterattack but did not see much of the ball after his introduction.

• 
  147

  33

  2.50

  Pablo Hernández

  Nearly shocked Madrid by scoring the winner when he ran at pace towards the defence but saw his shot from the right saved by Casillas.

• 
  170

  40

  2.50

  Roberto Soldado

  Was introduced late in the second half but was not involved in much of the play.