Real Madrid player ratings vs Barcelona: Vapid Vinicius Jr fails to inspire fightback as bleak Blancos agonisingly cede La Liga title in El Clasico

Vinicius Jr went missing and Real Madrid turned in a spirited yet ineffective performance against Barcelona, losing 2-0 and watching their rivals lift the league trophy in the process. Los Blancos were outplayed throughout, and could never recover from an early deficit in a game that more or less summed up the massive gulf in quality between the two teams.

Madrid struggled to find a foothold early on. Although they had their moments on the ball, Barca dominated most of the proceedings. And the home side were good value for their opener. Antonio Rudiger fouled Ferran Torres on the edge of the box, and Marcus Rashford stepped up and whipped the ensuing free kick into the top corner. It got worse shortly afterwards as Dani Olmo laid off to Torres, who lashed home to make it 2-0 inside 20 minutes.

Otherwise, this was much a game of spells. Madrid had plenty of moments here and there, and were dangerous on the break - but the material results were admittedly limited. They were, in fact, caught chasing shadows for long periods, the diminutive midfield duo of Pedri and Gavi dominating the middle of the park. The Blaugrana, meanwhile, kept Vinicius remarkably quiet.

And that was more or less it. Bellingham came closest in the second half when he put the ball into the net - only to see the flag raised for offside. Joan Garcia didn't have a save to make. They deserve some credit, to be sure, for showing some fight after a miserable week. But this was otherwise a limp showing against a team who thoroughly outclassed them. To wrap it off, they had to suffer the indignity of watching their biggest rivals secure the title against them.

GOAL rates Real Madrid's players from Spotify Camp Nou...

Getty
Goalkeeper & Defence
Thibaut Courtois (6/10):
Couldn't do anything about Rashford's free kick. Ditto for Torres' goal. Made a few nice saves, otherwise. Some of his distribution was shaky, though.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (6/10):
Actually rather effective in his 1v1s, but wasn't alert enough on the long ball. Sprayed some nice passes.
Raul Asencio (5/10):
Dragged out of position by Fermin for Barca's second. A bit chaotic at the back.
Antonio Rudiger (6/10):
Didn't really have all that much to do, save for a couple of clearances.
Fran Garcia (7/10):
Involved in an entertaining back-and-forth with Rashford. Had his moments. Much better when the Englishman went off.

Getty
Midfield
Aurelien Tchouameni (6/10):
A solid showing after a week full of controversy. Couldn't keep up with the Barca midfield, though.
Eduardo Camavinga (5/10):
Snapped into tackles, never stopped running, but didn't offer much forward thrust.
Brahim Diaz (4/10):
Made a lot of determined runs, yet some of his decision-making was woeful.
Jude Bellingham (7/10):
Made loads of smart drives forward. Put one in the net but was ruled offside. The one standout.
Getty
Attack
Gonzalo Garcia (5/10):
Hardly involved on the ball. Can't be faulted for his legwork, though, which was solid. Chased plenty of lost causes.
Vinicius Jr (5/10):
Very quiet by his lofty standards. Ran loads but never got a clear look on goal.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Getty
Subs & Manager
Thiago Pitarch (5/10):
Chased shadows for 20 minutes.
Cesar Palacios (N/A):
No time to make an impact.
Franco Mastantuono (N/A):
On as a late introduction and couldn't make a difference.
Alvaro Arbeloa (4/10):
A pretty miserable way to watch the title go for good. Madrid showed fight but were outclassed. On to next season - even if he likely won't be in the dugout.

Goalkeeper & Defence

Midfield

Attack

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Subs & Manager