Player Ratings: Real Betis 1-2 Real Madrid

Sunday, 28 September 08, 04:05 AM · Comments(2)

Real Betis looked as though they were going to do to Madrid what they did to Barça just four days ago. Coming back from behind to force a draw, they once again conceded the heartbreaking winner late in the game. Casillas – 7: Made a number of superb reflex saves. Even denied Sergio García from the spot but there was little he could do to stop the follow up. Sergio Ramos – 7: Had an intriguing battle with Sergio García. Couldn’t bomb forward as much as he would have liked as a result, but always looked solid. Had to contribute more in attack once Madrid were down to ten.Pepe – 8: Held the backline together. Madrid would have been lost without him and to a certain extent, Sergio Ramos. Perhaps as the lead defender, he should have been first to Sergio García’s blocked penalty to clear it.Heinze – 6.5: Stray passes, mistimed tackles, poor positioning… another typical day in the office for the Argentine. Did score the opening goal, though, with a great header.Marcelo – 4: Made a few clumsy challenges, one of which, unfortunately resulted in a straight red card.Van der Vaart – 6.5: His performance understandably looked a bit jaded. His deliveries weren’t as sharp and his off-the-ball movement wasn’t as spirited, although his pin-point freekick found Heinze for the opening goal.Diarrà – 7: As usual, a rock in the heart of midfield and won every battle there was to win, but he is far too slow when it comes to distributing the ball out of defence. De La Red – 7.5: Marshalled the midfield well and dictated the pace and direction of Madrid’s attacks. A very worthy successor to Guti when the time comes.Robben – 7.5: A real livewire in the opening exchanges, but faded away terribly as the game wore on. He did win the freekick that led to the opener and it was through ball that fed RVN’s goal.Van Nistelrooy – 7.5: Had a few decent half chances throughout the evening but in typical predatory style, he tucked away his best opportunity to secure all three points for his side. Raúl – 5: Barely registered a shot at goal. Strung a few passes together at most. Another quiet, lonely evening for the captain. Substitutes:Torres – 6.5: Had to get up to speed quickly to help stem the tide when Betis were on the ascendancy.Javi García – 5: Brought on to freshen up what must have been a tiring midfield line.

Drenthe – 5.5: Drew the foul that got Sergio García sent off, which may very well have allowed Madrid to score the winner.es the performers on the pitch.

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