Real Madrid 3 – 2 AC Milan: Rating the Players

Andriy Lunin—5: A poor first-half where the Ukrainian could have done better on both goals but made some solid stops in the second 45.

Lucas Vazquez—6: Struggled with Pulisic’s feints and agility early on, but gradually grew into the game and was a great-counter pressing presence.

Eder Militao—6: Relatively little work to do outside defending crosses.

Nacho—5: The midfield set-up left Nacho exposed on a few occasions, having to deal with Milan’s counterattack.

Ferland Mendy—4: Rusty – many heavy touches and misplaced passes.

Toni Kroos—7: Playing as the deep-lying playmaker, the German orchestrated nearly every attack and was proficient at stopping play, particularly toe-poking the ball off Pulisic on more than one occasion.

Fede Valverde—9: Fantastic game – Valverde looks to be ready for the new season. The only player to play the whole 90 minutes. Scored two well-taken goals and set-up the third with a crucial tackle on Rafael Leao.

Eduardo Camavinga—6: Played as a number 8 in front of Kroos on the left side of midfield, and had a few bursting runs that showcased his line-breaking ability.

Jude Bellingham—7: A positive first cameo in a Real Madrid shirt. Some silky touches and intelligent movement. Combined well with Brahim Diaz and nearly scored the opening goal of the game.

Brahim Diaz—8: A major bright spark. One of the best players in the first half. Broke down Milan off the dribble and was constantly moving off the ball, looking for pockets of space.

Joselu—6: A good first start in his return to Real Madrid, used his body efficiently and was always a target for the team to play into and help hold the ball.

Substitutions:

Dani Carvajal—6: Lively down the right side with some positive touches and good energy.

Toni Rudiger—6: Took nothing for granted and brought his prototypical aggressive game to the Rose Bowl.

David Alaba—6: Had several well-timed interventions and distributed the ball from the back with precision.

Fran Garcia—6: Gave fans a few glimpses of the speed and overlapping ability down the left.

Tchouameni—6: Made a number of good interceptions to help kick off a Madrid counterattack.

Luka Modric—6: Fluid on the ball, a constant outlet for teammates.

Nico Paz—6: Surprised with his defensive output, producing a few important tackles high up the pitch to win possession.

Vinicius Junior—6: Overplayed on several occasions or took one too many touches, but still did not stop him from getting through 1 v 1 on a breakaway and clinically dispatching his shot in the bottom corner.

Rodrygo Goes—6: Such a smooth operator on the ball, Rodrygo’s on-ball value is so important to this team.