_Full match player ratings below:_
_Full match player ratings below:_
**Thibaut Courtois—7:** Early parry on a Nico Williams pass across goal that denied a tap-in for Inaki Williams.
**Lucas Vazquez—4.5:** Oftentimes the only option down the right flank with Fede Valverde hedging centrally. Needed Jude and Valverde to cover for him in tranistion on multiple occasions. Being the only outlet on the right, limited Madrid’s game in possesion.
**Raul Asencio—5.5:** Slight scare to start the game, hanging on to the ball too long in the defensive third and getting dispossesed. Outside of that early blemish, measured his passes well and once again showed off his recovery speed and aggressive tackling. Likely could have done better on the first goal conceded, letting the ball slip past him instead of clearing.
**Antonio Rudiger—8:** Due to Madrid’s poor on-ball possesion, Rudiger and the defense were often caught in transition retreating in a 3v4 situation. The German made a number of important toe-poke interventions and had seven clearances in the first half alone.
**Fran Garcia—4.5:** Got the nod over Ferland Mendy in a big game. Defended well in 1v1 situations but was poor in possesion with several loose passes. Remains erratic on the ball, with his teammates never quite sure what decision he will take.
**Tchouameni—3:** Ancelotti hinted that the Frenchman would start as his height would be important for set-pieces.Felt like the player was shoehorned into the line-up and disrupted the good dynamic of the team. Ancelotti had Tchouameni pressing high but Athletic easily played through the team’s press.
**Dani Ceballos—6.5:** Rewarded for his recent form with another start in midfield. Was one of the few players willing to take the ball in tight situations and keep possesion. A surprise early substitution.
**Fede Valverde—3:** With Tchouameni back in the line-up and Ceballos in the middle, Valverde was forced back into his right midfield position. Made a glaring mistake in the final minutes of the game, trying to nutmeg an Athletic player in his own half, leading to the game-winning goal for Atheltic Bilbao.
**Jude Bellingham—7:** Forced to do a little bit of everything: cover for Fran Garcia and Tchouameni (even Lucas Vazquez on one occasion), be the drop deep build-up play midfielder, be the link-up attacking midfielder, and fulfill both a central and left midfield role. Ancelotti is asking too much of the Englishmen and needed to retain his role from the last few matches. Found the back of the net in his fourth consecutive La Liga match but will be dissappointed the team could not manage a draw.
**Rodrygo—6: The** glue between the midfield and attack but did not see enough of the ball with Madrid sitting in a deep block, defending for most of the game. Delivered the set-piece that resulted in a penalty kick after Rudiger’s collision with the Athletic goalkeeper.
**Kylian Mbappe—2:** Scored an offside goal in the first half but outside of that moment was largely a non-factor as Madrid sat deep. Missed another penalty and looks completely devoid of any confidence.
**Substitutions:**
**Brahim Diaz—6:** One of the first substitutionto try and up the team’s rhythm and get back into the game. Had a few incisive through balls to Mbappe but never materialized in a goal-scoring opportunity.
**Ferland Mendy—5:** Replaced Fran Garcia in the second half but offered little in the final third.
**Luka Modric—4:** Overhit several long range passes and set pieces.
**Arda Guler—N/A:** Played the final three minutes as Ancelotti threw him and Endrick on for one last roll of the dice.
**Endrick—N/A:** Late substitution with Arda, with 3 minutes to try and change the game.