Ronaldo Shockingly Let Real Madrid Down

Legia Warsaw secured a thoroughly deserved point in the Polish Army Stadium that has seriously compromised Real Madrid’s defence of their Champions League title. Zinedine Zidane’s side seemed set for a comfortable victory after taking a two-goal lead through Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema but were fortunate to escape with a point after Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe, Miroslav Radovic and Thibault Moulin made it 3-2 to the hosts. Mateo Kovacic, Real’s best player on the night, spared Zidane a full-blown inquisition in the Spanish press but the headlines will not be kind.

Positives:

None. From a commanding position Real failed to kill the game off with too many cooks and not enough broth in a formation that rang more of the presidential hand than the game afoot. It’s not saying much, but scraping a point against a side thrashed 6-0 by Dortmund at the same ground is about as good as it gets.

Negatives:

Too many to list. Cristiano Ronaldo was as effective a captain as William Bligh, the Portuguese in full pouting mode as his side were cast adrift by a determined and organized Legia. Real’s defence was amateurish at best and even San Keylor couldn’t be the much-needed saviour. Real will now face a Sporting side with knock-out stage ambitions of their own and will have to beat already qualified Dortmund to top the group.

Manager Rating out of 10

3 — A tactical shambles. In order to squeeze Bale, Ronaldo and Benzema into the side, Zidane sacrificed the balance of his preferred 4-3-3 for a 4-4-2 and exposed his makeshift back four to more punishment than it could handle while also reducing the main focus of attack to hopeful balls into the area, most of which were poor. The Real boss completely underestimated Legia and had no answer to the home side’s ambition. Switching to a 3-5-2 with Bale and substitute Lucas Vazquez acting as wing-backs was suicide and Legia, who had ploughed a profitable furrow through the middle all evening, took full advantage.

Player Ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating):

GK Keylor Navas, 6 — Navas was beaten three times from distance. He could do little about Odjidja-Ofoe’s wonder-goal but might have got closer to Radovic’s strike. Moulin’s effort was also untouchable. Otherwise he snuffed out a few crosses in his area.

DF Dani Carvajal, 6 — After excellent work to assist Kovacic’s equaliser, the right-back was undone at the other end as he watched a corner fly over his head to an unmarked Legia player. Loose in possession and lacked his usual attacking incisiveness from the wing.

DF Raphael Varane, 6 — Was guilty of ball-watching for Legia’s opener, but came close to extending Real’s lead earlier with a powerful header hacked off the line. Used the ball well from the back and was solid in the air but he needs a senior partner to play his game effectively.

DF Nacho, 5 — And senior, Nacho is not. The utility man was an extra body at the back and little else. Zero tackles, zero headed clearances, zero points. One to forget for a player who said ahead of the game that he won’t be playing 15 times a season forever. In fairness he was obliged to cover for Coentrao…

DF Fabio Coentrao, 4 — As rusty as an 1980s college frat boy movie, the Portuguese was a liability throughout and lucky to escape sanction for a challenge on Radomic in the area and a similar bit of face-grabbing on Guilherme at the start of the second half, which resulted in a free kick near-miss.

MF Mateo Kovacic, 8 — Excellent, hitting a teammate with 97 percent of his passes and making a timely intervention on 17 minutes to thwart a Legia break. Adding to a wonderful ball to Bale for Real’s second and then rescued his team with a thumping finish at the death.

MF Toni Kroos, 6 — The German played a few uncharacteristic loose balls but too much was asked of him in Zidane’s formation. Kroos’ set pieces left much to be desired, but he held his position well and put in a few telling interceptions in a one-man fire job.

MF Gareth Bale, 7 — Hammered in a fantastic strike for the opener, opening his body and letting fly when Legia keeper Arkadiusz Malarz was still adjusting his gloves. The Welshman is oozing confidence and cleverly picked out Benzema for the second. Bale could have had a couple more and pulled rank on Ronaldo on a couple of free kicks. He is currently the top dog in the BBC.

FW Cristiano Ronaldo, 5 — Forced to play a bit deeper in an unusual formation but got a nod on from Coentrao’s cross for Bale’s goal. A few half chances went begging and when he tried to bring his teammates into play his layoffs found empty space. Nine efforts with two on target sums up the Portuguese’s evening.

FW Karim Benzema, 6 — Showed a few good touches in build-up play and scored with a tidy finish to put Real 2-0 up in the first half but he is still off the pace and was the first number on the board.

FW Alvaro Morata, 6 — Made plenty of runs and put in a few crosses but is more effective as the central striker rather than trying to drive the team from midfield. Another victim of Real’s disjointed set-up, Morata didn’t manage a single shot from his nominal position on the left.

Substitutes:

FW Lucas Vazquez, 6 — On for Benzema at the 65-minute mark, Vazquez came within an inch of securing three points with a rasping shot that rattled the bar with the last kick of the game.

MF Marco Asensio, NR — On for Coentrao with 13 minutes to play, Asensio was deployed out of position and had little effect in attack but pitched in as Legia poured forward.

FW Mariano, NR — On for Morata with five minutes on the clock the Castilla forward managed a 100 percent pass accuracy… from the one ball he touched.