Real Madrid vs. Valencia: Rating the Madrid Players in La Liga Opener

Real Madrid kicked off their La Liga season with a disappointing 1-1 home draw against Valencia.

Disappointing certainly, as Valencia did have a number of opportunities to grab all three points, particularly via a Roberto Soldado goal which was ruled offside. But Real Madrid really needed to get off to a flyer in this league opener.

At times, it was frustrating for Jose Mourinho's men, as the second half saw players like Sergio Ramos linger in the forward positions waiting for an opportunity. But it was ultimately a game where neither side were able to take all their chances (sort of).

Iker Casillas had a comfortable game for the most part, only coming into real danger through a horrible collision with Pepe. Jonas was subsequently able to level the tie just before halftime, but Casillas was clearly rattled.

One moment of excellence came in the first half with a double save from Feghouli. The Madrid captain wasn't to know the Valencia player was offside.

But Real Madrid's defenders were neither battling for survival nor comfortable where they should have been. Again, it was the high line of Madrid's defenders which saw Soldado slip through and advance on goal. Madrid were lucky to have the linesman wipe out the goal.

As usual, Sergio Ramos looks good leading the back four and advancing out of defence. He also had a couple of opportunities to find Madrid another goal.

Both fullbacks in Alvaro Arbeloa and Fabio Coentrao might have felt they could have offered more going forward.

Coentrao was the obvious choice over Marcelo due to his defensive abilities, but the Brazilian is far better in the final attacking third. Meanwhile, Arbeloa was hardly troubled, but Angel Di Maria's attacking wizardry did leave openings for the fullback to advance into.

Xabi Alonso was reliable and steady in the midfield, coming close to further Madrid's lead in the first half with a shot that narrowly missed the far post. His passing was excellent again as he took up the "quarterback" role in the team.

Lassana Diarra's inclusion, however, was a surprise. Mourinho clearly wanted to add some defensive insurance alongside Alonso, but the game offered a good platform for the energy of Sami Khedira.

Lass did little to warrant many further starts in the midfield going forward. Perhaps he needs to be brought back up to speed as a regular in the first XI, but he wasn't wholly convincing.

Angel Di Maria was one of the leading lights for Madrid in this game. His rotating with others on the right side caused Andres Guardado and Jeremy Mathieu a number of problems, and it was his excellent pass forward that assisted in Madrid's opening goal.

The team will be hoping for a big season for the Argentine following his injury-hit year last season. He looked lively, dangerous and determined to hang onto his place in the starting XI.

Mesut Ozil was one of the two players who never managed to force their authority on the game as much as they can. He was hardly a passenger, but his game left a lot to be desired.

It was perhaps due to Ozil's performance that Madrid never really seemed to move through the gears at pace; at times they looked flat and unable to break out their devastating attacks.

Cristiano Ronaldo was the other to disappoint to some degree, but only because we know he can do so much more. The Portuguese forward started well and managed to lash a shot wide of Diego Alves' goal, but from then on, he seemed to take to the back seat.

Ronaldo's pace was hardly on display, and he never looked to stretch the Valencia defence. A couple of shots here and there and a very good pass to put Coentrao through was not good enough in a must-win game for Real Madrid.

Gonzalo Higuain was one to put in a good performance in his surprise start for the team. Mourinho may have been looking to rest Benzema following his Euro 2012 duty, but Higuain took his chance on 10 minutes with two stabs of the ball and finally a rifle into the back of Alves' net.

Higuain showed his athleticism with an overhead kick a little while later and was unlucky to hit the bar in the second half.

Higuain's performance was a good reminder of the strength of Mourinho's choices in attack.

None of the Madrid players performed particularly badly, yet they would surely not have been pleased with a game that only brought a 1-1 draw.

Valencia are clearly nowhere near as strong as Madrid, and with Barcelona always likely to have picked up three points in their game that followed, Jose Mourinho would have wanted a little more sharpness and desire in the final third.

Iker Casillas: 7

Alvaro Arbeloa: 6

Pepe: 6

Sergio Ramos: 7

Fabio Coentrao: 6

Xabi Alonso: 7

Lassana Diarra: 5

Angel Di Maria: 8

Mesut Ozil: 7

Cristiano Ronaldo: 6

Gonzalo Higuain: 7

Substitutes Jose Callejon and Karim Benzema had a couple of chances between them, but were also unlucky not to put their side ahead. Raul Albiol, meanwhile, replaced Pepe at half time and looked comfortable during his time on the pitch.

Jose Callejon: 6

Karim Benzema: 6

Raul Albiol: 6