Ajax 1-4 Real Madrid: Ratings for Real Players in Champions League Win

Real Madrid made it six points from two games in the Champions League "Group of Death" with a convincing 4-1 win away to Ajax on Wednesday night.

Jose Mourinho opted to switch around some of his personnel ahead of El Clasico in the Spanish league at the weekend—Kaka made a rare competitive start, as did Jose Callejon.

Real dominated much of the game with their attack-minded possession and got the goal their first-half play deserved thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo's tap-in from close range.

After the break, a special goal from Karim Benzema looked to have put the game beyond Ajax, but the home side fought back bravely for 20 minutes after Niklas Moisander made it 2-1.

A late brace from Ronaldo, securing his hat-trick, ended the resistance though and gave Real Madrid the win they deserved.

Here are the player ratings for the victorious side.

Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas

Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas did not have an awful lot to do for much of the game in truth; during the first half the most he had to do was watch a couple of speculative efforts sail over his crossbar.

Ajax controlled the game for spells in terms of possession, but it was so deep and without penetration that Casillas was largely untroubled.

Early in the second half, Ajax scored their goal from a set piece which he might be disappointed not to have dealt with, but he made saves from Siem de Jong and was calm throughout.

He might have a somewhat more busy evening at the weekend.

Iker Casillas: 7/10

Full-Backs: Alvaro Arbeloa and Marcelo

At right-back, Alvaro Arbeloa was his usual solid and dependable self, not drawing attention to his play because of an either overly-spectacular approach or a match full of errors.

He was difficult to beat for the Ajax wide men and tracked Daley Blind's rare forays forward well.

On the opposite side, Marcelo was much more involved and was a real threat in the final third for Real Madrid. He linked up exceptionally with Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema down the left.

He also got himself into good areas around the edge of the box several times during the course of the second half, playing quick one-twos with the forwards as he sought to shoot or create a shot for a team-mate.

Marcelo was involved in the build-up for more than one of the goals.

Alvaro Arbeloa: 7/10

Marcelo: 8/10

Centre Backs: Pepe and Sergio Ramos

Both of Real Madrid's centre backs were at ease in the game for an hour or so, but after Niklas Moisander was shamefully left unmarked to score Ajax's goal, they did come under sustained pressure for 20 minutes.

Pepe held firm aerially and Ramos was strong against forward Ryan Babel who barely had a sniff all game.

The duo are likely to start in defence against Barcelona at the weekend and, with the exception of the set piece goal conceded, showed they are in good form at the moment.

Neither tried to bring the ball out of defence much, content instead to sit back and recycle possession quickly and easily—which was enough on the night.

Ramos had an early chance to score for his team but planted a header wide of the near post.

Pepe: 7/10

Sergio Ramos: 7/10

Central Midfield: Michael Essien and Xabi Alonso

Jose Mourinho opted to restore Xabi Alonso to the starting XI after resting him from last weekend's league fixture. Michael Essien also got the chance to stake his claim for a spot in El Clasico.

All in all, despite an energetic display and trying to keep the ball moving quickly, Essien didn't do much to suggest he should be a regular fixture in this Madrid side.

Essien was booked just shy of the hour mark and completed 88 percent of his passes; not bad, but paling into comparison to his midfield partner Xabi Alonso, who made a match-high 93 passes and misplaced just three of them—totaling 97 percent accuracy for the game.

Alonso was the more insightful passer of the two as well, always looking to release Callejon or Ronaldo quickly into space down the flanks.

Essien was replaced 12 minutes from full time.

Michael Essien: 6/10

Xabi Alonso: 8/10

Attacking Midfield: Jose Callejon, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo

Jose Callejon got another opportunity to impress but didn't exactly grab his chance after failing to get involved enough in an open game with plenty of space down the flanks.

He had a few moments early on where he looked like he might pose a threat to the Ajax back line, but he faded badly and it was no real surprise when he was the first Real Madrid player substituted after an hour.

In the centre, Kaka had perhaps his best game in almost a year.

He was involved in much of the creative work of his side, threading passes both directions for his forwards to attack and also looking to get on the ball in the penalty area himself.

Kaka didn't score, but he provided a series of passes and crosses for the likes of Benzema and Ronaldo to attack, and claimed an assist for Benzema's killer goal.

From the left, Ronaldo was his usual unstoppable self. After missing a couple of chances earlier in the game, he tucked away the opening goal before half time, but much more impressive were his second and third goals—his second hat-trick inside a week.

Ronaldo was always the biggest threat to Ajax and in this form could certainly be the player who tips the balance at the weekend against Barcelona.

Jose Callejon: 6/10

Kaka: 8/10

Cristiano Ronaldo: 9/10, man of the match.

Forward: Karim Benzema

Karim Benzema was another stand-out performer on the night for Real Madrid.

He played a selfless game for long spells, working the channels and providing through balls for his team-mates, especially Ronaldo.

The French striker got his reward with the best goal of the night, a spectacular bicycle kick on the counterattack to put Real 2-0 up.

Benzema claimed an assist on the night as well and is in great form at present for his side.

Karim Benzema: 8/10.

Substitutes

Two of Real Madrid's more attacking and creative substitutes, Mesut Ozil and Angel di Maria, struggled to have any kind of impact on the game at all.

They entered the game when Ajax were on top and pressing for an equalising goal, unable to stem the flow of the game or make the most of their counter-attacking opportunities.

Eventually it was left to the more reserved midfielder Sami Khedira to come on and help seal the game—he set up Ronaldo for his third strike to wrap up the win.

Angel di Maria: 6/10

Mesut Ozil: 6/10

Sami Khedira: 7/10

Unused subs: Antonio Adam, Raphael Varane, Gonzalo Higuain, Luka Modric.

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