Power Ranking Every Player for Real Madrid in 2017/18 Season so Far
Real Madrid have had an eventful start to the season. After dominating Barcelona to win the Spanish Super Cup and seeing off Manchester United with ease in the UEFA Super Cup, La Liga has presented a somewhat more difficult beginning to life in 2017/18.
Two draws and a defeat from their opening five league games left them immediately playing catch-up to their great Catalan rivals, and that's where they remain despite back-to-back league wins: fifth in the table, seven points off the pace.
An up-and-down start, then, but it's not an insurmountable gap for the team that has been the best on the planet over the past two years. Here we look at every player in Zinedine Zidane's squad, assessing their starts and ranking them according to their impacts on matches and form.
Four players have been named on the bench but not seen game time thus far: Jesus Vallejo, Alvaro Tejero, Luca Fernandez and Franchu. Of the quartet, only Vallejo should be expected to play in 2017/18, while Tejero certainly could feature given Madrid's thin depth at full-back.
These rankings cover every competitive match up to and including the 2-0 win over Espanyol on Sunday.
22. Kiko Casilla
Just the one game for Kiko Casilla, with the stand-in stopper playing the 1-1 draw at home to Levante. He wasn't overly impressive, but there's no demand on him to perform given his limitations, the fact he only plays weak opposition and his status as a clear No. 2.
21. Marcos Llorente
Holding midfielder Marcos Llorente has been a regular in matchday squads but has mostly had to be content with the odd cameo off the bench.
He started the same game as Casilla, home to Levante, but only totals 98 minutes across three appearances. He was strong in that match, dictating play and passing well, but he has to remain patient as he waits for more opportunities to impress.
20. Achraf Hakimi
Achraf Hakimi hadn't featured for a single minute up until Sunday, but he's set for an extended run in the team—so Zidane would have been heartened to see the right-back perform well on his full debut.
The right-back was confident on the ball, got forward well and his link-up play was neat, but he wasn't tested defensively.
19. Lucas Vazquez
Winger Lucas Vazquez has featured in every Real match except one this season—but "featured" is the key word. A late sub role off the bench is his staple diet: 10 minutes against Deportivo La Coruna, 18 against Real Betis, four against Dortmund and so on.
He has played 90 minutes only once, and despite scoring against Levante, he hasn't yet influenced play too often in the way he can. A frustrating start to the campaign.
18. Borja Mayoral
We recently posed the question of whether Borja Mayoral had been underused by Madrid this season given he's now the only available (natural) No. 9 in the squad.
Zidane hasn't changed his use of the 20-year-old as yet, giving him just one minute as sub in Real's past two league games, but he led the line well against Real Sociedad and is likely to get far more opportunities in the coming weeks.
He could only have half a season to make an impact if Madrid spend to bring in a striker in January, so he needs to show what he's capable of fast.
17. Karim Benzema
A disappointing start to 2017/18 from the French striker, who struggled for his top level of sharpness early on in the campaign and has since gotten injured.
Karim Benzema has managed a solitary goal for the campaign—in the largely irrelevant Spanish Super Cup second leg—and although he has been involved in one or two others, he hasn't been anywhere near his best.
Madrid will hope a period on the sidelines and the ensuing recovery from injury will see him return much sharper, fitter and ready to hit top form.
16. Theo Hernandez
Theo Hernandez knew upon signing from Atletico Madrid in the summer that he would have to play backup to Marcelo this season—so how frustrating that when Marcelo faces a period on the sidelines, so does Theo himself.
He has already shown one or two moments of his power and direct running on the left flank, impressing against La Real in particular, but Madrid's worries at full-back have come at a bad time for him.
It's not a concern for his future because he's a long-term signing, but he could already be featuring and showing his worth, which is a shame.
15. Dani Ceballos
A new arrival from Real Betis, Dani Ceballos has only played 111 minutes across all competitions, but his impact has been impressive.
His match-winning brace at Alaves quickly helped him win the backing of the fans and, presumably, the trust of his manager. He has come off the bench in both UEFA Champions League games and for a brief appearance on Sunday.
There's more to come, but it's been a positive start.
14. Mateo Kovacic
Mateo Kovacic started the season on fire and showing just how important he could be for Madrid over the next few years if Zidane rewards him with a starting spot.
Then he got injured against Levante, and his opportunity to impress was over. If he had played another couple of games in the form he had shown, he'd be flying up this list. Kovacic faces a period on the sidelines, but he's good enough to start for this Madrid team.
13. Dani Carvajal
Another full-back, another absentee. Dani Carvajal hasn't hit top gear this season, but he had been reasonably steady and nowhere near the worst-performing defenders.
He's now sidelined for at least six weeks because of a virus, which has led to Achraf's opportunity on the right.
12. Gareth Bale
Perhaps the wildest swings in form in the Real Madrid squad this season have come from Gareth Bale.
Against Borussia Dortmund, he was ridiculously good. Against Real Sociedad, he was devastating. Yet in other matches, the ball has passed him by, his touch has been off and he hasn't imposed himself upon Madrid's play.
Now he's injured after not appearing off the bench against Alaves, either. Consistency is the watchword, but surely he'll find that as the campaign goes on.
11. Sergio Ramos
Sergio Ramos was pretty consistent last term, making fewer errors of judgement than has been his habit previously, but this term it's back to normal.
Sunday's game against Espanyol was an exaggeration of that: individual errors, a terrible touch, giving the ball away in bad areas and surging forward into attack when his focus should have been on organising a makeshift back line.
But that is Ramos' style, and while it doesn't work all the time, his best games are simply phenomenal. Real could do with a few more of those quickly.
10. Cristiano Ronaldo
An up-and-down start to 2017/18 for Cristiano Ronaldo, who was banned for the first four league matches of the season after a Spanish Super Cup red card.
Naturally, it has taken time for him to hit top gear thereafter, and his best displays have come in Europe—four goals in two games in the Champions League. In La Liga, he hasn't had a great supply line from midfield for chances on goal.
An explosion in form is probably imminent.
9. Keylor Navas
No. 1 goalkeeper Keylor Navas has impressed this term, perhaps making one or two errors along the way but continuing to provide Madrid with a steady presence.
His consistency is Real's biggest attribute in defence at times, as over the past two years the back four has suffered continuous disruptions and injuries.
The odd ridiculous save helps on that front too.
8. Marcelo
The third and final injured senior full-back, Marcelo started the season as he always does: raiding down the left flank, influencing the team with great quality and providing chances in the final third.
It has quickly derailed for him, though, after a red card against Levante and an injury in his first game back. There is perhaps no better left-back on the planet, but Real know he will miss a number of games every year.
It's just unfortunate his injury has coincided with Theo's.
7. Toni Kroos
German midfielder Toni Kroos has been quietly effective rather than stellar in 2017/18, impressive in a consistent way but yet to hit the highest, world-class notes he's so capable of reaching.
That's not necessarily a terrible thing given the team will ask him to play 50 or more games across the season; he'll find top rhythm and inspire the side to greater things. But he cannot afford to drop off the pace with such competition in midfield.
Good, just not great.
6. Marco Asensio
Still superb, still fighting for a regular starting spot. Marco Asensio has been absurd at times, embarrassing opponents by making the game look so easy.
His performance against Valencia near the start of the season was so complete it looked as though Zidane couldn't possibly restrain him any longer, and that has largely been the case in La Liga, where Asensio has played every game, starting the vast majority.
But in Europe, it's just 30 minutes off the bench across two appearances from three games, including the Super Cup.
It's still a battle to show what he's capable of and that he can do it with consistency. He's winning that fight, and when Asensio finds the game-in, game-out relentlessness that has been the hallmark of some of his team-mates, he'll be a frightening opponent to face.
5. Isco
Isco would have been a few positions down on the list if not for Sunday's win over Espanyol, which he starred in and hit both goals.
The Spain international was unstoppable at the end of 2016/17, and began 2017/18 the same way, tearing apart Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup. But that form is what the top players—we're talking the five or six elite performers in the world—manage on a game-to-game basis, not across four or five months but four or five seasons.
And Isco dropped off, certainly in league play, across September.
He has worked so hard to finally win a role in the team that he cannot let those standards slip. That's what being a starter at Real Madrid demands, and his display against Espanyol was a step back in the right direction.
4. Casemiro
No surprises that Casemiro is highly placed given the solidity of his performances, the importance of his role and the fact Madrid have underperformed in a few games.
He's been worked harder in a defensive sense than in many matches last year but is rarely found wanting.
Add in Casemiro's on-the-ball contributions, his passing and non-stop running, and he remains a vital player for Zidane and Los Blancos.
3. Luka Modric
Just about edging out Casemiro for the best-performing midfielder, Luka Modric is the one who raises the tempo of the team when they aren't in top gear and tries to force the issue.
His runs from the centre of the park into the final third before releasing a pass or shot are an emerging hallmark of this Madrid team.
While Asensio and Isco impress thanks to their impact and end product in the attacking zones, it's still Modric who pulls strings the most and finds those forward players in space, and he remains integral to the midfield arrangement, whether in a three or four and regardless of which players are up front.
2. Nacho
One of the best decisions Zidane has made as Real Madrid coach was to convince Nacho to stay on last season when he could have looked for a transfer.
The versatile defender was good last year, but in 2017/18 he has stepped up to become even more important and even more impressive—and the next few weeks are likely to show just how important he is to the squad.
At centre-back he has been stellar, rarely making an error and being more consistent than Ramos. And now at left-back—and he might well feature on the right soon too—he's every bit as confident on the ball as Marcelo and Theo.
Good pace, full of self-belief and playing a bigger role than at any other point in his career, Nacho has become a massive success story at Real Madrid even if outsiders aren't yet reading that storyline.
1. Raphael Varane
Top billing goes to central defender Raphael Varane, who has been monstrous in every game he has played this season.
This is the Varane everyone has been waiting for: consistent, fit, a mixture of pace and power, reading the game well and dominating the back line.
An early-season injury was only a short setback, and he's been a key figure in big games already; maintaining this level—of form and fitness—is critical to ensuring he can be seen as one of Europe's best defenders this term.
Varane has always had this ability, and has shown it before, but keeping it going over a longer period has similarly been a question mark. So far in 2017/18, so very good.
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