Real Madrid dropped points for the first time this season with an exciting 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday night.
Isco came off the bench to rescue a point after a scrambled first-half opener from Iker Muniain, and that was just about the right result from a pulsating encounter.
This is how the players rated in San Mames.
ATHLETIC BILBAO
Simon – 8: Made several excellent saves and was composed throughout. Spilled Bale’s free-kick but made amends with great stop from the rebound.
De Marcos -7: Tigerish in the tackle and delivered a good cross for the opener. Strong at the back and purposeful going forward.
Yeray – 7: Booked for fouling Ceballos but nearly everything else he did was perfectly timed. Excellent in the heart of defence.
Martinez – 7: Authoritative performance from the Spain international, regularly getting himself into the right place just in the nick of time.
Yuri – 6: Fired a couple of first half shots straight at Courtois and tried to come forward as often as possible. Solid at the back.
D Garcia – 7: Technically outclassed by Madrid’s ball-playing midfielders but showed positional discipline and did a good job defensively.
Benat – 5: Less impact on the ball than he would like, struggling to establish his usual passing rhythm and was replaced near the end.
Susaeta – 8: Lively down the right, drilling a shot wide and finding a great pass to spark the opener. Switched flanks later and continued to impress.
R Garcia – 6: Linked midfield and attack with some deft touches, but faded after the break as he went to war with Casemiro.
Muniain – 6: Slow start but in the right place to prod home the opener. Became more influential before suffering an injury just after the break.
Williams – 6: Led the line with power and pace. Dragged an early shot wide and played a part in the opener. Ran out of gas.
SUBS:
Capa – 7: Replaced Muniain in midfield and was full of honest hustle and bustle down the right flank, giving Marcelo plenty to think about.
San Jose – 6: Strengthened the midfield for the latter stages and did his job to shore things up in the centre of the pitch.
Rico – 6: The final change for Athletic, entering for the last ten minutes. Came close to winning it with an injury time strike.
⚖ Points shared at San Mamés. #RMLiga pic.twitter.com/lraMI4aSaQ
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) September 15, 2018
REAL MADRID
Courtois – 6: Didn’t always look comfortable between the posts but stayed alert to secure a point with a decent stoppage time save.
Carvajal – 7: Fantastic levels of fitness allowed him to become increasingly influential as the game wore on. Never stopped running.
Varane – 8: Great intervention to cut out one first half attack, and a similarly fine challenge near the end to sum up an excellent performance.
Ramos – 7: Strong at the back and regularly ventured forward, coming close with a close-range rebound and curling a free-kick over the top.
Marcelo – 6: Conjured some fantasy football flicks and tricks but little end product going forward and sometimes shaky at the back.
Modric – 6: Plenty of classy touches in midfield and occasionally ventured to the penalty area. Surprise when he was taken off after an hour.
Kroos – 6: Metronomic passing from his starting deep role in midfield. Less involved later on when he moved further forward.
Ceballos – 5: Workmanlike in the centre of midfield but offered little as an attacking presence and was substituted at half-time.
Bale – 6: Misfired with a few efforts on goal and was generally well below his best, but produced a brilliant half-volleyed cross for the leveller.
Benzema – 6: Floated in and out of the action, knitting play well in midfield but rarely looking like continuing his fine goalscoring start to the season.
Asensio – 7: Real’s biggest threat in the early stages, seeing a curling shot well saved. Also came close in the second half and always dangerous.
SUBS:
Casemiro – 7: Left out initially but came on at half-time and made himself a nuisance with powerful defending and measured play on the ball.
Isco – 7: Introduced to add goal threat and complied immediately, heading home the leveller from close range. Continued to regularly prompt danger.
Vazquez – 5: The last entrant for the visitors, replacing Bale for the last 15 minutes. Delivered some poor balls and got booked.