Real Madrid vs. Liverpool player ratings: Vini Jr. inspires victory as Alexander-Arnold leads Reds collapse

Getty Images

Real Madrid are firmly in control of their Champions League quarterfinal tie after a 3-1 win over Liverpool at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano in the first leg.

Disastrous defending from Liverpool undoubtedly helped the Spanish champions on their way to a 2-0 break at the interval as Vinicius Junior and Marco Asensio profited on errors. The former would get a third after Mohamed Salah's 51st minute effort revived hopes for the team in red, who will need a remarkable fightback to qualify for the semi-finals at Anfield next Wednesday.

But how did each player perform in this one? Here are our player ratings for the match for every starter, substitute and manager.

Craving even more coverage of the world's game? Listen below and follow ¡Qué Golazo! A Daily CBS Soccer Podcast where we take you beyond the pitch and around the globe for commentary, previews, recaps and more.

All ratings are out of 10, and the higher the number the better. A zero would be a first-minute red card. A 10 would be like a dominant hat trick.

Real Madrid

Thibaut Courtois -- Goalkeeper

Played 90 minutes

The Belgian didn't have to deal with a whole lot, to be honest. He did quite well on crosses but couldn't do much on the goal. He'll take it. Rating: 6

Ferland Mendy -- Defender

Played 90 minutes

Decent enough. Did not get forward much at all, sitting back to help an undermanned defense. His positioning to defend crosses was stellar at times. Rating: 6

Nacho -- Defender

Played 90 minutes

The utility man came through with an inspiring performance. He was a sure thing in his duels, recovered the ball well and was calm and collected. Rating: 7

Eder Militao -- Defender

Played 90 minutes

Wasn't overly busy until the second half, and there he wasn't cautious enough. Got faked out of his shoes by Diogo Jota on the Reds goal. Should have done better but improved as the match went on. Rating: 6.5

Lucas Vazquez -- Midfielder

Played 90 minutes (yellow card)

Was given the liberty to get forward but stayed back quite a bit and performed well, recovering the ball eight times. He also won the majority of his duels and looked like a threat in attack. Rating: 6

Luka Modric -- Midfielder

Played 90 minutes (one assist)

Created one chance and was awarded with an assist. The Croatian was also superb on the ball in his passing but didn't get up the field too far. Confident and helped with getting the ball out wide. Rating: 6

Casemiro -- Midfielder

Played 90 minutes

Wasn't involved as much as expected, but that was by design. He sat in defensively to help a thin backline and did enough. Had a couple chances to make something happen in attack, but his passing was off. Rating: 6

Toni Kroos -- Midfielder

Played 90 minutes (one assist)

His assist on the opener was absolutely world class, serving it on a silver platter for Vinicius. He constantly played dangerous balls over the top, even helping create the second on a Liverpool error. Completed 94.1 percent of his passes, more than any other player. Rating: 8

Vinicius Jr. -- Forward (⚽ 27', ⚽ 65')

Played 85 minutes (two goals)

Lively down the left and was able to get in behind. Had a good header chance in the first half that almost found its way in. Delivered midway through the first half with a brilliant goal with his speed and technical ability taking center stage before doing it again in the second. The star. Rating: 9

Marco Asensio -- Midfielder (⚽ 36')

Played 70 minutes (one goal)

Has been in good form as of late and continued it with his attentive finish in the first half. That was a big goal that should earn him even more minutes moving forward. Rating: 7

Karim Benzema -- Forward

Played 90 minutes

Made some really good runs. Had some issues getting enough space to take some cracks on goal. Often had two defenders on him but that saw others flourish. He can live with it thanks to the result. Rating: 6

Federico Valverde -- Midfielder

Played 20 minutes

Came off the bench for 20 minutes to help see out the result defensively and did his job. Rating: 6

Zinedine Zidane -- Manager
Worked his magic. Only conceded one with so many problems at the back, and the attack really came alive. Vinicius' performance is encouraging and makes them the clear favorites in the second leg. Rating: 8

Liverpool

Alisson -- Goalkeeper

Played 90 minutes

Was his positioning as good as it could have been for Vinicius' goal, where he seemed to be midway between his line and the ball? Arguably not but he certainly should not have been beaten at his near post for Madrid's third. Rating: 3

Trent Alexander-Arnold -- Defender

Played 90 minutes (yellow card)

A disastrous display in the first half, one where it was immediately apparent that Real Madrid knew his flank was where they would get the joy. What is curious is that he is clearly not an incapable defender, he briefly seemed to have saved Liverpool by cutting out a counter-attack in the 64th minute with an excellent tackle in the box, but seemed unable to balance his responsibilities at both ends. Rating: 3

Nathaniel Phillips -- Defender

Played 90 minutes

That Benzema could not believe that Phillips missed a regulation clearing header rather set the tone for Liverpool's young defender. He failed to drop when Vinicius sprinted in behind for Madrid's opener and was not quick enough to Modric for the third. Rating: 3

Ozan Kabak -- Defender

Played 81 minutes

A horror show of a first half from Kabak, who seemed to panic whenever a high ball came his way. He nearly gave up a third goal to Madrid when Benzema came hunting and seemed unable to get close to Modric when the hosts did make it 3-1. The composure he has shown early in his Liverpool career nowhere to be seen. Rating: 3

Andrew Robertson -- Defender

Played 90 minutes

It is damning him with faint praise to say that he was the best of Liverpool's defenders but that is probably all he and any of the backline deserve. His passing in the final third was poor, defensively the best you could say about Robertson is that Madrid soon realized that others in his rearguard were even more accommodating. Rating: 4

Fabinho -- Midfielder

Played 90 minutes

He was overwhelmed. Attempting to plug every gap in the Liverpool defense proved to be too much even for Fabinho, who did not cover himself in glory by letting Modric run away from him in the build-up to Madrid's decisive third goal. Rating: 4

Naby Keita -- Midfielder

Played 42 minutes

If Keita was unfortunate to be hooked before the half-time whistle was blown it was only because there were almost half a dozen more who could have gone off instead of him. One assumed Klopp's decision to replace Thiago with the No.8 was to add pressing and an ability to drive through midfield but one ball recovery and one successful take on showed how ineffectual that plan was. Rating: 3

Georginio Wijnaldum -- Midfielder

Played 90 minutes

The limitations of his passing range were all the more pronounced before Thiago's introduction but he was hardly all that more impressive afterwards. Even from deep positions his first instinct seemed to be to move the ball sideways, of the first 41 passes he completed just six went forward, according to Opta. Rating: 4

Mohamed Salah -- Forward (⚽ 51')

Played 90 minutes

An excellently taken goal was about all Liverpool could have reasonably expected from Salah on a tough night for the Egyptian, who in addition to scoring had created half of the visitors chances after 85 minutes. Rating: 6

Diogo Jota -- Forward

Played 81 minutes

In a way it seems almost unfair to judge him for not doing the job Roberto Firmino would have done, but Liverpool needed someone harassing Real Madrid's midfielders and ensuring they did not have the yards of space they had to pick passes. Still perhaps the Brazilian might not have revived the tie as Jota did in the second half when his fearless running and creative passing teed up Salah for the Liverpool goal. Rating: 6

Sadio Mane -- Forward

Played 90 minutes (yellow card)

He pressed with his customary urgency but had little else to do in a game where he was feeding off scraps from those behind him. Rating: 5

Thiago -- Midfielder

Played 48 minutes (yellow card)

Liverpool at least had some attacking punch when Thiago entered the fray, their No. 6 adding some much-needed pace to their ball movement. Rating: 6

Jurgen Klopp -- Manager
He made two significant changes from the side that crushed Arsenal and both unbalanced his side, limiting their high press without the ball and their ability to dictate play with it. He could never have expected his players would have performed so poorly but he did not put out the right side today. Rating: 4