Ranking Real Madrid's Top 5 Players of the Month

Real Madrid have had a productive February overall...even if it wasn't 100 per cent perfect.

A big win in Europe and three wins out of four in La Liga mean Los Blancos are still top of the table and looking strong to retain the UEFA Champions League trophy. Performances haven't always been of the highest order, though, indicating that there's still work to be done.

Here, we look at the entire month and name the team's top performers, taking into account anyone who played, the quality of opposition and how much each player affected Real's own performances and results.

The matches included are:

3-1 win vs. Osasuna

3-1 win vs. Napoli

2-0 win vs. Espanyol

2-1 defeat vs. Valencia

3-2 win vs. Villarreal

Gareth Bale has only been fit for the past three games and hasn't yet completed 90 minutes, but his impact on the team has been clear to see already.

While his technical levels won't be at their highest after several months out injured, Bale's pace and power have been immediately apparent in how he helps to get Madrid higher upfield, allows the team to counter-attack and, perhaps most importantly, gets shots away in dangerous areas.

A goal off the bench just a few minutes into his return highlighted not only Bale's importance, but that his self-confidence was unaffected by his layoff and that he recognised how much of an influence he could still be to a team that was top of the table without him.

Against Villarreal, he was one of the players who helped most in getting the match turned around. His powerful header for Los Blancos' first goal was impressive for the finish and his movement—a direct run to the far post and the desire to beat his man to the ball when Madrid's players could easily have been letting their heads drop.

While he won't have been happy to be sidelined, it's clear that the time out of the XI could benefit Bale immensely in the second half of the season, particularly having had a big summer with Wales in 2016 and nothing ahead to worry about when this season ends.

He can be let off the leash, play at full capacity and then rest up afterwards, which makes him a terrifying proposition for defences in the last third of the campaign.

Alvaro Morata's place in the top five, coupled with the absence of Karim Benzema, only serves to highlight why the Spaniard should be in Zinedine Zidane's team more regularly from now until the end of the season.

Time and again, he has shown the aggression, link play and killer instinct to be the man who matters in Real Madrid's attack. But it's infuriating for him that he has to do it off the bench after watching his team-mate plod around, miss chances and generally look a shadow of his top-form self for an hour beforehand.

Morata only appeared three times in the month, but his one start yielded an important goal against Espanyol. Dating back into January, he has three goals in his last four matches—in just 117 minutes on the pitch. By contrast, Benzema has managed one goal in four games, 239 minutes.

In the most recent fixture against Villarreal, Benzema missed a huge chance and was lethargic throughout, whereas Morata was influential in buildup play, worked extremely hard to get his team back in the game and scored the winner.

More time on the pitch for the former Juventus man would have seen him higher up the charts, but as it is, his influence on the side is incredible considering how infrequently Zidane opts to include him in the team.

Cristiano Ronaldo hasn't been vintage over the past few games, but his influence has still extended to be greater than most.

Even though he has struggled on a technical level at times, his approach hasn't changed much this season: get the ball and look to shoot. However, short of a little acceleration and with Real not dominant high upfield, he has been reduced to turning back on himself outside the area a lot, running into crowds of players and shooting from overly ambitious areas.

Even so, when called upon to come up with something productive, Ronaldo continues to manage it; he scored at Osasuna, claimed an assist against Napoli and netted against both Valencia and Villarreal. Even though the strike at the Mestalla Stadium amounted to nothing, it was his team's only real positive contribution and summed up why it's still the Portuguese they look to most often.

Overall, though, it was the Napoli performance where Ronaldo most impressed, with selfless running in the channels, excellent footwork and clever passes inside the box and behind the defence seeing him create plenty of chances for his team.

Ronaldo was a driving force behind the revival against Villarreal, too. Although his shooting was wayward—nine efforts, one on target, per WhoScored.com—he was constantly on the move, aggressive with his runs behind the defence and was clearly one of the players on the pitch who most believed his team would find a way back.

His penalty was dispatched clinically, and he was unlucky not to score another goal with a tremendous volley which struck the post.

Despite Real Madrid's lax performances largely stemming from an imbalance in midfield and a lack of control of each match, Toni Kroos has been individually superb of late—both in the more free-roving No. 8 role and also when asked to be the deepest midfielder of three.

The German is back to his usual role of playing 90 minutes in every game, an undroppable part of Zidane's spine and comfortably above Luka Modric and Casemiro in his February form, running the midfield for Real Madrid.

Kroos' goal against Napoli was a standout moment, for the occasion and for his movement in the buildup. Not content with being an option in space, deeper on the pitch, he surged forward to provide a cut-back option as a late runner into the box—and his finish was as perfect as his passing usually is.

His pass-success rate, per WhoScored, for the last four games has been 93 per cent, 94, 94 and 91, incredible consistency in possession, creating an impressive 12 chances for his team in that run of fixtures. Considering the high-profile nature and great intensity of three of those games, it's all the more telling that Kroos' greatest qualities shine through in those moments.

While he is a better performer when able to break into the final third, against Valencia and Villarreal Zidane changed Modric and Casemiro, respectively, for more offensive options, always leaving Kroos in place and trusting him to hold fort in the centre. From there (in the latter game in particular) the No. 8 sprayed the ball around, kept Real on the front foot and eventually helped to force the comeback.

Top billing for February goes to one of the most inconsistent players in Real Madrid's squad, and not even a regular starter.

Isco managed to feature in just three of the team's games, but he was superb in each one, making it all the more infuriating why he doesn't show this form more often and all the more bemusing why Zidane doesn't select him repeatedly when he does hit these runs.

Against Osasuna, Isco showed the better side of his work rate—admittedly after he had been party to giving the ball away for their equaliser—and netted the all-important second goal for Los Blancos. He was subbed late on to an impressive ovation.

Against Espanyol, he made tremendous use of the space on the pitch, the slower tempo of the opposition and his largely free role in the centre of the park to take possession between the lines and instigate all manner of attacks. He created both goals in the 2-0 win, a measured cross from one side of the pitch and a timed pass deep into Espanyol's half on the opposite side. He was a big part of the impressive fightback against Villarreal off the bench.

It's notable that Isco was utilised by Zidane against the inferior opponents Los Blancos faced; he wasn't used against Valencia when the team was trailing—perhaps telling of the 24-year-old's mentality at times—and once more he remained on the bench in Europe. He has only played once in the Champions League this term, for little more than an hour.

Isco's role still isn't defined at the club and his future might be uncertain, but his form in February at least hinted that he still has something to offer this season.