The clash between Real Madrid and Sevilla would usually be called the absolute hit of La Liga, but this season both teams are at two extremes. The “Royals” are the leader and are quite confident in winning the national championship. However, just a few weeks ago, Sevilla was a team defending itself from relegation. The specter of relegation was removed under the leadership of Quique Sanchez Flores – this is their third coach this season – under whose tenure they have recently recorded a streak of four matches without defeat.
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The team from the capital of Andalusia was doomed to death when arriving at the Santiago Bernabeu, but it set tough conditions for its favored rivals. The guests were the first to open the scoring in the 6th minute, but Youssef En Nesyri missed a good pass into the penalty area from the left side. However, this was the only offensive moment for Sevilla, who focused on defense in the rest of the first half.
The “Royals” delighted their fans in the 10th minute thanks to Lucas Vazquez’s goal, but the referee, after a very long VAR intervention, found a foul at the beginning of the goal. Carlo Ancelotti questioned his decision, for which he was shown a yellow card. This situation had a very negative impact on the team led by the Italian coach. Real had huge problems to create scoring opportunities. Suffice it to say that Orjan Nyland had his first shot on goal only in the 31st minute. In fact, the only one that can be distinguished is Federico Valverde’s long-range attempt in added time. Nearly 75,000 fans at the Santiago Bernabeu could have felt disappointed until the break.
Real started after the break. Then the judge stopped him
The Uruguayan midfielder was also the hero of the situation immediately after the restart. Brahim Diaz found him in the penalty area, but Valverde’s foul shot only landed on the post. Sevilla struck back in the 52nd minute. Lucas Ocampos counterattacked from the left wing and crossed the ball to Isaac Romero, but Andriy Lunin made a great intervention. The Ukrainian once again confirmed his class. It was no accident that he placed Kepa on the bench.
The match was heating up. Vinicius shot on target, and Rodrygo was also close. The hosts’ charges were interrupted by… the referee, who needed medical help after an hour of play. Diaz de Mera Escuderos had a calf problem and had to be replaced by technical referee Carlos Fernandez Buergo.
Carlo Ancelotti had a problem because Jude Bellingham is still injured, and a few days ago Joselu was also injured, which made attempts to cross into the penalty area basically pointless, because Vinicius and Rodrygo had no chance against Sevilla’s tall defenders. Among them was Sergio Ramos, the legend of Real Madrid, for whom it was the fourth match in his career against the “Royal”. He hasn’t lost any of them so far.
Time was running out, but the hosts still couldn’t find the net. Until the 81st minute came. After another cross, the ball was passed into the hands of Luka Modric. The 38-year-old Croatian appeared on the pitch a few minutes earlier to do just that – he took a shot from about 20 meters, and the ball touched the post on its way to the net. Sevilla’s goalkeeper was helpless.
Despite eight minutes of added time, Quique Sanchez Flores’s players were unable to threaten Andriy Lunin’s goal. Real Madrid won their 20th league match of the season and maintained an eight-point lead over FC Barcelona. Xavi Hernandez’s team has leapfrogged Girona in the league table, which will play its match in the 26th round on Monday.
