Real Madrid 5 – Sevilla 0: A quick recap of the rout

Real Madrid got a momentum-building win Saturday, routing Sevilla 5-0 at home to move into third in La Liga. Here is a quick recap of the huge win.

First Half

Real Madrid came out with a fire we haven’t seen since late last season. With great passing and seamless runs, the attacking buildup was picture perfect.

After just two minutes with good pressure, Real Madrid earned themselves a corner kick which led to the first goal as Nacho Fernandez picked up the loose ball and easily beat Sevilla keeper Sergio Rico as the defense was nowhere near him.

After taking the lead, Sevilla showed why they are fifth in the table, pushing back with some good possession and some threatening runs, but they struggled to get any shots on goal not only in the first 10 minutes or so, but for the entire first half (8 total shots, 0 on target).

20 minutes after Nacho opened the scoring, it was the man who earned his fifth Ballon d’Or just days ago who got on the scoresheet courtesy of a beautiful through ball from Marco Asensio.

It was a clinical finish from CR7 and one that fans have been waiting to see all season. The Dark Invader wasn’t done there as he and Marcelo linked up well and managed to earn Real Madrid a penalty after a handball in the box from Sevilla’s Jesús Navas.

Ronaldo earned himself a brace and his fourth goal of the league season as he put the penalty away despite the keeper Rico deflecting the ball. With the goal, Ronaldo has now scored 50 goals in a single calendar year for the ninth straight time.

Up 3-0 a half hour in, you might expect Real to sit on the lead. However, they weren’t done there.

Seven minutes after Ronaldo made it 3-0, the forward dropped deep into the midfield to make a great steal and lead the counter-attack to the fourth goal. Linking up with Lucas Vasquez, the winger worked a give and go with Toni Kroos that ended with the German redirecting a perfect low pass into the back of the net.

Following the Kroos goal, Los Blancos kept the pressure up, continuing to attack and look for goals. It was a surprise goal scorer for Real who got the fifth as Achraf Hakimi made a Dani Carvajal like run down the wing and finished with a great shot to the far post.

Second Half

The second half felt like one of those halves that shouldn’t have been played. Real Madrid was content with a five-goal lead and Sevilla looked like a team who had given up hope as they failed to make any meaningful runs forward and seemed ready to leave the Bernabéu as soon as possible.

Los Blancos did a great job controlling play in the midfield and actually had more possession in the second half then they did in the first half.

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The best chance of the second half for Real Madrid came on a diving header from Karim Benzema who was inches away from making it 6-0 but sadly hit the post on the powerful header.

Zidane rotated the squad nicely in the second half, pulling off Kroos, Modric, and Cristiano, replacing them with Llorente, Ceballos, and Isco.

Other than that, the second half was both teams waiting out the clock as the result was already in hand through 42 minutes.

This is a huge win not only because Sevilla was level on points with Real Madrid, but because of the way Real won.

Fluid offensive play, lots of chances created, and the finishing touch the team has been missing for most of the year. If you are a Real Madrid fan, you have to be happy with this match as it comes at a perfect time. Real’s next league match will be against their rivals FC Barcelona December 23rd in an El Clasico that could very well decide the winner of the league this season.

Next: Friday’s Real Links: One for the pinky

Stay tuned to The Real Champs for more post-match coverage!