Sevilla 3 – 2 Real Madrid – Match recap from a wild loss in La Liga

Real Madrid were decisively outplayed as Sevilla, as a heavily rotated Zidane side show extreme chaos in defense. Here’s your match recap.

First Half

With very little left to play for in the league, fresh off a feisty 90 minutes against Barcelona, and with all eyes ahead to the Champions League, Zinedine Zidane used the midweek match against Sevilla to rest a number of his first team players.

Real Madrid looked mostly in control in the midfield, with Kovacic and Casemiro doing well to control the tempo of the game. Kovacic demonstrated his smooth dribbling skills and did well to feed in Nacho on the right. Marco Asensio also looked fierce in attack and posed some significant questions of the Sevilla defense. Nevertheless, Madrid’s chances were speculative at best, as Sevilla did their best to hold Madrid at arm’s length during Los Blancos’ best spell of possession.

Sevilla, to their credit, did well to create danger for Madrid on the break despite enjoying less of the ball. Madrid’s makeshift midfield and back line meant that there was always going to be space to exploit on the break, a fact that Sevilla looked to exploit.

Sevilla were paid off for their efforts, as a quick ball over the top found Muriel just at the edge of Madrid’s box. Muriel dished off quickly to his strike partner Ben Yedder, who slotted away for the match’s opening goal in the 26th minute.

The hosts fed off of the energy of their opening goal and looked the stronger of the two sides for the next ten minutes or so. It took Madrid that much time to build back into the match and start creating danger once again around Sevilla’s net.

Right as Madrid were starting to look in control, their defensive structure disintegrated and nearly conceded another goal after a moment of pure defensive chaos. It took a last ditch goal-line clearance from Nacho to prevent Madrid from conceding again. Sevilla smelled blood in the water, as Madrid’s defense was shaken and lacking confidence.

Second Half

Real Madrid began the second half looking intent on putting in a better offensive showing than the first half, but without any remedy to the defensive instability that produced two goals for Sevilla. Real Madrid certainly did well to circulate possession and create some dangerous movement in Sevilla’s half, but their last pass was always missing and Sevilla seemed just as likely to score on the break as Madrid did to find their first goal.

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Around the 56th minute, Lucas Vazequez was on the receiving end of a hard tackle in Sevilla’s box, and the ref pointed to the penalty spot. In lieu of the injured Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos stepped up to take the duties. The Captain stutter stepped and blasted a hard shot on goal, but had to watch as his shot nailed the top crossbar and bounced out.

The missed penalty added an additional sense of urgency and chaos to an already hectic match.  Things really began opening up on both sides, and Sevilla nearly picked up another goal immediately after Ramos missed penalty.

Mayoral came on for Ceballos in the 70th minute. Up to that point, Ceballos most notable contribution was trying to win what he thought was a loose ball off Sevilla’s keeper and arguing with the ref afterward. Mayoral added some energy and fluidity to the attack and immediately began working to bring the ball out of defense to help Benzema and Asensio.

Madrid kept up the hunt for their elusive opening goal, and Sevilla continued to expose Madrid’s frailties at the back. Just moments after getting a yellow card for a handball as he tried to prevent a break from Sevilla, Ramos found himself on the score sheet – in a bad way. Sevilla passed their way through on Madrid’s left, and a dangerous cross clattered off of Ramos and over Casilla into Madrid’s goal. Between the missed penalty, the handball yellow card, and the own goal, it’s safe to say it was not quite Sergio Ramos’ night.

If the third goal put the match beyond Madrid’s reach, Borja Mayoral certainly didn’t get the memo. The substitute who has been starved for minutes at Madrid this season showed his lethal side by getting his head onto the end of a cross from Marco Asensio, and pushing a consolation prize past the keeper into the net.

In the dying moments of the five minutes of added time, Real Madrid were awarded a penalty. Once again, Sergio Ramos stepped up to the spot, stutter stepped, and smacked the ball. This time, the ball managed to find its way into the back of the net. A missed penalty, a handball yellow card, an own goal, and a scored penalty – quite a wild night for Madrid’s Captain.

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It was ultimately a meaningless match, but it was yet another match in which Real Madrid failed to impress in La Liga. Real Madrid just have not had their head in the game when it comes to the domestic competition this season, and they pay for it yet again.

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