Sevilla 3-0 Real Madrid
It was perfectly set up for a turnaround at the summit of La Liga.
Reigning champions Barcelona had just suffered a shock defeat at the hands of bottom club Leganes and this was arch-rivals Real Madrid’s chance to go top for the first time since they won the title nearly 18 months ago.
What followed was something few SBOBET fans will forget in a hurry and was an evening which has provided one of the early La Liga 2018 highlights for neutrals everywhere.
Highlights of the game
Indeed, the last time both Barcelona and Real Madrid were beaten on the same day domestically was January 4, 2015.
This result in the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, however, wasn’t such a surprise.
After all, Sevilla last lost this fixture in May 2015 and were chasing a fourth successive victory over Los Blancos.
To say this was a performance lacking in colour from Julen Lopetegui’s men, who were wearing a light pink shirt, would do a disservice to Sevilla.
From the start, they were quickly out of the blocks with Andre Silva—seen by many as Portugal’s next big thing and much happier in Spain than he was seemingly in Italy (he is on loan from AC Milan)—forcing Thibaut Courtois into a save inside 20 seconds.
It was a warning Madrid failed to heed.
Seventeen minutes were on the clock when home pressure finally told as Silva cracked home a right-footed shot after Casemiro had been dispossessed by one-time Man City winger Jesus Navas.
Four minutes later, it was 2-0 as the home side broke swiftly from a Real corner and the in-form Wissam Ben Yedder sent Navas scurrying away down the right. After Courtois kept out his effort, Silva pounced clinically to convert the rebound.
If Gareth Bale’s shot from a Casemiro pass moments later had found the net rather than crash against the right-hand post, the outcome may have been different.
Bale and Toni Kroos pushed hard to drag Real back into the contest but, in truth, Sevilla thoroughly deserved their advantage. The woodwork even came to Madrid’s rescue just past the half-hour mark when Franco Vazquez’s left-footed strike hit the bar.
I had predicted a goal glut pre-match but not in the way it was developing as Sevilla sealed the match six minutes before the break.
From a corner, Vazquez headed the ball into the path of Ben Yedder who volleyed past a helpless Courtois from close range.
Any chance of a comeback was seemingly quashed shortly after the restart.
Firstly, VAR correctly ruled out for offside newly crowned FIFA football award winner Luka Modric, who had clipped the ball past goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik and in off the post.
Then, the Sevilla shot-stopper denied Bale again.
That seemed to dishearten the visitors, and while there were chances at both ends, Sevilla looked in firm control.
That was evident as they played the final 13 minutes against 10 men, with Marcelo leaving the field injured after Lopetegui had made all his substitutions.
Los Blancos were sunk and they need to bounce back quickly with a Madrid derby now less than 72 hours away.
With Isco already out with acute appendicitis and Marcelo almost certain to be ruled out this weekend, these are concerning times for the Madrid giants whose squad lacks the depth of previous years.
For Sevilla, this was Andalusian dreamland and, given the recent history, perhaps no surprise at all!
Key statistics
Real Madrid have only won once in Sevilla in their past eight attempts.
Silva has now scored six goals in six games for Sevilla. Meanwhile, Ben Yedder has scored six goals in his last three games over the last seven days.
Despite the lateness of the hour and it being late September, there were cooling breaks during this match to allow players from both sides to have drinks.
This was the first time since November 2003 that Real Madrid had been 3-0 behind in a match. That was also against Sevilla as well, a contest they ended up losing 4-0!
What’s next?
The La Liga 2018 betting odds on Real Madrid may well have drifted a little bit tonight.
Injuries and the manner of this defeat leave little time for recovery before they welcome city rivals Atletico to the Bernabeu on Saturday evening.
They then travel to CSKA Moscow in the Champions League before returning to action with a trip to Alaves.
Sevilla go to Eibar at the weekend before a Europa League fixture against FC Krasnodar.
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