Real Madrid 1-0 Sevilla

Real Madrid put on a fascinating performance last night at the Bernabéu when they beat Sevilla by one goal to nil. A game which saw a sending off from each side highlighted the desperation felt by the Spanish giants in their quest to end a three-year trophy drought.

Di Maria found the back of the net in the second half when the Seville defence were all at sea in a moment of confusion. Outdone by an over hit pass that was picked up by the Argentine, Sevilla ‘keeper Palop was forced off his line only to allow Di Maria’s shot in between himself and his near post. 

The only goal of the game came in the 77^th minute following several chances for both sides. Although the match remained open throughout it was largely dominated by the home side who failed to penetrate with their final ball. However, one of the first clear-cut chances fell to Sevilla when Negredo was through facing a one on one with Iker Casillas only to lose his composure and blast his shot over the bar.

The signs were looking good for the visitors when, shortly after, Ricardo Carvalho saw red for a second yellow card for leading with his elbow in an aerial challenge with Negredo.

The final five minutes descended into chaos; carrying on the ill-feeling that was apparent at half time when words, and fists, were exchanged between opposing club officials. Di Maria was guilty of exaggerating a facial injury in the 85th minute which lead to a mass brawl as the players were outraged at his juvenile attempt to get opponents sent off. However, it worked a few minutes later when Mohamadou Dabo followed through with a challenge on Di Maria, catching him in the thigh.

Overall, the feeling of desperation on the pitch and in the stadium was evident as the minutes counted until Real scored. Ronaldo’s free kicks were poor and he was shooting from ridiculous distances, even by his standards. The failure to successfully break through the Sevilla defence highlighted the fact that most of these players are yet to really gel as a team and as a unit. Already influenced by Mourinho’s arrogance, nine players received bookings in the match and none seemed particularly apologetic afterwards.

A distinct lack of respect whether brought on by their situation or their manager, or maybe both; it was despicable nonetheless. I paid particular attention to the performance of Karim Benzema who looked lazy and disinterested. Caught offside on several occasions, the Frenchman was not only guilty of missing chances but also of giving the ball away in the final third. His runs were unimaginative and his touch poor which was surprising since I thought he had quite a good game for France against England which might have helped turn his fortunes around. With Higuaín set to be out for another six weeks or so, there is no wonder than Mourinho is concerned about his striking options.

Madrid now sit two points behind Guardiola's Barcelona. This is probably the most difficult task The Special One has taken on although the chances of winning the league are 50/50 they are up against a Barça side that have a goal difference of +42 after 16 league games. That’s an average winning margin of 2.6 goals per game. Bona sort, Jose.

Starting line-ups:
Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Casillas, Arbeloa, Carvalho, Pepe, Ramos, Diarra, Khedira, Di Maria, Ozil, Ronaldo, Benzema.
Sevilla (4-4-2): Palop, Navarro, Escude, Caceres, Dabo, Capel, Zokora, Romaric, Konko, Negredo, Fabiano.