Final thoughts
That was breathless stuff at times, especially in the second half as Sevilla chased the game with gusto. Carlo Ancelotti will be mightily relieved to have won that match, given some pretty dreadful defending at times. The hosts were, on balance, perhaps unlucky to lose their long home unbeaten record.
In the end, the key difference was that one team had Cristiano Ronaldo playing for them; his three goals, particularly the two-goal burst midway through the first half, arrived at pivotal moments to keep Sevilla in check. It wasn’t quite a one-man show, with Ronaldo poaching all three goals to end flowing team moves, and Gareth Bale making a key intervention from the bench for Ronaldo’s third.
Ultimately, there was only one man of the match, though – and days like this make you wonder who Alvaro Arbeloa thinks he is. Ronaldo is two goals ahead of Messi in the scoring charts; Barcelona are two points ahead of Real Madrid in the table. Both races are far from over. Thanks for joining me. Adios!
Full-time: Sevilla 2-3 Real Madrid
Ramos ends the second half better than the first, meeting the corner with a thumping clearance. And that’s that. Real Madrid win a terrific game by the odd goal.
93 mins: Sevilla have a corner, and a final, last-gasp opportunity...
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92 mins: Carriço goes in the book for an agreeably cynical foul, chopping Ronaldo down as he threatened to break away. Vidal joins him after kicking the ball away. Frustration the overriding emotion for Sevilla at the moment.
90 mins: Was this Sevilla’s last chance? Pepe misjudges a long ball, Suárez flicks it on and Iborra gets there ahead of Casillas – but the goalkeeper is right in his grill, and the ball richochets to safety. Three added minutes.
88 mins: Vidal launches a long throw into the box – good to see they’re not afraid to go Route One on the continent – but Iborra can only head the ball behind. Time running out for Sevilla, with Real not allowing them to build up a head of steam. The story of the match so far suggests they might not need one, though.
87 mins: Real can take a moment, as Trémoulinas is booked for a clumsy challenge on James. Arbeloa is on for Marcelo, to see if he can spoil Ronaldo’s party again. From the free kick, it’s, surprisingly enough, Ronaldo who gets there first, but his header is deflected away.
85 mins: I’m not sure how Real are still leading, after an almighty penalty box melee sees Gameiro force Casillas into an awkward, ungainly save, before a prone Denis Suarez prods the ball at goal... but it rolls an inch wide of the far post! They’re not giving up without a fight.
83 mins: Bale does what Bale does, cutting inside his marker and belting the ball across goal, where it finds James. His cut back finds Kroos in a good position, and he stings Rico’s gloves with a near-post drive. Now Isco is going off, replaced by Illarramendi as Carlo looks to sew this up.
81 mins: Sevilla earn their seventh corner, but it’s taken short for some reason, and Real clear the ball away. Real have looked static in defence at times, and Sevilla break through again, with Gameiro robbing Marcelo and racing towards goal – but Pepe is able to get back and cover. Ronaldo, way down the other end of the pitch, is limping slightly.
GOAL! Sevilla 2-3 Real Madrid (Iborra)
Well then. Real had looked entirely comfortable, but no longer. Both substitutes are involved, with Gameiro teeing up Vidal with a deft through ball. The winger’s cross lands at the feet of Iborra, who rolls the ball beyond Casillas.
76 mins: Not much happens, save Sergio Ramos going off the field for treatment. Two more changes for Sevilla, as Iborra replaces Krychowiak and Kevin Gameiro, who has scored 15 this season, on for Bacca.
72 mins: Change for Sevilla: Denis Suárez, on loan from Barcelona and once on Manchester City’s books, is on in place of Figueiras.
70 mins: That sound you heard was the wind collectively exiting Sevilla’s sails. That incredible home record – no defeats since March 2014 – is twenty minutes from being over, and it’s largely down to one man.
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GOAL! Sevilla 1-3 Real Madrid (Ronaldo hat-trick)
Bale makes an immediate impact, delivering a precise cross from the corner of the penalty area towards Ronaldo. The forward has work to do, but times his header perfectly, sending it over and across Rico, and inside the far post. Magnificent.
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66 mins: It’s Hernández, not Isco, who goes off in place of Bale. He was second on my list, don’t worry. Kroos hits a tremendous outswinging effort from 25 yards, but it flies just wide of Rico’s top corner.
64 mins: James, with options alongside him, takes on a defender and hits a weak shot into Rico’s grasp. Sevilla break, and Pepe finds himself exposed against Vidal, but is somehow able to shepherd the winger away without scything him down recklessly in the penalty area.
63 mins: A strange game at the moment, with both teams reasonably happy to slow things down. Real are ahead, and Sevilla will feel they can score without dominating the ball. The hosts do carve out an opening, with Mbia scooping the ball into the area – but Carvajal is there to intercept.
60 mins: Real are playing keep ball again, sticking rigidly to an area between the centre circle and the Sevilla penalty area. Gareth Bale is getting ready to come on – if I were a betting man, I’d say Isco’s number will be up.
57 mins: By contrast, Real are taking their sweet time in the Sevilla half, stroking the ball around before Isco whips a long-range cross from the left. It drops invitingly to Carvajal – who wouldn’t be my first choice in this Real team to take on a dipping, van Basten-esque volley. It balloons over the bar.
Here’s Corin Metcalfe: “Daniel Carriço played for Reading. Though I checked on Wikipedia and should get no respect. I just like winning things.”
You’re the only one who even bothered to do that, so congratulations, Corin.
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55 mins: They’re behind, but it’s not hard to see why Sevilla have such a formidable home record. The hosts are lifting the pace every time they get into the final third, and Real are struggling to live with it. Banega is the latest man in white to get into space, but his cross towards Bacca is cut out by Casillas.
54 mins: First chance of the second half for Real, as James outfoxes Mbia, forcing the midfielder into a clumsy challenge. Ronaldo, naturally, is over the free kick, but fires into the wall. Do you want to overtake Espanyol or don’t you?
52 mins: Another opportunity for Sevilla, as Marcelo and Vidal grapple for the ball, with the ball bouncing to Reyes on the edge of the area. The Sevilla captain does well to keep his shot under control, but it zips a yard or so over Casillas’s bar.
50 mins: A promising free-kick for Sevilla, as Carvajal sticks out an arm to stop the run of Trémoulinas. From it, Reyes sees a low drive deflected wide. From the resulting corner, Bacca nods the ball wide. The hosts are on top, and Carlo Ancelotti is relentlessly staring at the back of Sergio Ramos’s head, I would imagine.
47 mins: Sevilla have come out on the front foot, forcing a corner, from which Mbia outmuscles Pepe and nods a foot wide of the near post. Neither Pepe, nor Casillas, could have done much about that, had Mbia hit the target.
James is talking about this, although I’d say Sergio’s intervention before half-time was pretty much in line with our Barney’s argument.
We're back underway
Krychowiak is now sporting a mask, but has come back out for the second half. Charles Antaki has a terrific stat for us: Cristiano Ronaldo has now outscored all but one team from outside La Liga’s top six. Kudos to Espanyol for keeping pace with the Portuguese tyro.
GOAL! Sevilla 1-2 Real Madrid (Bacca penalty)
Bacca sends Casillas the wrong way, rolling the ball to the goalkeeper’s left. Game on – and that’s the last action of the first half.
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PENALTY TO SEVILLA!
Sergio Ramos, everyone. With half-time in view, Ramos lunges at Vidal, and gets plenty of man and zero ball. Gonzalez Gonzales has no choice - and Sevilla have a penalty from nothing. Ramos is booked into the bargain.
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44 mins: Real Madrid are caught totally cold by Banega’s free kick, which is dropped like a golfing chip shot behind the wall. Three Sevilla players are in space, but Bacca is crowded out.
43 mins: Ramos is up to the usual, bashing Mbia to the floor 30 yards from goal. A free kick, and a half-chance for Sevilla here with half-time approaching...
40 mins: Sevilla stagger back to their feet, before Mbia puts Isco on the floor with a hefty challenge that’s a foul, but nothing more. Krychowiak has re-entered the fray with half a kitchen roll jammed up his nose; he actually came on between the two Real goals, and was off the pitch for a good five minutes before Ronaldo’s first.
GOAL! Sevilla 0-2 Real Madrid (Ronaldo)
Sixty seconds after scoring his first, Ronaldo gets his second, and it’s a similar affair, with James crossing the ball, Hernández flicking the ball on and Ronaldo, ahead of Figueiras at the far post, angling his right leg to get the killer touch ahead of Rico. Ronaldo now leads Messi 41-40 in the La Liga scoring charts. 41-40.
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GOAL! Sevilla 0-1 Real Madrid (Ronaldo)
That’s goal no40 for Ronaldo in La Liga, and it’s a thing of simple beauty; Marcelo shapes to cross from the left, threads the ball to James instead, and the Colombian produces a brilliant, swivelled cross to Ronaldo, who nods the ball beyond Rico. Easy as that.
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34 mins: Vidal protests that Varane used an elbow during one of many meaty aerial challenges, but replays show there was nothing in it. A quiet spell, this, as Bacca again chases a lost cause right into Casillas’ arms.
32 mins: Reyes, who has been instrumental to Sevilla’s attacking play so far, gets the crowd involved again – but only by blasting a long shot into their number from 25 yards out. Krychowiak may be unable to continue, he’s still struggling down on the touchline.
29 mins: A stoppage in play as Ramos and Krychowiak clash heads. Both need a check-up, but it’s the Sevilla man who comes off worse – he’s still bleeding from his nose, and has gone off for the time being.
So tell me – which English club has Daniel Carriço played for? First correct answer wins my eternal respect.
27 mins: Moments after Bacca, haring after Reyes’ through ball, is flagged marginally offside, Hernández again picks out Ronaldo from the right hand side, this time with a simple low pass. Ronaldo is favourite to get there first, but he’s denied by a brilliant Carriço challenge! A goal, or a penalty, looked the most likely outcomes there.
26 mins: The game has settled into a pattern, possibly influenced by the sultry nature of the evening; Real are keeping the ball in non-threatening areas of Sevilla’s half, with the hosts looking to break when able. Reyes is in acres of space on the left, but Vidal’s pass is overhit, and zips out of play.
24 mins: Isco takes an optimistic swing from the edge of the area, but it’s blocked by Mbia. I know it’s hardly ever an irrelevance, but the first goal does feel pretty crucial in this game.
22 mins: After a gentle first twenty minutes, the game stretches a little, with Bacca denied from a through ball by Casillas’ quick wits. Real attempt to break, but are dispossessed, and Sevilla counter again – but Bacca’s cross has just too much pace on it for Reyes, once of Real Madrid, who comes charging in at the far post.
20 mins: Hernández moves out wide and delivers a whipped cross that Ronaldo almost gets up to nod in at the far post. That’s exactly the type of cross we saw the Pea nod in many a time for Manchester United.
18 mins: Figueiras, the Sevilla right-back, looks set for a rum old battle with Marcelo today, and he puts the Brazilian under pressure before being penalised, slightly harshly, for a foul. Real currently dominating the ball, to little overall effect.
16 mins: A strange situation for Real there, with Marcelo back on the edge of the area – and Sergio Ramos the only black shirt in the penalty area. Incidentally, Gonzalez Gonzalez’s fourth official is called... Ramon Ramon.
14 mins: Sevilla’s turn to spurn a chance from nowhere, as Vidal is played onside by Marcelo, who finds himself three feet behind the rest of the Real defence. Vidal prods it past Casillas from a tight angle, but the keeper gets a vital touch, and Varane has time to bundle it off the line
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13 mins: Marcelo has been in the thick of it so far, and chases down an Isco through ball – but he can’t keep it from running out of play. All Real so far in terms of attacking intent.
11 mins: Real are getting their motor running now, with James almost putting Ronaldo clear with a nifty one-two. It’s cleared by Krychowiak for a corner, which is headed away from danger by Mbia, once of Queen’s Park Rangers.
9 mins: Real should be ahead. Marcelo is given too much time on the left, and whips the ball into the path of Ronaldo – but somehow, Rico blocks his volley from all of three yards, and is lucky to turn around and find the ball between his legs.
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8 mins: Virtually zero link-up play between the Real midfield, Ronaldo and Hernández so far, so Ronaldo tries to do it all himself, slaloming beyond a challenge before lashing the ball high over the bar.
6 mins: It’s been fairly sedate in the opening stages – although with Seville currently the warmest city in Europe, perhaps that’s no surprise. Marcelo finds Isco, who picks out James on the left. His cross, sliced under pressure from the full-back, is not the best.
3 mins: Sevilla haven’t been shy so far, with Banega, Aleix Vidal and Reyes all taking turns to push up alongside lone striker Bacca. Speaking of which, the Colombian is penalised after a tussle with Pepe. One to keep an eye on, there.
2 mins: Ronaldo picks the ball up and motors past three or four Sevilla challenges, before being hauled down thirty yards out. There are palpable nerves in the home crowd despite the distance, but Ronaldo fires it a good few feet over.
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Peep
We’re off. Reyes, foraging down the left, forces a corner immediately, but Real clear it away. Sevilla are in white; Real are in their third-choice black kit.
We’ll be off in Andalucía shortly. Anything less than a win for Real would put Barcelona in pole position for the title - defeat would leave Barça five points clear with three to play. Sevilla’s home record this season? Won 21, drawn 5, lost 0. Look, I told you it was Crunch Time.
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Interesting result at the Vicente Calderon – it finished Atlético Madrid 0-0 Athletic Bilbao. OK, not that interesting – but it means Sevilla could move within four points of third-placed Atlético, and drag them into the Champions League battle. The hosts had two goals chalked off, questionably, for offside too. Diego won’t be happy at all.
By the way, if you haven’t read Barney Ronay’s excellent take on Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos, who grew up within walking distance of the Sánchez Pizjuán and was schooled in the dark arts at Sevilla, then do it now.
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The teams in full
Sevilla: Rico; Figueiras, Carriço, Kolodziejczak, Trémoulinas; Krychowiak, Mbia; Vidal, Banega, Reyes; Bacca.
Subs: Navarro, Gameiro, Iborra, D Suárez, M Pérez, Moreno, Solís.
Real Madrid: Casillas; Carvajal, Varane, Pepe, Marcelo; Ramos, Kroos, Isco, Rodríguez; Ronaldo, Hernández.
Subs: K Navas, Coentrão, Bale, Arbeloa, Nacho, Jesé, Illarramendi.
Referee: The wonderfully named José Luis González González.
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Sevilla just can’t afford the kind of social media design team that a décima gets you, but here is their team sheet for tonight:
Real Madrid have announced their team on a popular social network... here it is.
So, Sergio Ramos looks set to jump back into central midfield, where he performed manfully against Atlético. Gareth Bale is on the bench on his return from injury.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to Crunch Time. That, frankly, is what time it is for both of these teams, who meet tonight with a jam-packed schedule ahead. Real and Sevilla both have four games, including both legs of European semi-finals, in less than two weeks. These two teams, I’m sure you haven’t forgotten, contested the European Super Cup back in August – and could do so again next season.
As of right now, the league is the more pressing priority. Real kick off five points behind Barcelona, needing to keep themselves within three points of the leaders, who gave bottom club Córdoba an 8-0 gubbing earlier. Real, however edge the head-to-head record – and Barcelona visit Atlético Madrid in their penultimate match. I told you it was Crunch Time.
For Sevilla, two routes remain into the Champions League – a fourth Europa League in a decade, or squeezing out Valencia, who visit Real next week, for fourth slot below the Big Three. They have a home record that’s none too shabby – they’re unbeaten at home in the league for over a year – and they’ve won this very fixture in the last two seasons.
It’ll be tough for either team to lose tonight and still succeed on both of their respective fronts. This is a big game, with key battles all over the shop – James Rodriguez v Carlos Bacca, Sergio Ramos v Ever Banega and Cristiano Ronaldo v The Concept of Team Sports. Kick off is at 7pm BST, with team news to follow.
