Match report:
Sevilla climb into the top half of the table, to 10th with 15 points. Unai Emery will be delighted with the second-half performances of Konoplyanka, Immobile and Banega, while Tremoulinas was impressive attacking from left-back and Llorente came off the bench to add the finishing touch. Real dominated the early stages of the match but Sergio Ramos’s wonderful finish counts for nothing in the end. Real remain second in the table, three points behind Barcelona. Next up after the international break? The Clásico. That’s all from me, thanks for reading.
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Full-time Sevilla 3-2 Real Madrid
Mr Gonzalez gives his whistle one final peep and Real Madrid’s unbeaten record under Rafael Benitez is over.
GOAL! Sevilla 3-2 Real Madrid (James, 90+3 mins)
James Rodriguez collects the ball on the edge of the box, shuffles on to his left foot and fires into the bottom-right corner.
90+1 mins: James lifts the ball in towards Bale who is blocked from connecting with his diving header.
89 mins: You would never have picked this scoreline after half an hour. Real Madrid totally dominated the opening exchanges and most of the first half in truth, but Konoplyanka and Banega in particular have made the difference in the final third while Real have spurned plenty of chances.
87 mins: Modric tries a 40-yard screamer but it is more 10-yard pea-roller. Sevilla have the ball back and they don’t fancy giving it up any time soon.
Is gladiolus a word? Hey ho.
3 - Fernando Llorente has scored more goals as a substitute than any other player in La Liga this season. Gladiolus.
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) November 8, 2015
83 mins: Sevilla are toying with their opponents and it feels like one of those games where one team has ten men and can’t get a touch. When they do finally get hold of the ball, Real break down the left but Jese is quickly stopped. Kolodziejczak comes on for Sevilla at centre-back, replacing Andreoli.
81 mins: Sevilla’s collective tail is up and the question is now not whether Real can save their unbeaten record this season, but just how severely it is done away with.
79 mins: Before all that Rico had made a remarkable save from Casemiro’s header. The Sevilla keeper was shifting to his left and suddenly launched himself to his right and put out a big right paw, trapping the ball dead between glove and goal-line when it seemed a certain goal. Jese replaces Kroos for Real.
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77 mins: That goal came at the end of a frantic period in which both teams could and should have scored before Sevilla actually did. A one-two on the left undid the Real defence to put Banega in on goal but he slashed a poor effort nowhere near the target. Luckily for Sevilla it was so wide Mariano could collect the ball on the right, and his cross found Llorente in amongst a static defence.
GOAL! Sevilla 3-1 Real Madrid (Llorente, 75 mins)
Fernando Llorente runs free from the Real defence and leaps high to bury Mariano’s cross from close range.
72 mins: Real Madrid’s 19th attempt of the game flies too high from Bale’s left foot. The visitors have been totally dominant since Banega’s goal but are going to need a goal sharpish if they are to top La Liga tonight.
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70 mins: Bale gallops down the right and reaches the byline. He tries to cut a pass back to the incoming Ronaldo but it’s behind his team-mate, who flaps his arms in disgust. Immobile is replaced by Fernando Llorente at Sevilla’s sharp end.
68 mins: Sevilla are in charge on the scoreboard but the signs are ominous as Cristiano Ronaldo is allowed three shots within three minutes. None of them seriously threaten an equaliser but after a quiet game he looks in the mood.
66 mins: I don’t think I’ve ever seen this before. James, just on from the bench, dribbles down the left before stopping, reaching down and picking the ball up. He holds it out to the referee and gives the international sign for a flat ball (the two-handed squeeze). The referee is perplexed. He changes the ball, but rightly awards a free-kick against the moronic James who should have just crossed the ball.
63 mins: Konoplyanka worked a one-two with Immobile and darted down the left channel into the Real Madrid box. As two defenders and the goalkeeper, Casilla, were drawn towards Konoplyanka’s tricky footwork he had the composure to pick out Banega arriving in the middle, and he shot into the deserted net despite Nacho’s best efforts. Isco is replaced by James.
GOAL! Sevilla 2-1 Real Madrid (Banega, 61 mins)
A lovely move, with Konoplyanka’s skill at its heart, ends when Ever Banega arrives on to the winger’s cut-back to fire into an empty net.
59 mins: If Sergio Ramos scored a less impressive Wayne Rooney v Man City, then earlier in the day Neymar pulled off a less impressive Paul Gascoigne v Scotland:
56 mins: The former Stoke City midfielder Steven N’Zonzi, who I’ve barely noticed all night, swings in a cross from the right. It’s cleared, Real break, and Ronaldo gets a shot away – but it’s off target.
54 mins: The game has picked up where it left off in the first half, Konoplyanka the latest to try his luck. He shimmies across the edge of the box with a couple of dummies before letting his shot fly, but it’s too high.
52 mins: Tony Kroos ventures forward and Modric slips a pass into his feet. Kroos controls with his right and swings with his left, but his shot from the edge of the box slices wide past the post.
50 mins: Sevilla start on the front foot and a byline cut-back by Vitolo finds Banega in a dangerous position 10 yards out. The Argentina midfielder’s shot is blocked and Real eventually clear but they are under pressure early in this second half.
48 mins: Konoplyanka took a shot almost immediately from the kick-off but fired a little high and a little wide. Real come forwards but their play is disjointed and a Bale pass is intercepted.
Peeeep!
Sevilla get things going in the second half as an agitated Rafael Benitez does some shouty pointing from the sideline.
A couple of half-time stats to ponder:
37 - Sergio Ramos has scored 37 goals in La Liga since the start of 2006/07 season, at least 14 more than any other defender. Titan.
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) November 8, 2015
1 - Ciro Inmobile is the first Italian player to score against Real Madrid in La Liga since Giuseppe Rossi in 2008. Spaghetti.
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) November 8, 2015
Half-time: Sevilla 1-1 Real Madrid
Real Madrid might now trade in Sergio Ramos’s spectacular opener given what has happened since. The captain’s fall injured his susceptible shoulder and could make him doubtful for the Clásico in two weeks’ time, and the strike was soon cancelled out by Immobile’s opportunist finish. Real have been dominant but it’s all level at the Sanchez Pizjuan.
44 mins: Suddenly a schoolboy-style end to end game breaks out. First Sevilla burst forwards and Tremoulinas’s close-range shot is blocked at the last moment. Then Real break and Casemiro unleashes a powerful shot which bounces narrowly wide.
43 mins: Real look a little stunned and are being pinned back. They attempt to break through Bale but his reverse pass to Ronaldo his intercepted.
41 mins: Oh boy. Tremoulinas, probably the best player on the pitch so far, makes another incisive break down the left and his low cross is touched on by Konoplyanka for Immobile to tap into a half-empty net. The foward stretches but can only get the toe of his boot to the ball, and it glances across the goal and wide when the home fans behind the goal were already celebrating.
38 mins: Sevilla had been building a couple of minutes of pressure in the lead up to the goal, the first corner just about dealt with by Nacho before the second telling set-piece from the left. The cross was flat and deep and Immobile was the only player not drawn to the front post. He had a lot to do from a narrow angle, albeit at close range, but hit his shot low with power to beat Casilla. The Italian is booked for taking his shirt off.
GOAL! Sevilla 1-1 Real Madrid (Immobile, 36 mins)
A corner runs all the way through to the back post where Ciro Immobile reacts to fire a shot home from an acute angle.
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32 mins: Ramos cannot continue after that fall on his shoulder and is replaced by Raphael Varane, leaving the field to a chorus of boos from his former club’s supporters.
31 mins: Real work a nice counterattack between Kroos and Bale but Kroos’s pass is too strong for Ronaldo to take in his stride and the move breaks down. A moment later Modric feeds Bale on the edge of the box, who shifts it on to his left foot before striking hard at goal, but Rico parries again.
29 mins: This should have been the equaliser. Tremoulinas makes another dangerous dart down the left and bends a perfect delivery for Immobile to attack, but the striker miscues his finish six yards out. The replay shows Pepe get the tiniest touch with his shin to put off the forward.
27 mins: Sergio Ramos appears OK to continue after that awkward landing which took away his opportunity to celebrate what was a ridiculous finish for any player, let alone a centre-half. Since then Bale has squandered a couple of half chances, Rico parrying his powerful shot before a header sailed wide.
24 mins: The high, outswinging cross floated over everyone’s head but Ramos held his ground, set himself in that crouched pose that screams ‘I’m about to try something outrageous’ and launched into an overhead kick which took one bounce before beating Rico. A stunning finish, but the Real captain landed on his shoulder and looks in pain.
GOAL! Sevilla 0-1 Real Madrid (Ramos, 22 mins)
Sergio Ramos winds up to take aim from a corner and unleashes a wonderful overhead kick in off the post.
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21 mins: The crowd let up an “oooo” as Tremoulinas’s cross from the left bends away from goal, chest height, towards Immobile, but Pepe steps across and clears the danger.
18 mins: Isco dances over the ball, shrugging off a couple of defenders in white before winning a free-kick. After a brief foray forwards Sevilla are back in their defensive stations, a bank of five in front of a bank of four, while the dark blue shirts of Real Madrid pass and pass some more as they plot a route through.
16 mins: Ever Banega comes forward with some intent before Casemiro chops him down, and Sevilla’s attack peters out.
14 mins: I say ‘scissor volley’ – Nacho jumped a little as he struck it which made it look a little better than it was, like a goalkeeper leaping into the sky and landing with a spin when there was no call for it. Real are in total control in the opening stages.
12 mins: Pepe puts his foot on the ball in his own half under no pressure, and looks up. Ronaldo suddenly darts across the defence from the left and Pepe picks out his compatriot with a sumptuous long pass, but Ronaldo can’t quite find a way past Rico in the Sevilla corner and settles for a corner. The ball comes out to Nacho who crashes one on to the post from 15 yards with a scissor volley! It hits the inside of the post and spins across the face of the goal, but stays out.
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9 mins: Sevilla gather themselves, and the ball, and make some progress down the left. Konoplyanka gives Danilo a fright with a sudden turn of pace but one heavy touch as he reaches the box lets the ball run out for a goal-kick.
7 mins: The first chance of the game falls to Ronaldo but is pinched from his head by an eager Bale, whose weak connection is easily gathered by Rico. Ronaldo won’t be too chuffed with his protege there. He has started on the left of the front three with Bale through the middle.
5 mins: Gareth Bale’s free-kick from a tight angle is easily dealt with. A moment later the Welshman gives it the Rory Delaps and his long arrowed throw causes far more trouble than the set-piece before. Sevilla clear up though, and break forward down the right.
3 mins: Real get their foot on the ball early, Modric passing wide and Isco foraging with the help of Danilo, before the former is bundled to the floor by Konoplyanka. Free-kick to Real.
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Peeeeep!
Mr Gonzalez blow his whistle and Real get the ball rolling in a packed Sanchez Pizjuan.
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Team news
Unai Emery opts for Ciro Immobile in attack, the struggling Fernando Llorente left on the bench while Kévin Gameiro is injured. The Italian will give Sevilla the chance to break quickly with the pace of Vitolo and Yevhen Konoplyanka either side. Rafael Benítez has several injuries with Karim Benzema, Marcelo and Dani Carvajal all out, but Gareth Bale returns to what is still a very strong side. Kiko Casilla plays in goal again with Keylor Navas still unfit.
Over in Madrid Antoine Griezmann has popped up with a last-minute winner, his sixth La Liga goal this season, to finally break Sporting Gijon’s resistance and put Atlético one point behind Real in third.
Our cast
Sevilla: Rico; Tremoulinas, Andreoli, Rami, Ferreira; Krychowiak, N’Zonzi, Vitolo, Banega, Konoplyanka; Immobile.
Subs: Kolodziejczak, Coke, Krohn-Dehli, Iborra, Reyes, Soria, Llorente.
Real Madrid: Casilla; Pepe, Ramos, Nacho, Danilo; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Bale, Isco, Ronaldo.
Subs: Varane, James, Kovacic, Arbeloa, Vazquez, Jese, Yanez.
The wonderfully named referee: Jose Luis Gonzalez Gonzalez
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Preamble
Given the two teams’ current form, you’d be forgiven for expecting another routine Real Madrid romp. Rafa Benítez’s side have played 14 matches in all competitions this season, losing none and conceded only four goals. So far the Madrid support are confronted with a rare scenario in which they are struggling to find something to boo about.
And Real face a Sevilla side hardly scintillating. A Champions League exit looms after their second defeat to Manchester City and surprise slips against Las Palmas and Levante leave Unai Emery’s side a disappointing 13th, with only one clean sheet in their last 10 matches.
However, a fairly dreary start to the campaign has been peppered with bright spots, the brightest the 2-1 win against Barcelona, providing a reminder that the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán is never an easy place to play away. That Champions League exit would be a devastating blow for most but is an opportunity for Sevilla, and will probably be chalked up as a Europa League triumph come May given their mastery of the competition. There is no shortage of quality for Emery either: in Éver Banega they have the ability to unpick such a mean Real defence while Yevhen Konoplyanka has provided a wide threat.
Then again, Real have Cristiano Ronaldo. He scored his fifth hat-trick against Sevilla in this fixture last season and has 19 against them in La Liga, his most prolific league tally against any club. Plus, this is his last chance to do his thing before the Clásico. What his thing is not, is singing:
Kick-off: 19.30 GMT
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