Real Madrid 2-0 Sevilla: Los Blancos win three out of three to end year on a good note
Real Madrid won, Kylian Mbappe equalled Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of 59 goals in a calendar year for the club, and Thibaut Courtois proved again that he is the one of the best goalkeepers in the world, keeping his eight clean sheet of the season, but surely the happiest is Xabi Alonso, who saw his side pass a tricky test when it looked like they would fail at several moments in the game, particularly in the second half.
Madrid have now won three of their last three, and four of their six games played in December. Surely things are looking up now, and the wolves after Alonso’s job have been banished into the abyss?
The Madrid head coach said he wanted a turnaround in form by the start of the new year, and there was no better way to do it than a 2-0 win over Sevilla, even if the Andalusians have struggled for form this season, even if the result hung in the balance for much of the game, and even Sevilla coach Matias Almeyda raged both at half time and full time at the officiating he felt was overwhelmingly against his side. Sevilla did crush Barcelona 4-1 in October.
Mbappe’s 86th-minute penalty secured the victory and also ensured he matched Ronaldo’s record, the Frenchman then running off to celebrate with his role model’s trademark siu celebration. He was denied a chance to break the record three minutes later when Madrid were awarded a second penalty but it was overturned by the video assistant referee.
Madrid were lively from the start. Fran Garcia gave an early warning when he ran through on goal but was denied by the onrushing Odisseas Vlachodimos, but it still took Madrid nearly the entire half to go in front. Jude Bellingham broke the deadlock in the 38th minute when he rose to head in Rodyrgo’s free kick.
Rodrygo was booked for diving in the box before the break and then Sevilla boss Almeyda was furious that the Brazilian was not shown a second yellow for a foul with his studs up. Almeyda’s protestations saw him dismissed in the tunnel. Sevilla defender Marcao was then sent off with a second yellow after upending Bellingham.
Mbappe himself was lively and dangerous as always, but at times it looked like he would be unable to break the record. He blew wide from a decent position early in the first half after Garcia had played him through, and in the second half he cut in dangerously from the left before firing hard and low but just to the other side of the far post.
In fact the Frenchman didn’t get a shot on target until minute 51 when he was played through by Vinicius but then sent an uncharacteristically tame effort into Vlachodimos’s waiting arms. He came closest when he rose to head onto the crossbar. Perhaps Vlachodimos had helped the ball on a little bit.
Sevilla looked dangerous particularly after the break. Thibaut Courtois kept Madrid in the game, as he so often has this season. The Belgian’s reliable presence, particularly given Madrid’s instability in defence, has been invaluable to Alonso this season. First he smothered Alexis Sanchez’s effort before producing a smart save to stop the former Barcelona man from distance. Courtois also denied the lively Isaac Romero twice from almost identical positions, and even late on, with the win confirmed, he kept the clean sheet with an elastic save to stop Alfonso Gonzalez’s curling effort.
Mbappe and Rodryo combined beautifully in the final stages and the latter could have secured the win, but his effort was tipped onto the crossbar by Vlachodimos. But Mbappe then put the result beyond doubt when Rodrygo was fouled in the box and he stepped up to convert from the spot.
