Real Madrid were left stunned at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan after Sevilla mounted an excellent comeback in the dying moments of the game, from being a goal down to beat the Galacticos 2-1 in the La Liga.
In what was an enthralling encounter, neither sides gave an inch to their opponents despite both teams creating plenty of half chances. Madrid, who were playing an unfamiliar 3-5-2 system, had to wait until the 67th minute to break the deadlock when Dani Carvajal was brought down in the box by Sevilla goalkeeper Sergio Rico, only for Cristiano Ronaldo to slot home the resulting penalty.
But the home team did not let up as they went about chasing the equalizer, and were rewarded for their spirit, when, with five minutes left to play, the Los Blancos’ captain Sergio Ramos put the ball into his own net from a Pablo Sarabia free-kick. The hosts, smelling the blood, pushed hard for another goal and finally completed the turnaround in the second minute of added time as Stevan Jovetic scored from the edge of the box with a curling effort to send the home support into a frenzy.
As a result, Madrid’s lead at the top of the table was reduced to just one point over second-placed Sevilla. However, the Madridistas do have a game in hand. On a night when their 40-match unbeaten run was brought to a halt, let us take a look how each Madrid player fared:
Keylor Navas – 6
Wasn’t his best night for Madrid as he looked unconvincing against high balls. Made a couple of decent stops, but should have done much better for Jovetic’s late winner.
Raphael Varane – 7
Put in a focused and a strong display, winning the aerial battles with relative ease, especially during the first half. Caught out of position for the winner.
Sergio Ramos – 6
Looked well for almost the entire game, playing in the centre of the three-man defence. Ventured forward confidently on quite a few occasions. One poor moment when he put the goal into his own net in the 85th minute, turned the game on its head.
Nacho – 7
Assured display by the Spaniard on the left-side of the back three. Composed on the ball, covered well for Marcelo when the Brazilian went forward to join the attack.
Dani Carvajal – 7
One of Madrid’s better players on the night playing as a wing-back. Got forward with purpose and always looked a threat. Won the penalty for Madrid in the second-half that Ronaldo scored from.
Luka Modric – 8
Put in an excellent showing in the middle of the park. Worked hard, ran relentlessly, was always on the move to try and make things happen.
Casemiro – 8
Excellent in midfield. The Brazilian put in some crunching tackles that were a feast to the eye and was always there to protect his defence while he got forward at times as well in the process linking the midfield with the attack.
Toni Kroos – 7
Kept it ticking over with some neat and tidy passes. His calmness and composure was sorely missed by Madrid in the dying stages of the game.
Marcelo – 6
Plenty of attacking vigour, cut in from the left-flank on quite a few occasions but failed to have the desired impact. Left a lot of open spaces behind and wasn’t up to the mark when it came to defending.
Cristiano Ronaldo – 6
Was largely anonymous except for popping up once in a while. Missed a great chance in the first half to put his team ahead, but made no mistake from the penalty spot after the restart, firing the ball powerfully into the bottom-left corner.
Karim Benzema – 5
While his movement and work-rate was unquestionable, he missed a couple of opportunities from close range in either half. And his carelessness in possession cost Madrid a point from the game as Vitolo stole the ball from the Frenchman to find Jovetic for Sevilla’s second goal.
Substitutes
Mateo Kovacic – 6
Replaced Kroos in the 74th minute. While he did bring fresh energy, the midfielder could not offer the same control as the German, which was very much needed in the closing moments of the game.