Agritty first-half performance was enough to haul Real Madrid to a 4-1 win in a potentially problematic home clash against Sevilla on Sunday evening, which eventually turned into a comfortable victory. Two games remain, with Zinedine Zidane’s squad knowing that their LaLiga fate very much remains in their own hands as they search for their first league title since 2012.
Goals from Nacho, Toni Kroos and a Cristiano Ronaldo brace won the contest, with Keylor Navas also standing out with an important first-half contribution that denied Stevan Jovetic the chance to rock the hosts.
Injury-ravaged Sevilla arrived in need of just one point to secure fourth spot in the Spanish top-flight, safe in the knowledge that Osasuna remain on the agenda for Jorge Sampaoli’s side before the end of the campaign.
It took just 9 minutes at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu for Real Madrid to make it a record 62 games in which they have scored consecutively, with the unlikeliest of players breaking the deadlock.
After Daniel Carrico fouled Marco Asensio on the edge of the penalty area, Nacho was the first to react.
As the visiting wall looked to organise itself, with Sergio Rico and company preparing to face a free kick from Cristiano Ronaldo, the Los Blancos’ left-back stepped up to fire a quickly-taken finish into the bottom-right corner in the most unexpected fashion.
Keylor Navas was the next goalkeeper to be worried at the 20-minute mark, after Sevilla rode out some early pressure from the home side well.
Stevan Jovetic lashed a well-struck effort onto the woodwork, before forcing the Costa Rican international into a save with his legs during the next passage of play.
A mistake from Matias Kranevitter on the half-way line was the beginning of the end for Sampaoli’s men, allowing Los Blancos to race away on the counter.
Marco Asensio drove down the left, before James Rodriguez forced a save from Sergio Rico. Cristiano Ronaldo was on hand to turn home the rebound, and his 21st goal of the league season, after just 22 minutes.
Two great saves from Navas were required to keep Joaquin Correa and Jovetic out before the break, with the latter chipping a second effort onto the crossbar, allowing Real Madrid to keep control of the contest despite experiencing an open first 45 minutes.
A change to a back three at the interval from Sampaoli looked to influence the flow of the game and Jovetic struck back immediately. Four minutes into the second half, a neat move from Sevilla saw the Montenegrin striker guide a very neat finish into the bottom-right corner from the edge of the box.
Zidane responded with a tactical change of his own, opting to play Cristiano Ronaldo as a pure number nine in a 4-3-3, as Los Blancos carefully took the sting out of the game to dim Sevilla’s hopes of an equaliser. It proved effective, as chances became rarer and space harder to find.
Real Madrid’s lone striker put the game to bed, making it 3-1 with less than a quarter of an hour left on the clock, after swivelling smartly in the penalty area to hammer a Toni Kroos set-back home with the help of the underside of the crossbar.
The German provider turned goalscorer on 84 minutes, as great work from Marco Asensio and Nacho down the left-hand side resulted in a neat cut-back from the byline. Kroos needed just a stab of his boot to flick a neat finish into the far corner, sending the home crowd into raptures, but Marco Asensio couldn’t cap his night with a goal from a great late opportunity.
As the celebrations for Kroos’ goal showed, Real Madrid’s fans and players now expect LaLiga to be lifted by Los Blancos, and they are just two fixtures from achieving their dream.
Match Sheet
4 – Real Madrid: Navas; Danilo, Varane, Sergio Ramos, Nacho; James (Casemiro, min. 60) Kroos, Kovacic (Modric, min. 71); Marco Asensio, Alvaro Morata (Lucas Vazquez, min. 61), Cristiano Ronaldo.
1 – Sevilla: Sergio Rico; Mercado, Daniel Carrico, Pareja (Montoya, min. 46), Lenglet; Correa (Gonzalez, min. 89), N’Zonzi, Kranevitter, Krohn-Dehli (Ben-Yedder, min. 89), Vitolo; Jovetic.
Goals: 1-0, min. 9: Nacho; 2-0, min. 22: Cristiano Ronaldo; 2-1, min. 49: Jovetic; 3-1, min. 77: Cristiano Ronaldo; 4-1, min. 82: Kroos.
Referee: Alberto Undiano (Pamplona).
Yellow Cards: Danilo (min. 38) for Real Madrid, Alvaro Morata (min. 56) for Real Madrid, Mercado (min. 68) for Sevilla, Joaquin Correa (min. 80) for Sevilla, Nacho (min. 80) for Real Madrid, Lucas Vazquez (min. 83) for Real Madrid.
Red cards: None
Stadium: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu
Attendance: 79,356
