It was Sergio Ramos's return to the Bernabéu three seasons later, but the tension of the match overcame everything. Ramos was applauded when he went out to warm up and especially when his name was sung over the loudspeakers when the Sevilla lineup was announced, but then he was one more and went unnoticed. After last Sunday's draw in Vallecas, the whites avoided a new blow and with their hard-fought victory with a goal from Modric in the 81st minute they once again leave Barcelona within eight points.
The goal is the best vindication for Modric, who at 37 years old wants to continue, but Madrid is not up to the task.
Madrid found themselves in a very hard-fought match, with an opponent locked in their area, planted in two lines. Ancelotti brought out the expected lineup, an eleven depleted and conditioned by the losses of Bellingham, Carvajal, Camavinga and Joselu. For the first time in a long time the bench didn't seem so powerful.
If the match was marked by Sevilla's complaint to Real Madrid TV for the white channel's criticism of the referees, the Bernabéu was soon on edge against Diaz de Mera, the young Castilian-La Mancha referee.
The first chance was a Sevilla counter that could not be completed in Nesyri and in the next minute, in the tenth minute, Madrid scored. The play was started by Vinícius, Madrid's best, who put a cross into the area that Lucas Vázquez was able to finish into the net. From the VOR room they called the referee, he went to the monitor and annulled the goal due to a previous foul by Nacho on En Nesyri.
Carlo Ancelotti saw yellow for his protests and from then on the Bernabéu whistled loudly at the referee and protested everything, with the young crowd chanting “Corruption in the Federation” insistently.
Nerves got the better of Madrid and even a player as usually temperate as Kroos saw yellow for protesting. The rest of the first half was a weaving of the game by the whites, but without finding a way to break Sevilla's defensive skein, which rarely passed the center of the field.
However, Madrid's dominance did not translate at times. Vinícius and Rodrygo were the most active, but their efforts near the area were innocent and did not really bother Nyland due to a lack of precision in the last meters.
On days like this, Madrid, with a somewhat subdued Brahim, greatly misses the magic of Jude Bellingham, the Englishman's associative ability and his surprise appearances in the opposing area. The only shot on goal with real danger came in added time, a shot by Valverde from outside the area that was repelled by the Norwegian goalkeeper.
The second half began with the same protagonists on the field of play and a similar tone. This time Madrid was able to score very early, already in the 47th minute, in a somewhat forced shot by Valverde that went to the post.
From there the game became a street runner. Lunin prevented Isaac Romero's goal with his foot and Rodrygo had everything in his favor almost immediately afterwards. He stood up to Nyland after a mistake in the defense's marking, but shot wide. Madrid was unleashed. Nyland denied Vinícius the goal with a great save on a changed hand. At game time Diaz de Mera left the sideline with physical discomfort and the Benabéu chanted “Let Negreira come out, let Negreira come out.” He was replaced by Fernández Cuervo, one of the assistant referees.
Madrid intensified its dominance but Sevilla resisted firmly. Ancelotti brought on Modric for Nacho and it was the hand of a saint. The Croatian hit a shot in the 81st minute that beat the Norwegian goalkeeper. Sevilla claimed positional offside, but the VAR decided that it did not intervene in the play. Madrid held on in the eight minutes of added time and took the victory, which they celebrated in style.
