Real Madrid took another step towards the LaLiga title on Sunday night with a narrow 1-0 win over Sevilla at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
In what proved to be a very tight and cagey affair, Luke Modric’s strike was enough to take Real Madrid eight points clear of Barcelona.
After Sevilla had the first big chance of the match, Real Madrid thought they had taken the lead within the first 10 minutes when Vinicius Jr picked out a superb pass to Lucas Vazquez.
The right-back connected with the pass as he burst into the box, and he finished excellently. However, the goal was then ruled out as there was a foul from Nacho Fernandez in the build-up.
Real Madrid’s defensive injuries
Nacho has become an important player for Real Madrid after the injuries to David Alaba and Eder Militao, and it was a major boost that Antonio Rudiger was fit enough to start against Sevilla and relieve Aurelien Tchouameni from his temporary centre-back role.
Barring a shot from Fede Valverde, Real Madrid failed to create much in the first half and Sevilla’s game plan was clearly working.
Valverde hit the post in the early stages of the second half, which was followed up by a good save from Andriy Lunin to deny Sevilla’s Isaac Romero.
Referee suffers an injury before Modric winner
In a very unusual event, referee Isiro Diaz de Mera picked up an injury and had to leave the field. He was replaced by Fernandez Buergo who has only refereed in the third tier of Spanish football before.
A point of interest was Sergio Ramos’ performance. The Real Madrid legend was excellent throughout, along with his defensive partners. Despite that, Luka Modric was able to break the deadlock with less than 10 minutes to go.
Sevilla appealed for an offside in the build-up but the superb strike from the Croatian midfielder stood.
The win means Real Madrid are nine points ahead of Girona, having played a game more, whilst Sevilla remain in 15th.
