3 things Real Madrid did wrong in 3-2 defeat to Sevilla
There was more misery in Real Madrid's already mangled league season, as Sevilla consigned the visitors to a 3-2 defeat at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
Zidane once again rang in the changes, but the Sevillistas were at full strength and easily plonked on Madrid's fringe side. Wissam Ben Yedder and Miguel Layun combined to give the hosts a two-goal cushion by the half-time whistle.
Sergio Ramos then netted into his own net after failing to bury in the opposite one from the spot, but made amends for it deep in injury time when the skipper struck at the second bite of the cherry. But his finish proved too little, too late as Los Blancos failed to draw level with crosstown rivals Atletico, who too lost 24 hours earlier, and now remain rooted on third.
Here's what Real Madrid got wrong in the facile 3-2 defeat:
#1 Leaving too much space at the back
Real Madrid's backline has lacked a concrete structure throughout the season. With no solidity or robustness whatsoever, it has parted like the red sea and leaked goals like there's no tomorrow. After conceding another three on the evening, the total for the campaign now stands at 42 goals allowed, the highest tally since 2013.
The Nervionenses cut a swathe through the visitors' slouchy backline everytime they forayed towards the area. Luis Muriel easily headed back a long ball for an on-rushing Ben Yedder, who then slipped through the legs of Casilla. The former was let unchallenged in the air by Jesus Vallejo, while Ramos should have done much better to thwart the Frenchman.
If this was bad, then the manner of conceding the second-goal was downright laughable. Having once again left too much space at the back, Steven N'Zonzi tried to a flick a pass back to Ben Yedder, but Lucas Hernandez and Vallejo bumped into each other. The resulting rebound was easily played to a completely unmarked Layun, who made no mistake from 15 yards.
Today's performance was poor and a reflection of just how abject Real have been defensively throughout the season. Ramos' own goal just summed up the catastrophic night.