LaLiga 2018-19: Real Madrid 2-0 Sevilla | Five Talking Points

Real Madrid CF climb to the third position with their victory. Could this be a start of something good for Madrid?

Real Madrid hosted Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday. Both teams came into the game level on points, separated only by goal difference. Sevilla came into the game suffering a 2-0 loss to Athletic Bilbao, enabling Madrid to close down the gap and draw level. Real Madrid, on the other hand, came into the game with a hard-fought victory over Real Betis. Dani Ceballos' 88th-minute freekick snatched away the victory for Los Blancos.

In the previous meeting between the two sides, Sevilla thrashed Real Madrid 3-0 at home. Santiago Solari started with Sergio Reguilon in the left-back position and continued with the midfield duo of Ceballos and Modric. Pablo Machin went with a 5-3-2 lineup with Escudero and Jesus Navas as the attacking full-backs. Wissem Ben Yedder and Andre Silva, the two strikers up front.

Real Madrid got some early chances to score in the first half. Vinicius Junior and Benzema both had chances to open the scoring early but missed from suitable range. Sevilla steadied the ship through the half, stopping any dangerous attacks and came close to leading. Escudero put a shot wide of the near post from close-range.

Real Madrid continued to hold possession in the second half and began teeing off with Vaclik. Numerous chances went wasted but Casemiro's curling strike beat Vaclik's fingertips and went in. Luka Modric doubled the lead in added time, stealing the ball from the defense and going on to finish. Madrid is now in third-place in LaLiga, still five points behind Atletico and seven points away from Barcelona.

Here are five talking points from the game.

#5 Sevilla played for a draw, ended up on the losing side

Modric's goal put the game out of Sevilla's reach. They were not decisive enough in the opposition half and hardly had an intent to attack.

In the first half, Real Madrid came out all guns blazing at Sevilla. However, the away side did manage to shake it off and steady the ship. Los Blancos was the one dominating possession but they did not find clear-cut opportunities at goal. Even when Sevilla had possession, they did not attempt to have a go at the defense. Their only attempt at goal was Escudero's attempt.

In the second half, Sevilla followed suit from the first half. They did not press for the ball, did not attempt to counter-attack, did not get the ball to forward positions and sat back. Vaclik was under tremendous pressure and Sevilla was always on the ropes. It was visible that Sevilla was playing for a draw and not for a win. Casemiro managed to beat the bus in the 78th minute with his long-range effort. Till then, Sevilla did not have even a bit of possession in the opposition half.

It is understandable that Sevilla wanted to salvage a draw but closing down the game without even attempting to counter-attack was a bad strategy.