Thibaut Courtois and Vinicius Junior came up clutch for Real Madrid as they came back from behind to beat Sevilla 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
Sevilla were off the blocks quickly and caused all sorts of problems to Real Madrid early on, eventually taking the lead just 12 minutes when Rafa Mir planted a powerful header past Thibaut Courtois. With Los Blancos looking shell-shocked, the visitors could have added another, but Mir was denied his second by David Alaba’s goalline clearance and again by Courtois’ fine save while Lucas Ocampos then hit the woodwork with a stunning effort.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men were eventually able to settle down into their rhythm, and the equaliser came in the 32nd minute when Eder Militao’s effort from distance was spilt by Sevilla goalkeeper Bono allowing Karim Benzema to tuck away the rebound. The second half lacked the energy and intensity of the first one, with neither team conjuring up big chances going forward.
And, the game was decided with a moment of magic late on when Vinicius Junior cut in from the left flank to unleash a tremendous effort from outside the box that nestled into the top corner. Sevilla came close to equalising deep into stoppage time, but Courtois crucially saved Thomas Delaney’s header from close range to help Real Madrid bag an important victory.
With the victory, Ancelotti’s men have consolidated their position at the top of the La Liga standings, opening up a four-point lead over Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad, who are tied in second and third places, respectively. Here are our player ratings for the Real Madrid stars after the comeback win over Julen Lopetegui & co.
Real Madrid Player Ratings
Thibaut Courtois: 8/10
Courtois is the best. His reflexes are incredible. His composure is out of this world. His handling is GOD level. The absolute best. pic.twitter.com/hd3euGLVwc
— Óðin (@AllfatherI) November 28, 2021
Absolutely clutch. While he did not have any chance of stopping Mir’s opening goal, Courtois pulled off a magnificent stop soon after to stop the former Wolves striker from doubling and his team’s tally. He was not tested much from that point on before stoppage time when he made a huge save to keep Sevilla from equalising.
Dani Carvajal: 5/10
The Spaniard made some good movements in the attacking half and delivered a few teasing passes into the box. However, defensively he was all over the place as he constantly gave away possession in dangerous areas, leading to chances for the visitors and failed to deal with the movement of Alejandro Gomez and Marcos Acuna. He was booked for a cynical foul on the latter.
Eder Militao: 7.5/10
The Brazilian was guilty of losing Mir for the opening goal but more than made up for it with a rock-solid display from that point on, making seven clearances and winning six aerial duels. At the same time, he had a hand in both Real Madrid’s goals, as it was his strike from distance that was spilt by Bono for Benzema to score before he got the assist for Vinicius’ strike with a long ball.
David Alaba: 7.5/10
Despite the jittery start that Real Madrid made, Alaba, who had shaken off a knee injury to start, was not perturbed. The Austrian was alert to the threat and made one crucial goalline clearance in the first half, and stayed solid at the back for the most part. He also had a couple of efforts at goal, with the second one, a volley from range, skimming the roof of the net.
Ferland Mendy: 7.5/10
This was kinda cool by Ferland Mendy who had a pretty decent game pic.twitter.com/VuwxE1Prar
— ☠️ (@zizousbaldhead) November 28, 2021
The Frenchman was coming up against the threat of the lively Lucas Ocampos and defended very well, for the most part, not giving the South American winger an inch. He was very effective moving forward as well, as Mendy completed a game-high six dribbles on the night and managed to create a few chances.
Luka Modric: 5.5/10
A rather so-so display from the veteran midfielder who did not do anything wrong in particular but just failed to have any discernable impact on the contest. He provided a passing option to his teammates and tried to execute sharp link-ups in the attacking third without much success. Modric looked visibly tired and was taken off for Eduardo Camavinga.
Casemiro: 5/10
It was a sloppy display from Real Madrid’s midfield enforcer, who struggled to shield his defence properly in the first period while giving away possession cheaply on numerous occasions, leading to counter-attacking chances for Sevilla. Casemiro tightened things up after the half-time break and looked much more assured, but overall an unconvincing performance.
Toni Kroos: 7/10
The German international did what he does best, switching play effortlessly with accurate long passes and was always on the lookout to engineer openings, completing two key passes. He also put in the hard yards off the ball to help his team out defensively.
Marco Asensio: 5.5/10
Asensio was given the nod ahead of Rodrygo Goes on the night, but he failed to make the most of his chance. The Spaniard wasn’t heavily involved in the thick of things but did have two decent opportunities on either side of half-time, but he failed to test the goalkeeper on both occasions.
Karim Benzema: 7/10
Karim Benzema overtook Thierry Henry as the highest scoring French player in club football history with 361 goals ? pic.twitter.com/AsMBtkvMBJ
— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 28, 2021
The Frenchman might not have been as influential as he generally is, but he worked hard at the top throughout and was involved in some nice exchanges with those around him. It was him who dragged Real Madrid back into the game, showing his instincts to pounce on Bono’s spill to make it 1-1 in the first period.
Vinicius Junior: 8/10
The match-winner for Real Madrid. Vinicius had been unusually quiet for large parts, with Sevilla doing well to crowd him out when he got on the ball. He still had a few positive moments in attack, firing a couple of shots away at goal. And he then came up clutch when the game demanded it, executing a lovely piece of ball control before cutting in and sending a sublime strike into the back of the net to win it for his team.
Vinicius’ game hasn’t gone up a level this season, it’s gone up two or three. Also, everything is more epic with Arabic commentary pic.twitter.com/uaUyNED25q
— Rahul Kalvapalle (@Kalvapalle) November 28, 2021
SUBSTITUTES
Eduardo Camavinga: 6/10
The teenager replaced Modric in the 73rd minute and added a bit more energy and purpose in the middle of the park.
Federico Valverde: 6/10
The Uruguayan midfielder made his return from injury, replacing Asensio with a little over 15 minutes. Like Camavinga, he too brought more energy and intensity to Real Madrid’s gameplay as they went in search of a winner.
Nacho: N/A
Stoppage-time substitute for Vinicius.
