Real Madrid 2 – 0 Sevilla: Three points, two goals and quite a few whistles in another ugly victory for Madrid

The Bernabéu was not made for parties. The little number of the final straight against Talavera, as well as the laughter of some players on the bench at 2-3, made sensitive a supporter who begins to show signs of exhaustion in the face of a Madrid who not only does not fall in love with him, but who also makes him yawn. But it’s the partner who can do it, not Vinicius.

Yawn and whistle. Madrid has found a smile again in terms of results, but its football is as simple as one’s table. Slow, fuzzy and with an alarming lack of intensity. In the first ten minutes against Sevilla, the Andalusians gave up three clear chances. All generated by the passivity in the duels of the white players, more concerned with walking than running.

Special mention for Huijsen, whose descent into the underground since the derby seems to have no end. His back is a New Year’s Eve gift, and his sobriety is a kick in the foot. If you’re not a hybrid of Baresi and Beckenbauer, you can’t give yourself the license to attempt to dribble while being the last defender.

The luck that Madrid had is that Alexis is almost on the fourth floor of his life and that Isaac is the striker with the most expected goals in the championship. And yet, every time they entered the box, they caused Courtois to grow a few gray hairs. It’s not a quiet match for the Belgian, who accumulates overtime that even Yolanda Diaz is not capable of counting.

It was from the 25th minute, when Xabi sent Vini to the left wing and stopped playing as a second striker alongside Mbappé, and Tchouamení abandoned the position of third central defender, returning to his natural habitat of the “5”, that the team found some dangerous situations. Especially on the right wing, Rodrygo once again being one of the best. The fact that the team is activated thanks to a footballer who went nine months without scoring, says a lot about this weekend film on Antena 3, which is currently Xabi’s Madrid.

In the 39th minute, the ’11’ reassured Alonso with an indirect free kick that he placed directly on Bellingham’s head, so that the Englishman headed towards the team to make the score 1-0. The Englishman’s fourth goal in La Liga, the fifth in total of the season. Hi Jude!

These are the same 22 players who left the locker room. Xabi too, but not Almeyda. The Sevilla coach saw the second yellow in the tunnel for protesting against Muñiz Ruiz following a foul by Rodrygo.

The absence of the Argentine coach did not penalize a Sevilla team which once again made Courtois sweat four times. Two hands from Isaac and two shots from Alexis. Four interventions from the Belgian which did not prevent new whistles at the Bernabéu.

Even Mbappé’s chances, including a header against the crossbar, did not reassure the parish. The match was down to the wire, like three days ago in Talavera and seven days ago in Vitoria. Alonso would do well to send a “Joselito” to Marcao. His expulsion in the 68th minute, also for a double yellow card, turned Sevilla’s chance of scoring a point into a Rubik’s Cube.

Mbappé’s 2-0 in the 85th minute (equaling Cristiano’s 59 in 2013), thanks to a penalty from Juanlu to Rodrygo, finally brought peace of mind. But not peace. Alonso will eat the nougat and gain some more time, at least until the Super Cup, but by playing like this he will most likely have to return by boat from Jeddah.