The Real Madrid’s Lucas Vazquez and Federico Valverde scored late goals to earn an impressive 3-1 win over struggling Sevilla and give them a six-point lead over Sevilla at the head of LaLiga on Saturday.
Luka Modric put the champions ahead after just five minutes by putting an uninspiring Vinicius Jr strike to an unfilled net.
Madrid had the upper hand, but missed many chances, and also allowed Sevilla to come back in the 54th minute when Erik Lamela ghosted behind the defense to score from close distance.
But Vinicius Junior shined once more with his brilliant move into the middle, before passing a short ball on to Lucas Vazquez who scored with an accurate shot from inside an area in the 80th.
Valverde completed the win within two minutes with an unstoppable strike in the top corner of the box.
Real leads the league with 31 points, six more than of second-placed Barcelona who will host Athletic Club on Sunday.
“We’re very happy,” Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said to Movistar Plus. “The second half started well in control, but we didn’t have the second goal in order to be more relaxed.
“We are aware that Sevilla are a fantastic team. At the end, they were equalized, with a little of luck. It was a good thing we woke awake and struck two fantastic goals. This was a huge victory, and we’re still leading.
“We didn’t start the second half well. We lost some balls and missed some easy passes, that gave them hope. But with the substitutions we took a step forwards and got back control.”
Record six-time Europa League winners Sevilla have only won two games across all competitions this season and sit 14th with the basis of 10 points in 11 matches, two higher than the relegation zone.
They fired manager Julen Lopetegui following their worst season in league play after being promoted back into the top division in 2001. They also appointed Argentine Jorge Sampaoli for a second time with the team.
After playing three times without losing the manager’s bounce came to an end at Santiago Bernabeu in an Madrid team that could be beaten by a greater amount, given the opportunities and pressure they faced.
In the absence of striker Karim Benzema due to muscle strain on his leg. Real Manager Carlo Ancelotti used Rodrygo up in front, and he was able to connect with Vinicius Jr. and Valverde managing the channels.
“Karim is very important for us,” Ancelotti declared in the aftermath, and confirmed that he was expecting Benzema to be back on Tuesday to face RB Leipzig in the Champions League.
“It is a sign of the health of the team that we’ve been able replace such a key player such as Karim.
“We aren’t worried. He hasn’t had continuity, but Karim is healthy, he’s motivated, he’s still important for us.”
Vinicius’s electrifying power was once again difficult to stop and was the mastermind behind most Real’s opportunities.
His high pressure did the trick when he snatched the ball away from Gonzalo Montiel at the left side of the touchline before passing it onto Modric who was free at the far end of the pitch and hit the ball into.
Modric and Vinicius both missed sitters prior to the break, with Real completely in control.
Lamela’s equaliser was enough to give the supporters at home a bit of a shock, however Vinicius and Valverde proved that they are among the top players in the world.
The Brazilian displayed his extra equipment in the lead-up of the second goal which was scored by Vazquez as Uruguayan Valverde was the scorer for the third time in a row with a long-distance strike , which has become a standard.
“In training I suffer a lot!” Courtois spoke of Valverde’s impressive shots. “This year we all told him to shoot more, because he’s good at it. If it goes to one side of you it’s impossible to stop, he has an incredible shot.”
