Sevilla Hit Their Ceiling at the Bernabéu Despite Promising Display

Matías Almeyda’s side closed out their worst year of the 21st century with a performance that showed both promise and familiar limitations against the European champions.

Competing in different leagues

It was a tale of two teams operating in the same competition but existing in completely different footballing universes. Sevilla put in a genuinely decent shift at the Santiago Bernabéu, creating several clear chances and at times looking the more cohesive unit, but ultimately lacked the cutting edge to make it count against an unusually subdued Real Madrid.

The visitors’ game plan was spot on initially. Almeyda stuck with his 3-5-2 formation that’s been bearing fruit in recent weeks, with the experienced Marcao and Suazo preferred to the in-form Castrín and Oso. The Argentine tactician cleverly doubled up on Vinícius by deploying both Carmona and Juanlu on the right flank – a strategy that effectively neutralized the Brazilian star.

Chances created, chances wasted

Sevilla’s approach of controlling possession to draw Madrid’s press before exploiting the resulting spaces nearly paid dividends early on:

• After just five minutes, a brilliant Alexis pass put Isaac clean through, but his attempted chip sailed wide
• The Chilean midfielder, celebrating his 100th LaLiga appearance, delivered his finest performance in a Sevilla shirt
• Isaac would miss two more golden opportunities against Courtois after the break

As is so often the case when facing the big boys, these missed chances proved costly. A needless foul by Marcao led to Bellingham’s opener, and the Brazilian defender later received his marching orders for a reckless challenge in midfield – a moment of madness that severely hampered Sevilla’s comeback hopes.

Competitive despite the scoreline

Remarkably, even with ten men, the visitors continued to trouble Madrid. Vlachodimos made six saves to keep his side in the contest, matching Courtois’ heroics at the other end. However, fatigue eventually led to concentration lapses, including a clumsy Juanlu challenge on Rodrygo that gifted Mbappé a penalty to seal the points.

The final scoreline flattered Madrid but highlighted the quality gap between the sides. Almeyda continues to extract maximum value from a limited squad, maintaining the same points tally as this stage last season despite the club’s ongoing struggles.

For Sevilla supporters, there’s hope that 2026 might bring a change in fortunes. This performance, while ending in defeat, at least showed they can compete against the division’s aristocracy – even if they ultimately hit their ceiling when it came to the result.