Real Madrid’s Sanchez Pizjuan curse deepened as the European champions were thoroughly outplayed and lucky to escape without further humiliation as Sevilla deservedly beat Julen Lopetegui’s side 3-0 on Wednesday.
Andre Silva (two) and Wissam Ben Yedder provided the goals in a first-half attacking masterclass from Pablo Machin.
Positives
“Black Wednesday” has already been coined by a different kind of crash and Barcelona were beaten at Leganes, which is about all the comfort Lopetegui will take from an abject performance.
Negatives
Sevilla had so many chances in the opening half that they could have been 5-0 up by the break. Real were a shambles in defence, ineffective in attack and should have been more solidly beaten by a side who were quicker to every ball and — unlike the visitors — had a clear game plan and executed it to perfection.
Manager rating out of 10
2 — If Zinedine Zidane had a reputation as a “hand-clap” manager, the sight of Lopetegui impotently doing the same at 2-0 down did not suggest a coach in control: He was completely outclassed by his opposite number Machin, whose five-man midfield and high press annihilated Madrid. Substituting Luka Modric in the 70th minute essentially conceded defeat, adding more pressure to avoid the same fate in Saturday’s derby. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but aping Machin’s set-up in the second half was an admission of inferiority.
Player ratings (1-10, 10=best; players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Thibaut Courtois, 6 — Welcome to Madrid, Thibaut. The Belgian got his first real taste of what it means to play behind this defence, making a decent stop from Jesus Navas but helpless to stop Silva burying the rebound as his back four flailed. Prevented a fourth with a splendid save from Pablo Sarabia but was lucky Mudo Vazquez skied a parry straight to his feet from a few yards out.
DF Nacho, 5 — A header off the line from Navas’ cross saved his side briefly but it was a taste of things to come as the utility man was overrun. It was little surprise when his number came up after Silva and Guilherme Arana ran amok on his flank.
DF Raphael Varane, 6 — The last competent line of a calamitous defence, it could have been so much worse but for the Frenchman, who nicked the ball off Ben Yedder’s boot to prevent a clear chance and was Real’s best defender by a country mile.
DF Sergio Ramos, 4 — A wildly miscued overhead drew howls of glee from the stands but he almost nicked a consolation towards the end in a challenge with Tomas Vaclik. At the back the captain was a disaster, leaving gaping holes in the centre as he continued his unilateral effort to replace Cristiano Ronaldo at the other end.
DF Marcelo, 2 — At fault for all three goals. A loose ball to Casemiro invited the opener and he couldn’t chase Navas down to compensate. Lost out again in a half-hearted foot race with the winger in the lead-up to the second and jumped out of a challenge as Vazquez hooked the ball to Ben Yedder for the third.
Marcelo gifted Sevilla all three goals in a dire first half from the European champions.
MF Luka Modric, 6 — FIFA’s best was outdone by the excellent Vazquez. Had a glorious strike ruled out for offside and drew a flying save from Vaclik with the outside of his boot but even Modric can’t be expected to do it all, try as he did.
MF Casemiro, 6 — Played a little too high to protect the back four in the first half but improved after slotting in as a third defender in the second. Like Varane, his mere presence averted a worse outcome.
MF Toni Kroos, 4 — Carved himself a chance that went into the second tier but was pickpocketed in the lead-up to Vazquez rattling the bar. Put Gareth Bale through with a beautifully weighted ball but nearly let Sevilla in again with a poor pass in his own half on a rare evening of imprecision.
FW Gareth Bale, 7 — Took the bull by the horns at 2-0 down, rattling a post and testing Vaclik in quick succession. Stabbed over the bar after a defensive error on the stroke of half-time and should have scored on the run with 30 minutes remaining. No Real player will come out of this loss well, but Bale contributed more than most.
FW Karim Benzema, 3 — A fourth game without a shot on goal, Benzema has regressed after an encouraging start to the season. The 30-year-old was anonymous throughout before being hooked for Mariano.
FW Marco Asensio, 5 — A beautiful touch for Modric’s disallowed goal and another to release Bale were the highlights of an uncharacteristically quiet performance. Asensio will escape censure but these are the sort of occasions when he is required to, and generally does, step up.
Substitutes
FW Lucas Vazquez, 5 — On for Nacho, provided his usual energy but his game-changing interventions of last season have deserted him so far in 2018-19.
FW Mariano, 4 — On for Benzema, an air kick, a pass straight out for a throw and a snap-shot into the stands gave the Frenchman some respite.
MF Dani Ceballos, NR — On for Modric, didn’t misplace a pass without ever threatening to change the dynamic.
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