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Real Madrid beat Sevilla 3-2 in a nail-biting thriller at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium on April 17 to grab all three points in gameweek 32.
Ivan Rakitic opened the scoring for Sevilla in the 21st minute of the game as he breached the wall to tuck his free-kick into the back of the net. Erik Lamela soon doubled his side's advantage. The Argentine capitalized on some disastrous defending at the back as he slid one past Thibaut Courtois in the 25th minute of the game.
Los Blancos started the second half in some fashion. They came out roaring and pulled one back minutes after the restart.
Substitute Rodrygo Goes clinically put one past Yassine Bounou following a great passage of play by the visitors. Madrid equalized in the 82nd minute of the game through Nacho, who scored with his first touch of the game. Karim Benzema capped off a perfect comeback as he smacked one in from close range in stoppage time to seal the deal for Real Madrid.
On that note, here's a look at five talking points from the game:
#5 Controversial refereeing decisions
Real Madrid had a goal denied by match official Guillermo Cuadra following a VAR review. The referee denied Vinicius Jr. a goal, citing handball. The Brazilian brought the ball under control after shouldering it down and then went on to smash it into the back of the net. But Cuadro believed Vinicius used a significant portion of his hand to gain control of the ball and hence denied it.
It was quite a controversial decision and it ultimately went in Sevilla's favor. The Madrid players were anguished and were unable to digest the decision as they were of the belief that it was a certain goal. It would have been a great goal had it stood.
#4 Eder Militao's defensive lapses
Eder Militao had a bittersweet night. The bitter part was the errors he made for both goals that Sevilla scored. The sweet part was the perfect comeback that Real Madrid staged. Militao looked rusty and lacked communication at the back.
Militao failed to maintain the structure of the wall for Rakitic's free-kick opener and was at fault for Lamela's goal as well. The Brazilian found his composure in the second half and was great at the back after the restart. Militao will have to regain his lost form for the most important stage of the season as the Spanish giants rely heavily on him.
#3 Rodrygo and Dani Carvajal were immense
Rodrygo Goes changed the entire scenario following his introduction. He scored a clinical goal minutes after coming on. The Brazilian even set up Benzema for the winning goal of the night. Rodrygo won three duels, created three chances, made one recovery and completed one dribble in the second half.
Dani Carvajal continued his good form for Los Blancos. After impressing against Chelsea, the Spaniard stepped up against Sevilla. Carvajal started as a left back in the absence of Ferland Mendy, Marcelo and Miguel Gutierrez.
Although he struggled initially adapting to his new role, he was immense in the second half. He was a menace on both the wings and grabbed a brace of assists for himself.
#2 Cracking first half by Sevilla
Sevilla bamboozled Real Madrid in the opening half. The hosts were all over the Madrid side in the first half. Los Blancos didn't even recover from Rakitic's free kick when Lamela scored another to completely take charge of the proceedings.
Julen Lopetegui's side were absolutely in the driving seat. Their high press and quick passing puzzled the Madrid players who needed time to adapt.
With their fans riding behind them, Sevilla kept the pressure on the visiting team. It made things quite difficult for the visitors.
#1 Real Madrid stage a grand comeback
Real Madrid staged a massive comeback in the second half against Sevilla. Carlo Ancelotti made some timely interventions to turn the tie in favor of Real Madrid. He substituted Eduardo Camavinga for Rodrygo. The Brazilian scored the opening goal for Real Madrid as he capped off a beautiful move which included Carvajal and Vinicius Jr. as well.
Nacho was subbed in for Lucas Vazquez which allowed Carvajal to move back to his preferred right-back position. The Spaniard scored from his first touch following some brilliant work by Carvajal to set him up.
Benzema scored the winner late on in the game following some great presence of mind by Rodrygo to set up the winner of the night. All in all, Real Madrid's elite mentality allowed them to come back from the bottom and grab all three points.
