The La Liga Title Race Is Heating Up

Real Madrid’s unbeaten streak was finally ended by Sevilla after the two played each other three times in just 11 days. 

The streak was almost stopped during the Copa del Rey second leg, in which Sevilla led the game 3-1 until the 82nd minute. But late goals from Sergio Ramos and Karim Benzema meant Los Blancos had the chance to set a new Spanish record for the most consecutive games undefeated. 

However, when the two teams faced off again in Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan three days later, it was Sevilla who scored two late goals to shock the visitors and stopped the streak. 

Sevilla have always been strong at home, only losing there once in the league this season. They have already beaten Atletico Madrid there and the atmosphere just makes the already intense side even more terrifying to play against. 

The home advantage was certainly a big factor in the result, especially the way the crowd reacted after Ramos’ own goal, which drew the game level. The fans stood behind the team like a 12th man and gave them even more energy to chase for the winning goal. 

Zinedine Zidane was also at fault for the loss. The Real Madrid manager seemed to be doing everything right lately, and his decisions to play Lucas Vasquez more, bring back Marco Asensio, or keep Casemiro in the starting eleven had paid dividends. However, he got his tactics completely wrong for this match by opting to go with a 3-5-2. 

The Frenchman’s idea was to be unpredictable against Sevilla after already playing them three times this season. He also wanted to crowd up the midfield, and control the game from the opening whistle. Unfortunately, it backfired, as the team looked uncomfortable throughout the match. Sevilla dominated in both areas of shots on target and possession, and isolated Madrid’s forwards from their midfield. 

The manager is far from the only one to blame for this loss, the players also played a part as well in this defeat. After beating out the bitter rivals Barcelona’s unbeaten record, Madrid players seemed to ease off a little. Their mentality seemed to have shifted a bit and the urgency to not give up until the final whistle was not there. 

It also didn’t help that they were comfortably on top of the league standings with a game in hand before this game started. So, understandably, their minds weren’t at their sharpest, especially once they took the lead thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty. 

The two heroes from the last game turned out to be the villains for this one. Ramos, the former Sevilla man who was jeered the whole night by the home crowd, switched off for just a second during a Sevilla set piece and unfortunately cleared the ball into his own net. While Benzema gave the ball away in the 90th minute, which led to Stevan Jovetic’s winning goal.

Overall, Sevilla played their hearts out and sent out a message to the rest of the league that they are in for a title race. Their victory over the league leaders not only opened up the race for them, but for Barcelona and Atletico Madrid as well. 

Currently Real Madrid are still in first with 40 points, with a game in hand. Sevilla are second with just a point less, and Barcelona are third with two points less. Atletico seem a bit behind with only 34 points, although it only takes marginal errors to make that gap much closer. 

After all, Real Madrid’s game in hand is a tricky test in Mestalla against Valencia, where they haven’t won since 2013. It’s safe to say La Liga title race is definitely back on and four teams are in it. It will be exciting to see who will end up topping the league come the end of May.