Sevilla strike early, then hold firm

Sevilla have lately made this rivalry look one-sided; Real Madrid FC still arrived with the longer view of a fixture that has swung both ways. On Friday, Sevilla made the present tense theirs in 24 minutes, then defended the advantage through a quieter second half to win 2-0 in the Spanish First Division.

Faisal Al-Ali headed high from close range in the first minute. Jecki Yehoshua added another header, low from close range, in the 24th. Both goals came before Madrid had managed to turn their greater share of the ball into a serious return: they finished with seven shots, only two on target. Sevilla had 12 attempts and seven on target, and their goalkeeper Iñigo Agirre made three saves.

The margin matters in the recent history. Sevilla won 3-0 in March and 2-0 on Friday; between those victories, Madrid won 3-1 in February. It is not settled, but this was a second home performance in two months that left little doubt about who had the better of the day.

Cristiano supplied the assists for both goals, while Sevilla’s 16 corners kept Madrid occupied. The visitors had more possession and completed more passes, yet created too little from it. Their striker Ronaldinho, recently noted for finishing well beyond his expected return, could not change that arithmetic here.

For Sevilla, the result also carried a personal absence: Jorge Baños, once a Madrid player for nearly a decade, was not in the squad. Those who did take the field offered the sharper answer. Madrid’s injured centre-back Nicolas Cazaux was also missing, but Sevilla’s two headers had already made the decisive difference before the game reached its later stages.