Inspired substitutions from Carlo Ancelotti led to Real Madrid securing victory against Sevilla at a rainy Santiago Bernabeu.
Carlo Ancelotti’s late substitutions paid off as Real Madrid secured a 3-1 LaLiga win over Sevilla on Saturday.
It was a tale of two former Tottenham players early on as Luka Modric gave Madrid a quick lead on a wet night at the Santiago Bernabeu before Erik Lamela equalized early in the second half.
But Ancelotti’s changes made all the difference as Lucas Vazquez restored the champions’ advantage soon after coming on, with substitute Marco Asensi involved in the build-up before also adding an assist for Federico Valverde to seal victory.
The champions showed they can cope without Karim Benzema, who showed off his Ballon d’Or trophy on the pitch but was only a spectator due to muscle fatigue as they moved six points clear of Barcelona at the top of the table.
It took just five minutes for Madrid to take the lead as Vinicius Junior robbed Gonzalo Montiel before running down the left and curling in a wonderful ball for Modric to tap in at the far post.
Montiel made amends in the 54th minute to clear Vinicius before playing a perfect ball to Lamela, who curled a shot with the outside of his left foot just under the desperate right hand of Thibaut Courtois.
Ancelotti brought on Asensio and Vazquez in the 77th minute and was rewarded just two minutes later.
Asensio played a pinpoint ball to Vinicius to send it clear, before the Brazil international played it straight to Vazquez, who finished with ease.
It was soon after the match when another Madrid attack saw Asensio lay the ball off to a well-prepared Valverde who unleashed a ferocious effort from just outside the box into the top left corner of the net to seal all three points.
