La Liga 2018/19: Real Madrid vs Sevilla

There was a major fixture in La Liga on Saturday as third-placed Sevilla faced fourth-placed Real Madrid, knowing that a win for Santiago Solaris team would send them into the top three for the first time since October. After a hard-fought first half, it was Casemiro whose long-range strike opened the scoring. Luka Modric added a much deserved second goal in injury time, sealing a 2-0 win for the hosts.

Los Blancos finally convinced their fans after months of poor form. They managed to convert possession into goals and finally making it count, even if it was yet another game without their strikers scoring. Here, our tactical analysis will use statistics to identify what key points Real Madrid can take from the game.

A performance deserving of the Balon d’Or

It has been some time since Modric was truly at his best, but on Saturday he was as good as he can be. Perhaps most importantly, the Croatian was given free reign on the right hand side. With Sergio Escudero frequently looking to burst forwards down the flank, Modric could exploit that into a more advanced position on the edge of and inside the box. Looking to get into that space, he could show his attacking creativity. He even got onto the scoresheet thanks to a high press in that area in the closing stages.

You would have to look back to last season to find the last time that Modric made more dribbles. He has also not made more touches in the box in a single game than the seven he recorded against Sevilla when such records began in 2015. With such freedom, he had a far more devastating role and could help Real Madrid to pick apart their rivals.

Key to this was the role of Casemiro and Dani Ceballos sitting in a deeper midfield role, with Ceballos in particular dropping slightly on the left as Modric pushed forwards. It is also worth noting the role that Lucas Vazquez played, effectively operating as an overlapping wing-back at times, supporting Modric without getting on his toes. When out of possession, the two pressed menacingly, making nine recoveries between them. Together, they refused to allow Escudero out of their pockets. Instead they controlled his runs to allow him to get forward, leaving space in behind without posing a threat.

The best since Roma?

Many of Spains front pages on Sunday went with the same headlines: This was the best that Real Madrid have played, possibly all season. That may be a slight exaggeration given the ease with which Los Blancos shook off the challenge of Roma at the Bernabeu in September. It was, however, easily the strongest display since then. With 65% possession, it was the quite the turnaround given the way in which three points were secured against Real Betis despite being dominated from the first whistle to the last.

After an even first