Sevilla vs. Real Madrid: Winners and Losers from La Liga
A fantastic match in La Liga on Saturday night saw Real Madrid beat Sevilla 3-2 in the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, keeping themselves in the title race.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in two minutes in the first half to put Real in control, but Sergio Ramos' foul to concede a penalty before the break saw Carlos Bacca pull one back. Ronaldo headed in his hat-trick before Vicente Iborra scored a second for Sevilla, who were just unable to find an equalising goal.
Here are all our biggest winners and losers from the fixture.
Winner: Cristiano Ronaldo, Who's in the Pichichi Race
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Not having been the key man in terms of hitting the back of the net in recent games for Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo was always likely to have a big day sooner or later—and it came in the biggest of matches.
The No. 7 was excellent with his movement off the ball, his ability to escape markers inside the area and, of course, his finishing. Two headers and an instinctive close-range finish gave him a hat-trick that moved his total haul of Liga goals for the season to 42.
He proved to be the match-winner, and it was a fine all-round performance from him too.
Loser: Illarra
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If the lack of trust in Asier Illarramendi by Carlo Ancelotti wasn't apparent already, it certainly is now.
With Illarra fit and ready for action, he was again overlooked for a central midfield role by Ancelotti in favour of pushing centre-back Sergio Ramos forward into that role instead. Ramos might be adept in intercepting play and making challenges, but he doesn't contribute too much in terms of on-the-ball action.
Real needed to win this game, and it's indicative of the lack of faith in Illarra that he, a midfielder, wasn't considered for action. He only came on for the final six minutes as Sevilla looked for a third goal.
Winner: Carlo Ancelotti, Navigating Perhaps His Toughest Game Left
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Carlo Ancelotti knows he has no margin for error if he wants to see his side lift the La Liga title, so even though a draw at Sevilla, in general terms, would have been a good result, it could have ended his team's challenge on this occasion.
The decision to field Ramos in midfield, opting to leave recently fit Gareth Bale on the bench and Ancelotti's in-game switches of formations were all gambles of one kind or another, but every one paid off in the end.
Real stay in the hunt for the two big trophies of the season as a result.
"We played against very solid opponents who had a support that got right behind them," Ancelotti told RealMadrid.com. "It wasn't easy to win, we're very happy and we keep on fighting. I don't think it's a coincidence that no-one had won here."
Loser: Sevilla's Unbeaten Record and the Top-Four Race
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Sevilla came close, so close, to nabbing a third goal of the game in the dying stages of the 90 minutes, but their failure to do so means the end of a proud unbeaten record at home. Of course they hadn't lost a Liga match this season at their own ground, but the stretch actually dated well back into the last campaign.
The defeat also means they stay in fifth place, level on points with Valencia in fourth but behind Los Che on head-to-head results.
Valencia play their weekend game on Sunday at home to second-to-last-placed Eibar, but they face Real Madrid at the Bernabeu next week, while Sevilla play Celta Vigo. It's advantage Valencia for now, but it could all change again.
Winner: Gareth Bale's Return and Telling Impact
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For the final note we'll give a thumbs-up to Gareth Bale, who came on as substitute for the final 25 minutes or so after his return from injury.
It was still 2-1 to Real at the time, but within seconds, the Welshman had made a telling impact as he delivered a tremendous cross to the back post to assist Ronaldo's hat-trick header. Thereafter, he worked hard, took on players and held up the ball extremely well, releasing the pressure on Madrid at times and being a good outlet for a defence that was struggling at times to cope.
He hasn't had an excellent season—certainly not the middle and final third—but this was an indication of what he is capable of, and he'll need to offer more games like this cameo over the final weeks.
