Real Madrid 3-4 Sevilla: Real Shattered by Robben Sending Off

If Villarreal could make a comeback, so could Real. And they did just that in the Bernabeu until Arjen Robben was sent off.

First Half:

From kick-off, Real showed that they meant business. Their first chance came as early as 15 seconds. Rafael Van der Vaart sent a long pass on the path of Higuain who passed it to Robben. Robben could however only shoot into Palop's hands. A ball hit Aldo Duscher on the face within the first minute and he lay down in pain for a while.

The first goal came from Sevilla though. Real Madrid's disjointed and troubled back four failed to deal with Sevilla which resulted in the goal. Marcelo couldn't stop the cross from Jesus Navas. Ramos and Salgado absolutely failed to block Adriano. The ball found Adriano who calmly sent it to the back of the net with his left foot.

The goal had a touch of offside to it. It wasn't Adriano who was offside, but his teammate Frederic Kanoute who was. The replays showed that the ball touched Kanoute before going into the net. The goal was however given to Adriano.

Real Madrid then tried their luck through Van der Vaart. Higuain played a beautiful pass to Van der Vaart but his shot was marginally wide. In the 12th minute, Higuain sent a beautiful cross to Raul, but unfortunately Raul was caught by surprise right in front of goal and completely missed the ball.

Navas again sent in a long cross. Real failed to deal with Navas' cross again and it found Adriano. Adriano's long shot was however wide. Romaric then fouled Ramos. Guti stepped up to take the free kick. It found Raul who headed it into the back of the net. The man defending Raul was Konko who really didn't have a good night.

Within the next three minutes, Sevilla had a freekick. Navarro took it. He found Romaric who headed the ball into the back of the net. Ramos and Robben failed to clear the ball and as a result, Real were 2-1 down.

Raul squandered another beautiful chance set up by Guti in the 23rd minute before Gago found Van der Vaart whose shot was saved by Palop. Palop then had to make an excellent save to deny Rafael van der Vaart.

In the 34th minute, Real went two goals down. Renato found Kanoute who sent it to the back of the net. Three Real defenders were present inside the box; none of them were defending Kanoute. Cannavaro and Ramos tried to clear, but the clearance fell kindly for Kanoute who made no mistake.

Second Half:

Real Madrid started off brightly. Drenthe came on in the second half for van der Vaart, due to injury problems. Robben did himself no favours by earning a yellow card for fouling Renato. In quick succession, Kanoute earned himself a yellow for a foul on Gago.

Both teams then had shots wide, as Raul and Romaric missed. Robben then hit the side-netting in the 63rd minute, as Raul waited inside the box. Either Robben didn't see Raul or he decided not to pass.

Gago then got a yellow card for a boot on Escude's face. In the 67th minute, Higuain's stunning strike lifted everyone off their feet and surprised Palop. Real Madrid were a goal away from making a comeback.

Within a minute, the score was tied at 3-3. Navarro fouled Robben and Guti stepped up to take the freekick. Guti found Gago who was left unmarked for Gago to duly head in to the back of the net.

Kanoute was taken off in the 70th minute for Diego Capel. Robben played a beautiful pass to Raul who was once again denied by Palop. Robben was extremely unlucky in the 74th minute as his shot hit the post, however it deflected perfectly for Salgado who sent it flying over the bar.

Romaric was taken off for Fazio. This was a tactical switch in order to keep the Sevilla back line steady and stop Madrid from scoring a fourth. Higuain's shot was saved by Palop who pulled Higuain to the ground in the penalty box, Higuain managed to keep his footing but his shot hit the bar. No doubt, Real were denied a clear penalty.

Arjen Robben then decided to say something to the referee, which the referee didn't like. Only after speaking harshly with the ref, Robben realized he had been booked previously. The referee gave Robben a second yellow and Robben was sent off, a decision which shocked the Real fans.

Real were truly battered without Robben. A Kanoute pass found Renato who headed it into the back of the net in the 85th minute. Real were down by a goal. Bueno was then brought on by Bernd Schuster for Marcelo. Guti then earned himself a yellow card. Kanoute then blasted a free kick right into Casillas' hands.

Dragutinovic was brought on for Navarro in injury time. Although Raul rattled the side netting, there was no way back for Real Madrid. Sevilla left the Bernabeu victorious, for only the second time in twenty attempts.