Immediate Reaction: Real Madrid 2 - 0 Sevilla; Liga F

Real Madrid defeated Sevilla 2-0 in Liga F to return to winning ways. Below are my immediate thoughts and analysis, along with some highlights. Player ratings and a post-match podcast will follow.

• Alberto Toril went with a fairly strong but interesting lineup. He made the call to drop captain Ivana Andrés for the second time in a row and also benched Olga Carmona, Claudia Zornoza, and Esther González. Real Madrid lined up in a nominal 4-2-3-1, with Sandie Toletti and Teresa Abelleira in the double pivot and Maite Oroz as the ‘false’ left winger. What we saw manifested as the same box midfield we’ve seen earlier, with Caroline Weir taking the right halfspace and Maite the opposite one. Athenea del Castillo attacked from the right, giving the left touchline to Sofie Svava.
• Madrid made a very controlled and cautious start that lasted throughout the first half. Las Blancas worked the ball short and side-to-side, gradually progressing to the opposition box. Sevilla sat much deeper and were more compact than they’ve been in past games, with Amanda Sampedro sinking back into a midfield three instead of trying to consistently press the pivot. Madrid didn’t look likely to score, but they were in a rather comfortable position, getting some dangerous box entries while conceding very little.
• Rare moments of excitement came from Athenea’s quality off-the-dribble.

• The second half started off in Sevilla’s favor — Toni Payne drove at the defense successfully on two occasions and created some danger. However, after that, the dynamic returned to what it is was previously. In response, Toril made some unorthodox changes in the 62nd minute, bringing off Lucía Rodríguez for Olga and Toletti for Esther. This put Madrid into a 3-4-1-2/3-5-2 of sorts, with Svava becoming an LCB, Athenea and Olga taking the wing-back roles, and Esther joining Nahikari up top.
• There wasn’t enough time to tell what effect these changes would have, as Madrid scored minutes later via a set-piece. Rocío Gálvez rose highest and put Las Blancas in the lead.

• Cristian Toro quickly swapped in some quality as well, replacing Inma Gabarro and Débora García with ex-Madridista Jessica Martínez and Arola Aparicio, respectively. They were involved in some moments late in the game, but Sevilla’s most consistent threat proved to be Cristin Martín-Prieto, who provided enough presence in the box to probably nab an equalizer.
• In the 76th minute, Toril put on Zornoza for Maite and Kenti for Nahikari, reverting Madrid to their older shape, before subbing Naomie Feller on for Athenea in the final minutes.
• The game looked destined for a 1-0 finish in the final seconds until Svava won the ball off of a Sevilla throw-in and helped put Weir into free space. The Scotswoman drove into the box and unleashed a vicious strike that sealed the deal from a tough angle.

• This won’t go down in the books as a great Blancas performance, but they’ll be happy to have the three points and a clean sheet vs. a capable opponent after the trials of PSG and Levante last week.