Real Madrid rallied back to win 3-2 at Sevilla in LaLiga Santander. Rodrygo, Nacho, and Karim Benzema scored in the second half to grab three crucial points for Los Blancos, bringing them closer to their title ambition. The tumultuous night in Seville put to rest some of our pre-match fears while also generating fresh topics of discussion. All of this is covered in this article.
1. Could Real Madrid achieve something that no other Spanish team has done before?
We'd known for weeks that this would be one of Real Madrid's toughest remaining challenges in the LaLiga Santander title race, with Sevilla also in contention and the Andalusians having yet to lose a single home game this season. Can Real Madrid do what no one else has done at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán? They came into this one as the only team in the division with no home losses. After early goals from Ivan Rakiti and Erik Lamela, it didn't appear to be the case until the 25th minute.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, have a remarkable comeback spirit this season, and they turned it around with Benzema hitting the game-winning goal in stoppage time and the players and coaching staff celebrating as if the trophy had already been won. Because, let's face it, it almost has.
2. Will Casemiro be replaced by Kroos or Camavinga?
Due to a yellow card accumulation ban, Casemiro was unable to play in this game, and he expressed his disappointment at having to miss such an important match. How was Ancelotti going to cover for the Brazilian in this one with no like-for-like replacement? Even after the lineup was announced, we weren't sure if Toni Kroos or Eduardo Camavinga would be in the center.Kroos was ultimately in charge on this occasion, and there were numerous problems. When Camavinga was in that position, however, there were some concerns. Real Madrid will eventually need to replace Casemiro, which has been clear for some time. Meanwhile, one of Kroos or Camavinga will have to play No. 6 on the side. And it's still unclear which of those alternatives is the greatest option in a difficult situation.
3. Who would start at left back?
The position of left-back was another question mark that remained unanswered even after the line-up was released. Due to the absence of both Ferland Mendy and Marcelo, Ancelotti picked two right-backs in Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vázquez, but it was unclear if one of them would play left-back or if Carvajal would return to centre-back to allow Alaba to play left-back. Carvajal began at left-back in the end, therefore it was the former. And he did exceptionally well. He was good enough in defence, with most of Real Madrid's issues coming down the opposite wing, in addition to his two assists - the first time he has contributed double assists in a LaLiga Santander game.Carvajal has performed better at centre-back and left-back in the last week than he has at right-back, which is a puzzle.