The meeting between old friends ended with an old custom :: Zerozero.pt

Real Madrid beat Sevilla by the smallest margin (1-0), in a match marked by a reunion, a change of referee and old Luka Modric habits.

The match itself began with a meeting between old friends: Sergio Ramos has returned to the Santiago BernabéuAfter his departure from the club in 2021. When the speaker announced the name of the historic Spanish center, the entire stadium applauded him.

She was blanquirrojos Al-Nusayri was the first to be threatened with a dangerous opportunity. The visitors' defense was strong, and Real Madrid was unable to penetrate the goal until half an hour into the game. Until the end of the first half, the only serious chance belonged to Fede Valverde: after he shot the ball powerfully from distance.

Everything changed in the second half

In the second half, Meringue They figured out the formula for attacking the opposition, and made most of their shots during that period. Toni Kroos showed his quality once again, directing his team's game and directing them into attack.

It was around match time when an unfortunate incident occurred: main referee Isidro Escuderos was injured – an appointment that sparked controversy – and was replaced by fourth official Carlos Fernandez, a 29-year-old. He made his debut as a chief referee in a Spanish League match.

The fate of this meeting will be decided by an old acquaintance. Luka Modric came on fifteen minutes from time and showed why, at 38 years of age, he is still Carlo Ancelotti's primary option. And in the 81st minute, he tried out one of his trademark images: Control the ball, pull it to the right to get the opponent out of the way, and from outside the penalty area, shoot into the goal. The ball even hit the post before entering, which added to the beauty of the movement.

With this victory, Real Madrid remained in first place in the Spanish League, with 65 points, eight points behind Barcelona. In turn, Sevilla remained two places away from the relegation places with 24 points.

Luka Modric What a goal! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Rm7llBMCeO

— TC (@totalcristiano) February 25, 2024