Real Madrid salvaged a 1-1 draw against Sevilla thanks to a late header from captain Dani Carvajal. The LaLiga leaders fought back after an own goal by David Alaba gave the hosts the lead.
With this result, Madrid now has 25 points from 10 games, putting them three points ahead of Girona, who have been the surprise team of the season so far. Barcelona, sitting in third place with 21 points, will face Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
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The match in Seville was intense, as Real Madrid had two early goals disallowed due to controversial refereeing decisions.
In the first half, Madrid players and manager Carlo Ancelotti repeatedly complained to the referee. They protested when an early Federico Valverde strike was ruled offside, when the referee halted play before Jude Bellingham scored, and when they claimed there was a foul on Vinicius Junior in the box.
After the game, Ancelotti praised the referee in his press conference, but admitted he did so to avoid a suspension. He said, “Irony is the only way. If I say what I think about the refereeing I’ll get a [ban of a] lot of games. I like to sit on the Real Madrid bench, so to avoid a ban I don’t say what I think, and I use irony.”
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Sevilla started to regain control of the match and came close to scoring when Carvajal cleared a shot from Ivan Rakitic off the goal line.
In his first match back against his former club, defender Sergio Ramos also made a crucial goal-line clearance to keep the game level before halftime.
The second half was dominated by the goalkeepers, with both Kepa Arrizabalaga and Orjan Nyland making impressive saves to keep their teams in the game.
Sevilla’s Nyland denied a point-blank strike from Rodrygo with a reflex save, while Real’s Kepa palmed away a long-range effort from Ivan Rakitic.
However, Madrid fell behind after defender Alaba scored an own goal while challenging Youssef En Nesyri in the 74th minute.
Carvajal quickly equalized with a powerful header from a Toni Kroos cross in the 78th minute.
The match grew more tense towards the end, with several scuffles leading to five bookings in the final minutes.
In his post-match press conference, Ancelotti described the game as intense and competitive. He acknowledged that Madrid had chances in the first half but lacked energy and control in the second half.
Shortly after the match, Sevilla expelled a fan from the stadium and filed a complaint with the police due to alleged xenophobic and racist behavior. The specific details of the incident were not disclosed.
ESPN’s Alex Kirkland, Reuters, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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