Real Madrid needed late goals from substitute Lucas Vazquez and Federico Valverde to defeat Sevilla 3-1 in La Liga Santander on Saturday.
After Luka Modric’s goal was cancelled out by Erik Lamela, who equalized after the break, Los Blancos scored twice in two minutes, and a little more than 10 minutes remained until the end of the tournament to maintain an unbeaten lead in the La Liga Santander standings.
“I’ve faced them many times in training, and before this year, many of us told him that he should throw more in matches,” Courtois said of Valverde’s throws.
“He hits the ball very hard, and if he goes a little out of the way, it’s impossible to stop him.”
A major mistake by the defenders of Sevilla allowed Real Madrid to open the scoring after five minutes.
Gonzalo Montiel lost the ball deep in his own half of the field, allowing Vinicius to slip into the penalty area and evade the shot, after which Luka Modric ran into the back post and scored.
David Alaba shot past the top corner from a free kick, and Vinicius’ shot from the edge was blocked as Real Madrid continued to control the game.
Real Madrid should have doubled their advantage shortly before the break when Federico Valverde’s shot instead of Rodrigo reached Vinicius.
A clean shot on goal, the Brazilian missed Yasin Bunu’s round, but his strong touch sent the ball for a goal kick.
Having lasted most of the first half, Sevilla’s work paid off when they equalized a few minutes after the restart.
Montiel gave a pass to Lamela, who completed his run by punching Thibaut Courtois.
This goal gave Sevilla confidence, and soon after they were close to taking the lead, and Lamela curled his shot just wide of the target.
The decisive moment came in the 78th minute when Lucas Vazquez, who had just come off the bench, scored from close range after Vinicius’ excellent pass to Marco Asensio.
Real Madrid put an end to the result shortly after Valverde controlled the ball with one touch and then shot from the edge of the penalty area.
