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MOTD: Real Madrid 2-0 Sevilla

By on August 12, 2014

The Welsh crowd at the UEFA Super Cup in Cardiff turned out in spades tonight to cheer on their own hero Gareth Bale, but tonight belonged to Crostiano Ronaldo. Real were clear favorites to win the match featuring the most expensive squad of all time, worth £360 million, and while it was clearly far from a mismatched final – Sevilla in fact beat Los Blancos 2-1 the last time they had faced each other – Ronaldo seemed the extra bit determined to give his side the win as his former mentor Sir Alex Ferguson watched the match from the VIP section. In fact, it was Ferguson himself who would handpick Ronaldo as the Man of the Match. And according to Ferguson, “Cristiano made it easy for me tonight.”

The 29-year-old bagged both of the two goals of the game, and on the verge of entering his thirties and exiting his prime is hungry to win all he can before his skills and speed begin to deteriorate. And that seemed the reason, not only Ferguson, that drove him on tonight and will for the rest of the season. Ronaldo has already won all there is to win in the England as well as Spain, and after capturing La Decima with Madrid last season will be on the chase for the only title he has so far failed to win at the club: the FIFA Club World Cup. After his performance tonight, expect him not to hold back against his opponents there either.

Tonight was the first time Ronaldo, Bale, Toni Kroos, and James Rodriguez all played together featuring in an attacking 4-3-3 (granted, it would be ludicrous for Madrid’s formation not to be centered around their attack, and all seemed to rise to the occasion. Bale provided the cross to assist Ronaldo’s first goal, while Kroos alongside Luka Modric spread the play, with the highest passing accuracy of any pair on the pitch, also making the more passes than anybody else. Rodriguez meanwhile could easily be seen sending the diagonal ball and creative passes through the Sevilla defense, favoring the diagonal over to defense to the right side Madrid heavily favorited to attack down, finding Bale. Ronaldo and the midfielder would play around Benzema as well – the two wingers spent more time farther up the pitch than Benzema himself. This would end up very evident in Madrid’s second goal of the night.

It wasn’t all easy for Madrid though – early on Carlos Bacca forced Madrid into work with a fierce effort from a tight angle. It proved just to tight and far out, though, and Iker Casillas had a fairly comfortable time parrying it out for a corner. A half hour in, however, Madrid found the lead as Bale galloped down the left on the counter and curled a low far post ball into the box. Of course, Ronaldo had ran all the way up to convert it with a toe-poke finish.

Down at the other end Daniel Carriço tested the reflexes of Casillas with a close range effort following a poor clearance from Rodriguez, but just four minutes into the period Madrid put the match to bed with a second. Benzema dropped in behind Madrid’s wingers, before playing it out to Ronaldo on the left. Ronaldo sent a screaming effort towards the top corner, and even though Beto got a hand on it the ball rammed right through the goalkeepers’ glove and deflected into the back of the net. Beto was slightly at fault for letting it pass, but held strong behind Benzema’s low effort and Rodriguez’s test late on. Sevilla ventured forward themselves with nothing to lose, bringing on former Liverpool forward Iago Aspas, but in the end they suffocated in the middle without effective wing presences, and Madrid held on. The season has hardly begun and Ronaldo has already won himself a trophy and deserved official man of the match award.
Man of the Match: Cristiano Ronaldo

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.