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Three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Sevilla | La Liga MD17
Real Madrid’s final game of 2025 is back at the Santiago Bernabeu, their glorious home where they haven’t won a game since the beginning of November.
Real Madrid’s long spell away from home brought in some of the team’s most unfavourable results – piling the pressure on Xabi Alonso and the dressing room.
They then returned to the Bernabeu for two games – against Manchester City and Celta Vigo – and somehow lost both games before heading away once more for two fixtures.
With two wins against Alaves and Talavera now in the bag, the men in white will look to give fans at home some joy with the team’s first win at the venue since they beat Valencia 4-0 early in November.
It will not be easy as Sevilla have been known to pop up a few surprises. They sit ninth on the table and have six wins in 16 games so far this season with 24 goals scored.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Sevilla.
The year-end fixture
The year 2025 will not go down remotely close to the best years in Real Madrid history as neither the end of the 2024-25 season nor the beginning of the next one has been particularly memorable.
Los Blancos lost out on La Liga, the UEFA Champions League and the Copa del Rey last season in addition to the Spanish Super Cup in January.
The FIFA Club World Cup only brought another failure to the team’s catalogue.
The new season got off to a solid start under the new manager, but a rocky spell in recent months has left a bitter aftertaste on that front too.
The only silver lining, however, is that the team have won their last two games across all competitions.
Tonight’s clash against Sevilla represents the team’s final game of 2025 as they will disperse for the winter break immediately after the game. The goal, needless to say, will be to end the year on a high.
A third straight win, thus, is all Xabi Alonso’s men will be hoping for come Saturday night as they look to bid adieu to a forgettable year and set the stage for 2026 to begin in grand fashion.
Captain remains a doubt
Xabi Alonso has been struggling with his squad’s injuries and resultant selection dilemmas for a long time now, but that situation has significantly improved in recent days as several sidelined stars have returned to the mix.
One department where Los Blancos are still lacking a natural option, however, is at right-back where both Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dani Carvajal remain injured.
Federico Valverde, on that front, has largely served as Alonso’s backup in the department in extreme situations and has done well when asked to fill in the defensive role.
He has even started at right-back in the team’s recent games barring the clash against Talavera.
Now, however, Alonso finds himself in a fix as even Valverde is a doubt for the Sevilla game.
The Uruguayan international did not train with the group ahead of the clash and is said to be dealing with a knock he picked up.
In fact, he has been playing through pain for a long time now and Alonso would prefer not to risk him.
It thus remains to be seen what plan the manager has in place for the night.
Will he switch to a three-man defence or continue to count on young David Jimenez who made his debut in the cup?
Or maybe he has a third unexpected option to deploy on the night? Only time will tell.
Rodrygo’s case to start
Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr have been Real Madrid’s only two undisputable starters this season.
While the former earned it through his performances, the hope with the latter is that he can return to his normal goalscoring and threatening self in the final third.
One player who has struggled since Alonso’s arrival, conversely, is Rodrygo Goes as the manager did not seem to count on him in any capacity for a long time.
After a long and patient wait, he got his chance to shine when he started against Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League and he finished as one of the team’s best players on the night.
He bagged the team’s only goal against Pep Guardiola’s side, was a constant menace down the right flank and earned praise from the opposition manager.
His positive show earned him a start in the team’s next game against Deportivo Alaves and he once again finished as one of the team’s MVPs as he scored the winner to help the team to a win.
A slight niggle forced his night short and was presumably the reason he did not start against Talavera. Come tonight, however, there is little to no doubt that Rodrygo should start for Real Madrid once more.
The Brazilian’s involvement on the field provides Los Blancos with not only attacking flair but better defensive stability, and Alonso should look to keep him as a regular in his plans if Rodrygo can keep the same form going.
Real Madrid made a mess of their game against Elche last night, and it is clear that the men in white have several flaws with no answers at the moment.
From being 2-0 up, the men in white bottled their lead and threw the game into jeopardy by permitting Elche to score two goals. The result, as many saw it, was set to end in a draw.
With some persistent attacks in the dying minutes, however, Real Madrid managed to build pressure on Elche and eventually scored one more goal at the death to take home the three points.
Needless to say, however, the negatives from the game far outweigh the positive news of the three points.
Madrid Universal brings you three takeaways from Elche 2-3 Real Madrid.
Another second-half collapse
After Real Madrid’s win over Rayo Vallecano at the weekend, Jose Mourinho stressed the fact that Real Madrid actually played only one half and that the fatigue began showing after the break.
On the night, the opposition began to enjoy more dominance and create chances after half-time as they outran and outpressed Los Blancos to good effect.
Last night was no different, and the second half went completely awry.
The men in white entered the half-time break cruising with a 2-0 lead and significant dominance over the proceedings. They had a massive xG, with Elche barely creating any chances of note.
After the break, however, the entire dynamic of the game changed as Real Madrid took a step back and handed the impetus to the hosts. Pressing high and attacking without fear, Elche dominated Real Madrid for most of the second half and had a staggering 60% of possession.
They scored twice – in the 71st and 83rd minutes – and equalised Real Madrid on the night. Given the visitors’ shambolic display, it was deserved for Elche.
At this point, the constant second-half collapses and fatigue struggles of the team after just 45 minutes of action must worry Jose Mourinho immensely. Heading into a derby away from home, Real Madrid have to do much better.
The away curse continues
While Real Madrid’s form at home has been imperious this season, their form away from home has been equally shocking.
They began their season with a last-minute win over Espanyol, and their second league game of the season on the road came against Real Betis and ended in defeat.
Heading into their third away game last night, there was an element of worry about how they would perform, and the trend continued once more.
Real Madrid did well to take the lead on the night, but they made the second half a massive war and far more difficult than it should have been.
At this point, serious questions have to be raised about Real Madrid’s form on the road and their inability to keep games under control when playing in away stadiums.
Heading forward in the season, Los Blancos have some massive away games coming up against far more difficult opposition. The Madrid derby is up next, and the team’s form is nothing promising heading into that fixture.
Carlos Espi saves the day… again!
Real Madrid are currently on 15 points after six games in the league, but Carlos Espi has directly contributed to a massive chunk of that.
If not for the new Spanish striker’s ability to come up clutch in big moments, Real Madrid could well have been on just 11 points at this stage in the season, and the four points he has added are absolutely crucial.
Against Espanyol, it was Espi who scored a stoppage-time winner to hand Real Madrid all three points after a complicated match. Last night, he repeated the same heroics once more.
With the team staring at a draw, the new signing was at the right place at the right time to bury Kylian Mbappe’s assist in stoppage time, handing Real Madrid all three points at the death.
He may not have played a large part on the night, but his cameo was again powerful and it is clear that he elevates the team’s attack and provides new solutions in front of goal. Espi has already proven his talent, and his ability to perform under pressure is what makes him special.
