Vinícius Secures Narrow Victory for Real Madrid as Sevilla Clinches Survival

A solitary strike from the Brazilian in the 14th minute, following a contested assist by Kylian Mbappé, handed Los Blancos three points at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán.

Photo: Antonio Villalba

Real Madrid secured a hard-fought away victory by defeating Sevilla 1-0 at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán during Matchday 37 of LaLiga. With this result in the final stretch of the championship, the Madrid squad remains firmly in second place in the standings, while the home side, despite the narrow defeat in front of their fans, managed to mathematically guarantee their safety in the top flight thanks to a combination of results across other pitches.

The opening stages of the match were defined by Sevilla's high intensity as they entered the field fighting for survival. The home side created early scoring opportunities through a long-range shot by Oso and a strike by Maupay, both forcing exceptional interventions from Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. However, as the Andalusians held the attacking initiative, Real Madrid adjusted to the tempo and struck first. 

In the 14th minute, Kylian Mbappé controlled a lateral ball with his chest, shielded it under pressure from José Ángel Carmona, and delivered a precise pass into the box for Vinícius Júnior. The Brazilian forward executed a placed shot past keeper Odisseas Vlachodimos to set the final 1-0 score. The play triggered heavy protests from Sevilla players over an alleged previous foul by Mbappé on Carmona, but referee Sánchez Martínez validated the goal without a VAR review.

Following the opener, Álvaro Arbeloa’s squad managed the lead by dominating possession in midfield, guided by Jude Bellingham’s distribution and Thiago Pitarch’s tactical movement. Sevilla attempted to press high but lacked precision, giving away spaces that Mbappé almost capitalized on in the 38th minute with a right-footed strike that went inches wide.

In the second half, Sevilla pushed their lines forward and made offensive adjustments. Ejuke led a dangerous run down the right flank, but defender Huijsen intervened with a clinical slide tackle, while Alexis missed an open chance inside the box from a left-wing cross. On the counter, Real Madrid missed opportunities to seal the game; first, with Mbappé being stopped by Kike Salas in the 58th minute, and later in the 67th minute, when the French forward fired over the crossbar following a sharp pass from Vinícius. 

In the 73rd minute, the linesman disallowed an offside goal from Mbappé. The final minutes brought maximum drama to Madrid's box, where Courtois stood tall once again to block point-blank strikes from Isaac Romero and Akor Adams, sealing the 1-0 Merengue triumph.