With an inspired Casemiro, Real Madrid beat Sevilla 2-1 this Saturday at their home at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. The Brazilian midfielder played a striker role and scored the two goals that ensured the victory to the Madrid team in the duel of the 20th Matchweek of Spanish La Liga.
Real Madrid’s highlight a few seasons ago and one of Zidane’s trusted men for his leadership and scoring power, Casemiro has shown that he also has a keen eye for scoring goals. The Brazilian appeared three times in the attack and showed opportunism, swinging the net twice in the second half.
The first one scored by Casemiro happened in the 57th minute. Following a neat one-two with Jovic, the Brazilian showed his skills to lift the ball over the keeper from a tight angle.
Seven mins later, it was Sevilla fans who were celebrating though. Luuk De Jong has capitalized on a loose ball inside the box and put the ball into the left corner of Thibaut Courtois. 1-1.
On 69, Casemiro scored the winner for Los Blancos though. Lucas Vazquez got the ball down the right flank and floated a delivery which found Casemiro, who nodded home from close-range.
With the home triumph, Real Madrid moves up to 43 points and is temporarily at the top of the competition. Zinedine Zidane’s side is fighting week in week out with arch-rivals Barcelona for the title of La Liga this season. Quique Setien’s Barcelona has 40 points.
To retain the top of the league, the Madrid side will have to root for a stumble from the Catalan rivals against Granada, this Sunday. Sevilla has 35 points and, despite the setback, remain in fourth, closing the qualifying zone to the UEFA Champions League.