Sevilla 1- 0 Real Madrid, Mourinho's nightmare continues..

Real's torrid start to the season to the season continued as they fell to a shock 1- 0 defeat to Sevilla at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. The game was a fantastic example of how tactics can help weaker teams hold their own against stronger ones.

Line-ups:

Madrid started with the standard line-up of last season except Higuain being preferred over the somewhat struggling Karim Benzema. Modric was named on the bench which in hindsight may not have been the best of decisions.

For Sevilla, a similar counter attacking 4-2-3-1 was deployed with Maduro being introduced as Medel's partner in front of the defence and Manu had to drop to the bench for Trochowski.

First Half:

Sevilla started brightly and dominated during the early stages with Casillas being tested with a shot. However ,they didn't have to wait long as Real's horrendous defending from set pieces allowed Trochowski, completely unmarked to fire home .From this moment on,Sevilla retreated just a bit and were content to pounce on the counter. With broadly similar formations it was a fairly even battle and Sevilla's defensive resolve was evident in the way they tackled and harried the Madrid players all over the pitch

Sevilla stifling Real:

Mourinho shifts to 4-3-3 and brings on Modric

Michel, the Sevilla manager had thought this through very well indeed. It was apparent in how Ivan Rakitic closed down Alonso that he had observed the sources of creativity. Alonso's incredible passing ability has been the major attacking thrust behind Real's play this season as Ozil has simply not found his touch, Modric hasn't played enough, Di Maria hasn't had the best of starts and Real have looked very disjointed. Rakitic pressed Alonso and allowed him very little time on the ball thus cutting off the supply of long diagonal balls to the forward line thus taking them out of action. Alonso swapped with Khedira but Rakitic continued to press down and even earned a booking for his efforts. The role played by him was that of a forward destroyer which quite a few teams have tried to do against Andrea Pirlo.

Their later attacks all passed through Negredo whose decent hold up play bought Jesus Navas into the game. Navas was a threat all game with his pace and should have surely created a goal if not for some poor luck.

Another important feature was the limiting of Ozil's influence by Medel and Maduro who simply did not allow him enough time on the ball. Sevilla looked to increase midfield numbers and this appears to have been the reason why Trochowski was preferred by Michel over Manu as he played quite narrow and thus assisted in midfield leaving Real to deal with the incessant pressing

Real's response:

Mourinho allowed things to run for a bit, probably looking for some inspiration from the full backs who had their hands full with Navas and Trochowski. Ozil did play a few good passes but the threat was dealt with quite efficiently. By half time, it was apparent that some changes were required with Modric on for Ozil and Benzema for the anonymous Di Maria.

Benzema played as more of a high up winger and Modric dropped deeper than Ozil to get some time on the ball away from the strong defensive presence of Medel and Maduro. His mobility was a key feature as he allowed Madrid to dictate position with his presence also relieving some of the pressure on Alonso.

Real looked like they would dominate now and Michel came up with another effective change bringing on Manu for the tired Rakitic in pretty much the same forward destroyer role. Also, Trochowski seemed to have become a central midfielder, majorly due to Modric's ability to pop up anywhere and thus leaving his side of the pitch empty. This freed up the left flank and Arbeloa was left with hardly any defensive duties. Not being the best of attackers, he was subbed of for Callejon who is more of a winger and Madrid switched to a back three with Pepe, Ramos and Marcelo.

Luna introduced to deal with Callejon

Michel had two substitutions left and knew he could not afford Callejon any time and space on the ball so he brought on Luna (left back) for Negredo as Manu moved into the striker role. As Real pressed, Michel brought on Kondogbia off the bench to provide extra steel defensively and Sevilla withstood the barrage with surprising ease.

Conclusion:

Probably the most fascinating tactical battle La Liga has seen this season it was indeed a thrilling game and Michel held his own quite convincingly against Mourinho. Real also looked disjoint, bereft of ideas and their set piece defending was quite shocking. With Barca already quite far ahead, Real simply cannot afford any more slip ups.

The man of the match was Michel, beyond a doubt..