Pichichi-chasing Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham scored the goals for deposed LaLiga champions Real Madrid as Los Blancos continued their dominance over Sevilla.
Kylian Mbappe was the match-winner for Real Madrid on Sunday as the dethroned LaLiga champions secured a 2-0 success against Sevilla.
Los Blancos lost their league crown to Barcelona in midweek and aimed for some cheer in Andalusia, where they had won four and played to one draw in their previous five visits before this weekend.
Sevilla, on the other hand, sought consecutive top-flight wins in the competition since 2024, when they beat Getafe and Las Palmas in March and April 12 months ago.
As it happened
While Sevilla made one change from their previous league fixture, Carlo Ancelotti utilised four different players from Wednesday's 2-1 success over Mallorca, with Andriy Lunin coming in for Thibaut Courtois as the major change.
PAY ATTENTION: Get N1000 free from Bet9ja
Sevilla's ambition to end their five-match winless streak against their Madrid rivals swiftly took a hefty blow after Loic Bade received his marching orders for pulling down Mbappe and denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
A largely humdrum opening half ended with some excitement as Mbappe went close for Los Blancos while Alvaro Pascual did likewise at the other end for the Andalusians.
Isaac Romero replaced Dodi Lukebakio at halftime, but no sooner had that substitution been made than Romero received a red card for serious foul play after a VAR review at the pitchside monitor.
Despite playing against nine men, Ancelotti's team entered the final 20 minutes needing some inspiration to avoid the embarrassment of not beating outnumbered opponents.
It was up to Mbappe to find the net in the 75th minute, firing a low effort from outside the area that beat Orhan Nyland in the bottom-left corner.
It marked the Frenchman's 29th league strike in 33 appearances, putting him four clear of Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski.
Jude Bellingham then doubled the away side's lead with three minutes of regulation time remaining, earning Los Blancos their 25th victory of the season to clinch a fifth away win at Sevilla in the last six visits.
AFCON 2025