Güler in the double pivot, Diomande on the left, Mbappé twice: Madrid beat Sevilla 4–1 without Vinícius.
The numbers
| Real Madrid | Sevilla FC | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 65% | 35% |
| Shots | 15 | 11 |
| xG | 2.28 | 0.75 |
| Touches in opp. box | 36 | 23 |
| Corners | 1 | 2 |
| Fouls | 10 | 14 |
Result the chances deserved: Real Madrid 72% / 17% / Sevilla FC 11% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Courtois, Valverde, Konaté, Huijsen, Cucurella, Güler, Tchouaméni, Endrick, Bellingham, Diomande, Mbappé.
Sevilla FC (4-2-3-1): Vlachodimos, Iglesias, Castrín, Salas, Suazo, Agoumé, Fofana, Vargas, Peque, Correia, Ure.
Sevilla subs: Ejuke (46', for Vargas), Manu Bueno & Stassin (56', Peque & Ure), Carmona (72', Iglesias), Alfon González (73', Correia). Sevilla coach: Luis García Plaza.
Goal times, subs and cards from LaLiga; EFE and Fox Sports agree. FotMob has Brahim on at 63' and Espí at 82', and its event log puts the first two goals at 23' and 30'. Booked: Huijsen and Correia (23', after a scuffle), Iglesias (69'), Cucurella (73'). Sevilla wanted a red card for Güler's arm on Peque before the opener; VAR checked it for over two minutes and found no camera angle clear enough to send the referee to the monitor (ElDesmarque). Attendance 73,907 (LaLiga).
Key moments, move by move
- Bellingham starts a fast break from midfield.
- Diomande carries it on down the left.
- He lays it back to Güler, arriving on the edge of the box.
- Güler curls it first time with his left foot over Vlachodimos and into the far corner.
- Bellingham has the ball on the edge of the box with his back to goal.
- He backheels it into Mbappé's path.
- Mbappé turns past Salas with his first touch.
- He goes round Vlachodimos and rolls it into the empty net.
- Diomande moves inside from the left.
- He plays a pass behind Sevilla's back line for Mbappé.
- Castrín brings Mbappé down in the box: penalty.
- Mbappé chips it down the middle, Panenka-style, as Vlachodimos dives.
- Mbappé loses the ball in Madrid's half (EFE).
- Stassin finds Bueno on the right side of the box.
- Bueno shoots low with his left foot past Courtois, inside the left post (LaLiga).
- Tchouaméni finds Diomande on the left.
- Diomande runs at Sevilla's defence on his own.
- From the edge of the box he drives it right-footed into the top-left corner.
Güler in the pivot, Diomande on the left, and the ball for Madrid
- A new shape without Vinícius: Valverde played right-back and Güler started beside Tchouaméni in the double pivot, with Diomande on the left and Endrick on the right (FotMob, EFE). Madrid had 65.1% of the ball (LaLiga), and Mourinho said they "got the ball to our wide players" (Goal).
- Güler from deep: starting deeper than usual, Güler still arrived on the edge of the box to score the opener, after Bellingham started a fast break and Diomande carried it on (Real Madrid). Madrid took 15 shots to Sevilla's 11 and made 2.28 xG to 0.75 (FotMob).
- Diomande's left side: he laid on the opener, played the pass behind that won the 63' penalty (EFE) and scored the fourth after a solo run. FotMob rated him 8.9, second only to Mbappé's 9.0.
- No corners needed: after three corner goals in Rome, Madrid won one corner all game (LaLiga). Sevilla improved after Ejuke came on at half-time and Bueno and Stassin at 56': Valverde cleared Correia's shot near the goal line at 60', and Bueno's goal came after Mbappé lost the ball (EFE, Goal).
Recreate it in FM26
Real Madrid · Mourinho's possession 4-2-3-1 with Güler in the pivot · 4-2-3-1Show cardHide card
Mourinho's possession 4-2-3-1 with Güler in the pivot
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Courtois | Goalkeeper | Line-Holding Keeper |
| RB | Valverde | Full-Back | Full-Back |
| RCB | Konaté | Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back |
| LCB | Huijsen | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LB | Cucurella | Wing-Back | Full-Back |
| RDM | Güler | Deep-Lying Playmaker | Defensive Midfielder |
| LDM | Tchouaméni | Defensive Midfielder | Screening Defensive Midfielder |
| RW | Endrick | Inside Forward | Tracking Winger |
| AM | Bellingham | Attacking Midfielder | Attacking Midfielder |
| LW | Diomande | Winger | Tracking Winger |
| ST | Mbappé | Channel Forward | Central Outlet Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Passing DirectnessShorter
- Attacking TransitionCounter-Attack
- DribblingEncouraged
- Shots from DistanceEncouraged
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementMid Block
- Trigger PressLess Often
- Defensive TransitionRegroup
The idea: A 4-2-3-1 with a Deep-Lying Playmaker beside a Defensive Midfielder, a ball-carrying Winger on one side and a Channel Forward to run behind. It needs a pivot passer who can still arrive in the box and a winger who beats men on his own.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 cannot reproduce the edge-of-the-box finishing: two of Madrid's four goals were strikes from the edge of the box that a match engine rarely converts.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Carreras on at 46' (for Cucurella), Camavinga on at 65' (for Güler). Keep the shape that made 2.28 xG, but meet Sevilla's half-time changes: a fresh left-back for Ejuke and a second runner in the pivot once the game is won. Madrid still win; Sevilla's late goal is less likely. It moves Real Madrid's win chance from 72% to 76% (xG 2.28–0.75 becomes 2.23–0.55). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer Real Madrid needed
Álvaro Carreras
Sevilla's lift after half-time came with Ejuke on their right, against Cucurella, who was booked at 73'. Carreras's pace for a second half would have met the fresh winger head-on and kept the left side for Diomande's carries.
Michael Olise
Madrid's goals came down the left through Diomande; Endrick on the right had no goal or assist. A left-footed wide creator who holds the right touchline and crosses or cuts back would balance the attack against a deep block.
What the analysts said
“We controlled it from the first to the last minute and scored quality goals.”José Mourinho, post-match press conference (Goal)
“We created a lot, got the ball to our wide players, and played a great game.”José Mourinho, post-match press conference (Goal)
“We have to play 11 against 10 from the 25th minute.”Luis García Plaza, Sevilla coach, on Güler's arm on Peque (translated from Spanish, Defensa Central)
“In the second goal there's a foul on Robbie.”Luis García Plaza (translated from Spanish, Defensa Central)
Without Vinícius, Madrid kept the ball and let Güler and Diomande decide it.
What's happening. Madrid beat Sevilla 4–1 in the first league game of Vinícius's ban. Güler and Diomande scored from the edge of the box, and Mbappé scored twice. Madrid stay third, six points behind an unbeaten Barcelona, before the Clásico on Sunday.
How it works. Mourinho moved Valverde to right-back and put Güler next to Tchouaméni. A playmaker in the double pivot gives a side more of the ball and a better first pass forward, here to Diomande on the left. Sevilla sat back, so Madrid could keep it. The cost is protection: a passer in the pivot covers less ground, and Sevilla's best spell came after half-time, once they sent on fresh runners.
What the shots say. FotMob rates Madrid's chances at a little over two goals and Sevilla's at under one, so the result fits the game. It is Madrid's best figure since mid-September and ends a run of three thin games. One reading: the new midfield gives open play back what it had lost. The other: it is still below every league and Champions League game before the derby, and two of the goals were strikes from the edge of the box, the kind that rarely go in.