Sergio Ramos bags another late goal in a final
Real Madrid never throw in the towel. This has been the identity of the club since the day's of Di Stéfano, leaving a legacy that has been passed on from generation to generation. Sevilla, who played excellently and showed signs of what we can expect under new coach Sampaoli, suffered this phenomenon at close quarters yesterday. They Andalusian side played well, had the game as good as won but up popped Sergio Ramos again (making a habit of bagging late key goals in finals) to tie the game and take the match to extra time. In the added 30 minutes Madrid had a goal disallowed and eventually found a winner with a late goal from Carvajal to make it 3-2 on the night.
This hidden strength is something that Madrid have called upon when their backs are against the wall. They went into the Trondheim final missing many of their key striking options. Sevilla are a solid side and it was noticeable last night on the new arrivals at the club rather than the absentees with Sampaoli already stamping his style of play on the side. Argentine player ‘Mudo Vázquez’ was particularly impressive but it was Madrid's Vázquez, in this case Lucas, who was one of the stand-out players on the night and was his assist that was headed home by Sergio Ramos in the 93rd minute.
One player from the Madrid perspective who had a discreet evening was Morata, the striker was eventually swapped for Benzema. Asensio started well and opened the scoring with an exquisite shot but he tired as the game wore on. James was left on the bench but displayed some excellent touches when he got his chance in the second half. The Colombian is determined to win over Zinedine Zidane and the overall feeling was that Madrid played "reasonably well" and won through with their great spirit. The years go by and there is one thing constant in the team as trends and marketing campaigns come and go: that great spirit.
