Topics: La Liga, Real Madrid, Sevilla, Federico Valverde
Federico Valverde continued his remarkable goalscoring form this season, as Real Madrid defeated Sevilla, scoring a stunner from outside the area.
Karim Benzema is often the man who carries the burden of most of the goals for Real, which is exactly why he won the Ballon d'Or this week.
And on Saturday evening the Frenchman was given a warm reception back at the Bernabeu as he was presented with the trophy once again.
He was met on the pitch by two former winners, Zinedine Zidane and Luka Modric, taking in the applause of his home fans before watching Los Blancos face Sevilla, as he sat out with an injury.
Advert
Perhaps on some previous occasions Carlo Ancelotti might have worried where his sides goals would come from but this season he has unearthed another goalscoring supremo.
Central midfielder turned right winger, Valverde, has picked up the habit of scoring goals for his team, often important and often spectacular, as his goal against Real Mallorca back in September showed.
Last night was no different as the Uruguayan was passed the ball just outside the box, on the right hand side, he took a touch to set himself before lashing it past Bono in the Sevilla goal.
It was the Uruguayan's sixth goal of the league campaign already for Real, and previously he's only ever scored three in a season.
That includes when he played for Real Madrid Castilla in Segunda Division B in the 2016/17 season, and this season he's also got one in the Champions League, something he's never done before.
That goal came in the win over RB Leipzig, in a game where he was totally unplayable, as he scored from a similar position but this time he cut back inside the box to slot home.
On that occasion it wasn't even necessarily the goal that was the highlight but his celebration, as he got revenge on Leipzig's David Raum, after the defender had celebrated a bit too much for a block earlier in the game.
Adding goals to his all round game has made Valverde one of Real's most important players and the move to the right has certainly worked for him, having also played there in the Champions League win vs Liverpool back in May.
Valverde has now overtaken both Benzema and Vinicius Jr as the team's top scorer so far this season, showing his importance right now.
Having won the Clasico last weekend, the Spanish champions were looking to extend their lead in the league over rivals Barcelona to six points, when they faced Sevilla.
Modric scored after just five minutes, to suggest it would be a routine win for Ancelotti's side, but they then struggled to scored without the Ballon d'Or winner.
Jorge Sampaoli's side equalised nine minutes into the second half through former Tottenham Hotspur star Erik Lamela and they looked like they might hold on for a point.
However, Lucas Vazquez scored put the hosts back ahead in the 79th minute and two minutes later Valverde got his seventh of the season.
