Sevilla’s Bono out of tune
KEEPER’S BLUNDER GIFTS ZZ VICTORY
REAL MADRID were gifted a much-needed victory to ease the pressure on boss Zinedine Zidane.
Sevilla keeper Bono’s blunder handed Real a first win in three La Liga games.
Bono could only help Vinicius Junior’s 55th-minute effort into his own net for the winner.
Real boss Zidane (right) had come under the microscope on the back of stuttering displays which had seen the champions slip off the pace at domestic level.
And with their Champions League qualification hopes for the knockout stages hanging in the balance, Zidane could ill-afford another defeat here.
Zidane said: “We must congratulate the players as it’s not easy to come to Sevilla and win. These are three very important points.
“We know when you do not do it well, when you lose games, there will be criticism. But we are a team with character.
“This victory will help us, in what has been a difficult moment, for our next game. That is very important. Now we must recover.”
Toni Kroos, Karim Benzema and Raphael Varane had
threatened before the freak winner.
Vinicius got the merest of touches to Ferland Mendy’s left- wing cross and Bono could only fumble the ball into his own net.
Sevilla dominated the closing stages as substitute Nemanja Gudelj and then Suso came close but Real Madrid hung on for a win that takes them above their hosts.
Now they face Borussia Monchengladbach on Wednesday knowing a repeat will see them into the last 16 in the Champions League.