Real Madrid were complacent against Sevilla, admits Marcelo
Monday 16 January 2017 00:28, UK
Real Madrid defender Marcelo believes complacency was to blame for Sevilla's stunning 2-1 La Liga victory at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
Real were 1-0 up, and seemingly about to extend their unbeaten run to 41 matches in all competitions, before two goals in the closing stages sent them crashing to a defeat for the first time since April 2016.
Cristiano Ronaldo's 67th-minute penalty was cancelled out by Sergio Ramos' own goal before Sevilla substitute Stevan Jovetic struck the winner in the second minute of added time.
Real's lead at the top of the table over second-placed Sevilla is now down to a point, while their unbeaten run - a Spanish record - is consigned to the history books.
Marcelo was left to rue the nature of the loss, but the Brazil full-back insists Real will bounce back.
"We had a good game, but we relaxed after scoring," Marcelo told www.marca.com.
"It's a tough pill to swallow, dropping points in this way. After they equalised they continued to attack and scored their second goal.
"There's still a long way to go in La Liga, and we're still up there. I believe we relaxed a bit today, but we have to learn from it and make sure it doesn't happen again."
Sevilla have now won their last four La Liga games, and the victory over Madrid has offered hope to boss Jorge Sampaoli that a title tilt is not beyond his side.
Speaking on Sevilla's official website, he said: "After a match like today, it gives us some hope. That will remain if we maintain our conviction or it will be lost over time if it is not."
He added: "After the penalty the team continued playing with conviction and courage. The players won a very important game for the club. We were able to beat an undefeated team.
"I feel a lot of emotion, every game is important here at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan."
