Behind-the-scenes moments not shown on a raucous night at the Bernabeu: Perez's man sent off and war declared on Negreira's heir
What you didn't see at the Bernabeu during the Sevilla clash!
Real Madrid 2-2 Sevilla? Four goals, 90 minutes, and a stage for every contradiction gripping the Spanish club. The night revealed what the official cameras never show: organised anger, presidential messaging and a fanbase split down the middle.
A declaration of war: the "heir of Negreira" banner and the ejection of a Florentino confidant
Before the opening whistle, the southern stand at the Santiago Bernabeu turned into an arena of fierce anger, according to Spanish newspaper "Sport". A huge banner in blue and red went up, aimed squarely at LaLiga president Javier Tebas and at Barcelona. No room for interpretation there.
Tebas was branded the "heir of Negreira". The club let that one stay up almost permanently, far longer than the banners raised last season against Florentino Perez himself. Read into that what you like about an orchestrated campaign.
Outside the stadium walls, despite the bitter cold gripping Madrid, some supporters found warmth at the campaign headquarters of Enrique Riquelme, the candidate challenging Perez, reopened as a platform for members. Around the stadium, photocopies circulated of an article linking the Cox club president to Tebas.
Anas Laghrari, one of the president's closest associates, had to leave the southern stand under pressure from the fans' anger. Meanwhile the Bernabeu's internal channel displayed the banner prominently, as though it were another of Real Madrid's television screens.
Division at the Bernabeu: boos for Mbappe and chants for Diomande
Not all of the Bernabeu backed the wave of discontent coming from the section directly linked to the club. Madrid has a sharp critical streak, and it spares nobody. Not even its own stars.
When Kylian Mbappe came out to warm up and tried to get the ball back from the stands, a group of fans booed him. They did it again after an exchange of the ball, and louder still even after his superb second goal.
Yan Diomande got the opposite treatment. For the first time, his name was folded into the chorus of names the fans sing with real enthusiasm, after he proved to be far more than just a replacement for Vinicius.
Institutionally, a familiar scene played out again, one that says plenty about the uncertainty of two years without trophies. Florentino Perez made a point of greeting every player and speaking to him privately before the match, exactly as he used to do before Champions League semi-finals. The celebration of a goal against Villarreal looked like the goal that won a sixteenth Champions League title. Even the legendary Marcelo joined in from his box with the chorus of "corruption in the federation".
An orchestrated campaign and the VAR breakdown: how did four goals turn into an existential test?
On the pitch, Jose Mourinho discovered that his side is capable of keeping possession and taking control. In terms of refereeing, he realised he is not always a victim of persecution, but is also a beneficiary of LaLiga. Institutionally, he learned that waging a campaign against outside opponents works as a way of avoiding internal criticism.
Then came the technical irony to finish the night. The most modern of stadiums, equipped with hundreds of cameras, somehow could not find a clear image of Arda Guler's elbow on Sevilla player Peque, even though the replays clearly showed the intent. The anger flipped so rapidly that it caused a malfunction in the VAR system, where nothing but encrypted images were shown of a crushing win that Mourinho hopes to turn into a fixed rule before the real existential test: beating Barcelona at the Camp Nou.
