Real Madrid's Pursuit of Top Spot in Seville
Real Madrid travel to Seville on Friday knowing a draw will be enough to take them back to the top of La Liga. That is not what Jose Mourinho is flying south for.
Three games, three wins, and a familiar early-season murmur is building around the Bernabeu. This is what his teams do when the pieces click: they gather momentum quickly, they smell weakness, and they hunt. La Cartuja, though, offers the first serious examination of this new campaign.
From stutter to stride
Two weeks ago, Madrid looked strangely flat in their narrow victory over Espanyol. The win came, but the performance dragged. Since then, the gears have shifted.
Back-to-back home victories over Real Sociedad and Malaga have sharpened the edge. Eight goals in two matches at the Bernabeu have turned a cautious start into something more ominous. The patterns are cleaner, the front line more ruthless, the confidence obvious.
Now comes the real question: can they carry that fluency onto one of the most awkward away days on their calendar?
Betis, Isco and a midfield fight
Real Betis will not be intimidated by the badge. Their defence can be opened up, and Madrid know it, yet the game will likely be decided several yards further forward.
The midfield battle is where the tension sits. Isco, reborn as Betis’ creative heartbeat, is set to start against the club that once owned his talent and then let it drift. Everything green and white will run through him: the tempo, the angles, the courage to hold the ball under pressure.
Around him, Marc Cucurella carries a different kind of responsibility. His job is simple to describe and brutal to execute: stop Antony. If Cucurella cannot shut down Madrid’s winger, Betis’ defensive cracks will widen quickly.
For Mourinho, the concern is obvious. Lose control in the middle, and even a fragile back line like Betis’ starts to look comfortable.
A hostile ground and a bad memory
History does not soften the challenge. Madrid’s recent record away to Betis is poor, and everyone at Valdebebas knows it.
They have not won an away league game against Betis since 2021, when Dani Carvajal’s strike sealed a 0-1 victory. Since then: three draws and a defeat. Too many dropped points, too many long, frustrating nights in Seville.
Mourinho will treat that run as an irritant that needs removing. Ending it on Friday would not just restore Madrid to the top of the table. It would send a message that this version of his team can handle the kind of fixture that has tripped them in the past.
Easier said than done, of course. Betis at home, under lights, with a packed crowd sensing vulnerability, is rarely a gentle evening.
Bellingham, Vinicius, Mbappé: the spearhead
If Madrid are to bend this game to their will, the plan is no secret. Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe are the three pillars of Mourinho’s attack, and they will carry the weight of expectation again.
Bellingham will stride from deep, linking play, arriving late, dictating rhythm. Vinicius will test Betis’ full-backs with pace and aggression, dragging defenders out of position. Mbappe, always on the shoulder, will look to punish any hesitation in behind.
The calculation is simple: if even two of that trio catch fire at La Cartuja, Madrid’s chances of taking all three points rise sharply.
Yet Mourinho will not allow the night to become a shootout. He knows Betis have enough quality going forward to punish any looseness. Keeping the back line compact, denying Isco space between the lines, and managing transitions will matter as much as any flourish in the final third.
Madrid arrive in Seville with form, firepower and a chance to reclaim first place. What they leave with will tell plenty about how serious their title credentials really are this season.
