Arda Guler was the central figure in the opening 45 minutes as Real Madrid went into half-time 2-0 up on Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The Turkey midfielder arguably should have been sent off for an elbow on Peque Fernandez but was let off by referee Mateo Busquets Ferrer and the VAR and made the most of his fortune by firing his side ahead on the half-hour mark.

Kylian Mbappe doubled Madrid’s lead seven minutes later to put Jose Mourinho’s men in complete control.

The quickfire goals from Madrid came as a surprise after a tense and tetchy opening 30 minutes.

After Robbie Ure’s early header had been saved by Thibaut Courtois, Madrid applied some pressure themselves but they were restricted to half-chances with Mbappe firing wide and Endrick seeing an effort blocked by Lucien Agoume.

Yan Diomande replaced the suspended Vinicius Jr on the left wing and a dancing run from the Ivorian almost resulted in a goal after 12 minutes but the former RB Leipzig man put his shot into the side netting.

Sevilla came closest to an opener after 18 minutes with Ruben Vargas’ turn and shot flashing inches wide of the upright.

Diomande went close again before the half’s major flashpoint. Peque pulled Guler’s shirt with the Madrid midfielder throwing an elbow at the Sevilla man in an attempt to wriggle free. 

Dean Huijsen and Sevilla skipper Felix Correira were booked for their roles in the ensuing melee but there was no action taken against Guler.

Much to Sevilla’s irritation, it was Guler who then made the breakthrough, running on to Diomande’s perfect pass to sweep a left-footed strike past Odysseas Vlachodimos and into the far corner.

Mbappe almost made it 2-0 four minutes later but the France striker did get his goal after 37 minutes. Diomande and Jude Bellingham created the opportunity but Mbappe still had plenty to do and he did it beautifully, cutting past a defender, skipping past Vlachodimos and poking into the empty net.

Mbappe has now been involved in five goals across five La Liga games against Sevilla – with four goals and one assist.

REAL MADRID TEAM NEWS

Mourinho made three changes to the side that won at Roma with Federico Valverde dropping into the back four and Guler taking his place in midfield.

Endrick replaced the suspended Vinicius Jr in the starting XI.

Real Madrid: Courtois; Valverde, Konate, Huijsen, Cucurella; Tchouameni, Guler, Bellingham; Diomande, Endrick, Mbappe

Real Madrid Substitutes: Lunin, Navarro, Militao, Camavinga, Alexander-Arnold, Carreras, Espi, Silva, Diaz, Rudiger, Dumfries, Thiago

SEVILLA TEAM NEWS

Sevilla: Odysseas; Iglesias, Castrin, Salas, Suazo, Agouti, Fofana, Vargas, Felix, Peque, Ure

Sevilla Substitutes: Gonzalez, Romero, Diaz, Alfon, Sangante, Bueno, Cardoso, Stassin, Ejuke, Carmona, Guillen, Cruz

Where to Watch Real Madrid v Sevilla: TV and online streams

Real Madrid v Sevilla kicks off at 8pm BST (9pm local time) on Sunday, October 18 at the Santiago Bernabéu.

In the UK, you can watch it on Premier Sports and stream on the Premier Sports Player.

Recent Form & Stats for Real Madrid v Sevilla

• Madrid have won their last four La Liga home games.
• Sevilla are fifth with 14 points (W4 D2 L2), four points behind Madrid.
• Sevilla are unbeaten away from home in La Liga this season (W2 D2), their best start on the road since 2011-12.
• Sevilla drew 3-3 at Levante on Monday, with Robbie Ure, Félix Correia and Isaac Romero scoring.
• Sevilla are winless in their last 15 meetings with Real Madrid in all competitions, losing 13.
• Sevilla’s last La Liga win at the Bernabéu came in December 2008.