A pair of former Premier League benchwarmers helped give Real Madrid a real scare this weekend with an ex-Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest man threatening to stop the La Liga leaders in their title-chasing tracks.
On a weekend in which Nottingham Forest were filleted by a Leon Bailey-inspired Aston Villa – the relegation-threatened side going down 4-2 in a Midlands derby – how Nuno Espirito Santo could have done with Loic Bade at his disposal.
Sevilla’s French powerhouse famously didn’t make a single Premier League appearance during just half a season at the City Ground. Steve Cooper obviously didn’t buy into Bade’s potential. But you cannot say the same of Sevilla.
The former Rennes ace has been so impressive of late – particularly since the appointment of Quique Sanchez Flores – that Bade has even been linked with a second stab at English football, seemingly confirming reports last week suggesting that Tottenham Hotspur are ‘interested’.
Nottingham Forest misfit reborn in La Liga
Bade, meanwhile, was not the only one-time Premier League reserve who stepped up to the plate against Real Madrid, ex-Aston Villa glovesman Orjan Nyland ensuring that Carlo Ancelotti’s side needed an 81st minute, rolling-back-the-years screamer from the evergreen Luka Modric to break Sevilla’s resistance.
“I didn’t see (the winner) coming,” Terry Gibson says on the excellent El Tel and Jon’s La Liga Weekly podcast. “Nyland was having a fantastic game in goal for Sevilla. Bade and Ramos, in particular, were making blocks and throwing themselves in the way of shots, tracking runs…
“It was a frustrating night for Real Madrid. I just thought it was going to be one of those games. Sevilla have proved recently that they are harder to beat now.
Then Modric comes on and gives you a little reminder of the quality we’ve been able to witness for the last decade at Real Madrid. It just reminds you what a fantastic footballer he still is.”
Luka Modric brilliance shines through
Nyland, it’s fair to say, did make more of an impact on English soil than Forest’s Invisible Man Bade.
But after leaving Aston Villa in 2020, and following brief spells at Norwich City, Bournemouth and even Reading, it’s probably safe to assume few envisaged Nyland keeping Real Madrid at bay at the Santiago Bernabeu. Certainly not a few months before his 34th birthday.
Both Nyland and Bade have started each of Sevilla’s last five La Liga games. It is no coincidence that, since they were paired together at the back by ex-Watford boss Sanchez Flores, the relegation-threatened side have conceded just three goals in a much-improved defensive effort.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
