It was a game Real Madrid could have done without. Forced to play their home fixture versus Sevilla due to their participation in the Club World Cup in December, Carlo Ancelotti's men won the battle on Wednesday night - but it came at a high price as they lost several key players for the crucial derby against Atletico on Saturday.
Sergio Ramos pulled up early on with what looked like a hamstring injury and will undergo tests in the next 48 hours to determine the extent of the problem and James Rodriguez limped off with a broken bone in his foot after heading Madrid into the lead. He is certain to miss the Atletico clash - and probably several more weeks.
On top of that, Luka Modric remains sidelined, Pepe is still suffering from a badly bruised rib and is said to be in severe pain, while Marcelo misses the game against Diego Simeone's side at the Vicente Calderon after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season on Wednesday, for what looked an innocuous challenge on Vitolo.
"We are going to appeal Marcelo's card because it wasn't a foul," Ancelotti said in his post-match press conference.
But he revealed further injury problems ahead of the derby against Atleti on Saturday.
"Sergio had a problem with his hamstring and James has an injury to his right foot. I am sure they won't be available. We have lost some very important players, but Nacho and [Raphael Varane] did very well together."
Away to Atletico, however, the pair are likely to be severely tested as Madrid go into the derby without either of their first-choice central defenders.
A win in that game would see Ancelotti's men move 10 points ahead of Atletico and that could be vital to the club's chances of winning La Liga for the first time since 2011-12.
"We have players out, but I have a big squad and I am not going to lament anything," Ancelotti added after his team did just enough to edge out a stubborn Sevilla side on Wednesday.
While most of the news was bad, Jese's bright performance lifted the mood and gives the Italian another alternative in attack, while Cristiano Ronaldo returns on Saturday from his two-game ban after being sent off against Cordoba late last month.
"There is big motivation because it's the Madrid derby and because we want to end our poor run against Atletico," Ancelotti said.
That streak has seen the European champions unable to beat their local rivals in five fixtures this term already, losing three and drawing the other two since overcoming Atleti in last season's Champions League final in Lisbon.
But with a decimated squad after Wednesday's Sevilla's slog, their task just got a little bit harder.
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