Zinedine Zidane could breathe a sigh of relief as an own goal from Yassine Bounou gave Real Madrid a 1-0 win at Sevilla.
Madrid’s head coach has come under mounting pressure after an unsteady start to the season in LaLiga and in the Champions League.
His side carved out plenty of chances to beat Sevilla comfortably but could not find a decisive finish, until the home side’s goalkeeper ran out of luck in the second half.
Ferland Mendy’s low cross looked sure to be turned home by Vinicius Junior, but he made only the slightest of connections and the ball deflected in off Bounou, with Thibaut Courtois’ late save from Lucas Ocampos at the other end securing a valuable victory.
Bruised by a midweek defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk that has put Madrid in a European pickle, Zidane needed a reprieve going up against former Los Blancos boss Julen Lopetegui at Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan.
Madrid spurned a glorious first-minute chance when Rodrygo found Vinicius unmarked in the penalty area, but a low shot towards the far corner bounced just wide.
Benzema’s clever pass picked out Mendy on the left, and his low centre should have been ideal for Vinicius, but turned out to be far from it for Bounou.
His head-in-hands moment made Bounou the first Sevilla goalkeeper to score an own goal in LaLiga in the 21st century.
