Sevilla, once again and faithful to an unwritten rule, survived Betis in the derby and showed that they play much better in these duels of the greatest rivalry. Manuel Pellegrini’s men had a very discreet first half and, however, went into the break with a 1-0 lead thanks to a penalty scored by Isco. Then, when Betis was at its best, having lost two clear options to make it 2-0 through Bakambu and Ayoze, Sevilla raised its head with a great shot from Kike Salas, who had been on the field for two minutes. They were the main conclusions of an even derby, perhaps with more chances for Betis, who even sent a ball to the crossbar through Abde in the 87th minute. The tie, when playing away and being 11 points below in the standings, Sevilla tastes better. Betis, once again, proved unable to win in the derby, especially in Heliópolis. They have only won three of the 20 they have played in their stadium this century.
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Rui Silva, Pezzella, Sabaly, Juan Miranda, Chadi Riad, Fornals (Fekir, min. 72), Guido Rodríguez, Isco Alarcón (Abde, min. 82), Johnny, Ayoze Pérez (Rodri, min. 83) and Bakambu (Willian Joseph, min. 50)
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Ørjan Haskjold Nyland, Jesús Navas (Kike Salas, min. 53), Sergio Ramos, Loic Bade, Marcos Acuña, Lucien Agoume, Suso, Lucas Ocampos (Juanlu Sanchez, min. 84), Boubakary Soumare, En-Nesyri and Isaac Romero
goals 1-0 min. 37: Isco Alarcón. 1-1 min. 55: Kike Salas.
Referee José María Sánchez Martínez.
Yellow cards Fornals (min. 6), En-Nesyri (min. 15), Isco Alarcón (min. 40), Boubakary Soumare (min. 60), Suso (min. 74), Marcos Acuña (min. 81) and Kike Salas ( min 93)
Pellegrini had tried to educate his players throughout the week about how difficult it is to face a derby with excess motivation. “Always a cool head,” the Chilean commented over and over again to his players. And the Betis players were diligent, perhaps too much. Perhaps this condition could explain the strange paralysis that gripped Betis at the start of the Heliópolis derby, the 141st in history between the two great rivals of the capital of Andalusia. As is usually the norm, Sevilla approached the duel very well, with more clarity in their approach and with direct football that stopped Betis’ momentum.
The 11 points in favor of the green and white team were not reflected on the field. What Sevilla could not fight against was the injury to Isaac, their best striker, in the 12th minute. Lukebakio entered and the Belgian then took center stage. First, being unable to finish a ball that En-Nesyri had sent to the post. Then, touching a cross into the Fornals area with his arm. Lukebakio’s back was turned, but his hand seemed clear enough. Isco scored, who played badly, and Betis, who had only caused concern in a shot by Fornals that Sergio Ramos took under the sticks, went into the break with an advantage that they did not deserve due to their play, which was too vulgar and fearful. Of course, with 1-0 down, Sevilla had a hard time putting the game together, since Suso almost never had the ball and Soumaré and Agoumé went unnoticed.
If Isaac was injured in the first half in a race in the Betis area, the same thing happened to Bakambu, who broke when facing Nyland alone. The green and white team had the second in another Ayoze race. The canary cut back and shot in the area for Nyland to save the team from him. Quique, who has lifted Sevilla, moved the pieces very well. He took out Navas and put Ocampos and Acuña on the wings. Kike Salas, two minutes after entering, finished off impeccably with a header to make it 1-1.
It was Betis who had a little more bite and had the opportunity to score the second goal. It did not correspond to his game, too predictable and down to earth. Isco, beaten, left the field. Fekir didn’t make the derby uneven with his quality either. Sevilla survived and there was the fourth consecutive draw in the derby. Pellegrini still hasn’t beaten his eternal rival in the League.
“The game leaves me feeling a bit lacking. We had the best chances to score, like the one when Bakambu was torn. But chances have to be converted and we knew that Sevilla has very good set pieces,” said Manuel Pellegrini. “Betis had moments in which they came a long way, but we knew how to keep going and scored a good goal from a set piece. Then, I think we missed a good opportunity to score the second because we left them meters again in the game,” said Quique Sánchez Flores, for his part.
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