1-2: A TOUGH DEFEAT TO TAKE

Our winless start to the season continues after a 2-1 defeat at home to Girona FC.

Sevilla were on top for the most of the clash, but Girona were clinical on their rare forays forward and took full advantage of mistakes.

Yangel Herrera gave the visitors the lead from a corner, before Gudelj did likewise in first-half stoppage time. Aleix García went on to score the winner just before the hour mark.

However, Sevilla were also denied by a series of VAR decision, with Rakitic, on his 300th appearance for the club, having an equaliser disallowed for a very tight offside decision, before the team were awarded a penalty in the dying minutes, only for VAR to intervene and overturn Gil Manzano's call. 

Mendilibar had called for more intensity from his team after Monday's defeat in Vitoria, and they did exactly that, with En-Nesyri heading over inside 30 seconds and Ocampos going close from distance a few minutes later. Sevilla were clearly on top, but the visitors took the lead with their first attack, with Yangel Herrera firing home from a loose ball at a corner.

Gudelj equalised on the stroke of half time

The constant pressure from Sevilla continued, and En-Nesyri nearly equalised when he was just inches away from stabbing Navas' cross home, before striking straight at the keeper a few minutes later. Suso had a strike from distance saved, while Ocampos couldn't get the rebound on target. Girona would have just one more chance in the half, with Savio going clean through, but Dmitrovic denied the Brazilian.

After the first-half water break, Girona sat back to defend their 0-1 lead, but Sevilla went all out in search of an equaliser. A header from El-Nesyri almost did the job, but the equaliser came in added time. A loose ball from a corner fell to Gudelj, whose rocket was impossible for the goalkeeper to stop.

The chances in stoppage time did not stop there as Suso took one last shot from a Rakitic cross but was denied. Sevilla kept up the intensity in the second half, but the first chance fell to the Catalan side when Aleix García pounced on another loose ball to put Girona back in front. The bad news kept coming when Rakitic’s strike from range hit the back of the net, only to be overturned by VAR for an incredibly tight offside call.

The team dominated possession for the rest of the match, and threatened on several occasions, including a Rakitic free kick in the 89th minute. Gil Manzano subsequently awarded Sevilla a penalty for a handball in the wall, which was again overturned by VAR, putting the game further out of reach. The following nine minutes of added time did not offer up much in the way of chances for the home side, who now go to Atlético de Madrid hoping to pick up some points before the international break.