FINAL DAY DEFEAT AS FERMÍN PROVES THE DIFFERENCE (1-2)

Quique Sánchez Flores’s time at the club ended in a narrow 2-1 defeat at home to FC Barcelona.

The curtain call for the LaLiga season fell on a Sunday night at the Sánchez-Pizjuán, and marked the final game for the head coaches in both dugouts, as each was determined to finish off their tenures on a high. With the league table largely settled following last weekend’s matches, both Quique and Xavi Hernández came out swinging in their approach to the game.

It was a slow opening ten minutes, which consisted of a couple of chances for Robert Lewandowski in front of our goal. The back three of Loïc Badé, Sergio Ramos and Kike Salas started off very organised, but after fifteen minutes, the pressure proved too much as João Cancelo charged forward on the right-hand side and whipped in a cross just to the left of the far post, where Fermín was waiting to head;  however, the Spaniard was pipped by Lewandowski whose shot was parried by Nyland, but not enough to prevent it reaching the back of the net.

After going behind, we regained a foothold in the game and had opportunities to go level through one-on-one attempts firstly by Adrià Pedrosa on the left, then Dodi Lukebakio on the right, both of which were saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Then at exactly the half-hour mark, our persistent paid off when none other than Youssef En-Nesyri, who was put through by Boubakary Soumaré, who then strode into the box and slid the ball past Ter Stegen with his 20th goal in all competitions this season to cancel out the opener.

Five minutes later, Barca offered a reminder of their danger they possess when Fermín carried the ball into our penalty area, before laying off a pass to Pedri, whose subsequent shot in the box rattled the crossbar. The game was end to end for remainder of the half. Both teams enjoyed their fair share of chances: in a period of sustained pressure, the opposition defence cleared the ball, which found the feet of Juanlu and the academy graduate let rip an effort from 20 yards out that went just wide. The action continued thick and fast into stoppage time as Lukebakio struck the goal-frame after meeting a cross from the right flank with a towering header, only for Barca to clear the ball. Moments later, Cancelo’s close-range effort forced another save from Nyland, tipping it onto the near post and out for a corner. After defending it well, we launched another counterattack and within seconds Lukebakio once again found himself through on goal, this time firing his shot just wide of the right-hand post. Somehow, the score remained 1-1 at the halftime whistle.

The visitors emerged from the break somewhat livelier, and the first clear chance came courtesy of Fermín, who received a well-timed through ball from Pedri, and aimed his shot to the bottom left-hand corner of Nyland’s goal, but the Norwegian pushed it away. However, the winger continued to threaten and eventually found his reward when his shot from just outside our box proved this time to be too powerful for our goalkeeper to stop, restoring his side’s lead at 2-1 on the hour.

The remainder of the second half was a relatively affair, compared with the hectic nature of the first, save for returning ex-Sevilla defender Jules Koundé missing the target from yards out, and curling effort from Pedrosa that required a hand from Ter Stegen to keep out. Mariano troubled the Barcelona defence upon replacing Lukebakio, one of three changes made with 15 minutes to play as Quique made one last roll of the dice. The striker shot from 10 years out, which forced another strong save from the Barca keeper, sparked a series of opportunities in the closing stages of the match. Soumaré then won a free-kick just outside the penalty area in the dying seconds, but Sergio Ramos blasted it over the left side of the crossbar. Ultimately, we lacked the clinical edge to find an equaliser, meaning we finish the campaign in 14th place.

MATCH DETAILS

1. SEVILLA FC: Nyland, Juanlu, Badé (Gudelj, 78'), Sergio Ramos, Kike Salas (Marcao, 46'), Pedrosa, Soumaré, Agoumé (Manu Bueno, 78'), Ocampos, Lukebakio (Mariano, 78') and En-Nesyri.

2. FC BARCELONA: Ter Stegen, Koundé, Í. Martínez, Cubarsí, Cancelo (Fort, 82'), Christensen (Romeu, 46'), Gundogan, Fermín (Vítor Roque, 74'), Pedri, Lamal (Joao Felix, 61') and Lewandowski (Ferran Torres, 61').

GOALS: 0-1: Lewandowski (15'). 1-1: En-Nesyri (31'). 1-2: Fermín (58').

REFEREE: Iglesias Villanueva.

YELLOW CARDS: Kike Salas, Cancelo and Ocampos.