SEVILLA FC: THE TEAM WITH THE BEST AWAY FORM IN LA LIGA

Sevilla FC returned to domestic competition after the international break in the best way possible. Julen Lopetegui's men, after winning in Matchday 13 at the Benito Villamarín, had the same success yesterday in the José Zorrilla as they beat Real Valladolid. The only goal of the game came from an Éver Banega penalty and allowed the team from Nervión to return home with three more points; which took their tally up to 27 points from the opening 14 matches.

The fact is that Sevilla, who were in all blue yesterday in Pucela, took their tally for points gained away from home this season to 16: in what was their fifth win away from the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán. In five of the eight games played away from home (the same as in the 2014/15 season), Sevilla FC have won as the away team. In addition to the point earned at the Mestalla, they have become the team with the best away record in La Liga at this moment in time. Sevilla have beaten Espanyol, Granada, Alavés, Betis and, now, Valladolid away from home, as well as gaining a point at the aforementioned Valencia. The fact of the matter is now, Sevilla have already equalled last season's record for the number of victories achieved away from home.

The win over Valladolid was also the sixth time that they have kept a clean sheet this season in La Liga

In addition, Lopetegui's men are showing their strengths in more ways than one. Sunday's 1-0 win over Valladolid was the sixth time that the team have kept a clean sheet in the league this season, which almost equates to half of their games played. This shows ultimately how strong defensively the team from Nervión have been. Likewise, due to their strong defense, they currently sit fourth on the list of teams who have conceded the fewest goals in La Liga, with 14. They sit only behind: Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid and Athletic Club. 

Another statistic that also demonstrates the good start made by the team this season is that of their efficiency. In their eight victories so far, only in two of those games have they won by more than one goal: in the first match in Cornellá against Espanyol, and in the home match against Getafe CF. Celta, Valencia and Atlético Madrid were able to take a point off us, but only after going a goal behind. Nevertheless, the solidity that Lopetegui and his staff have implemented on to the team is there for everyone to see. At the moment, it seems to be working well.

Sevilla are the La Liga team who have been in a losing position for the least amount of time this season: only 111 minutes

Finally, the team from Nervión have notched up another impressive statistic. After Banega's penalty came after only a dozen minutes, this means that in total, Sevilla have been drawing for 662 out of the total 1360 minutes in La Liga. They have now been in the lead for 487 minutes and have only been behind for a mere 111. Overall, there's a lot of reasons why Sevilla have made the start that they have made to the 2019/20 season. That being said, there's no time to get carried away and the team must only focus on the next most important game in the league: against CD Leganés on Sunday 1st December, at 12.00.