A THREE GOAL LEAD AFTER 22 MINUTES FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 18 YEARS

Sevilla FC started their game yesterday against Valencia in a stunning way. Deciding to go for the game from the very start, halfway through the first half they already were on track for the victory thanks to goals from Papu Gómez, Montiel (with help from Lato) and Rafa Mir. A 3-0 lead after 22 minutes was not the final score but it allowed the team to come away with three points in a convincing manner against a direct rival. There are many good starts from the team in the past, both recently and more medium term, but curiously you have to go very far back to get close to the events of yesterday. Specifically to the 2003/04 season, with Joaquín Caparrós in the dugout. 

That unforgettable night for Sevilla is still far from the current situation, Sevilla defeated Real Madrid with three goals in the first 14 minutes of the match, thanks to an own goal from Helguera, and then goals from Silvia and Daniel Alves. Casquero even scored a fourth ten minutes before half time as Real Madrid cut the deficit in the second half through Ronaldo, but the victory, just as yesterday, was never going to be forgotten. 

That Real Madrid team of the 'Galácticos' succumbed to the Sevilla press

Another curious statistic from this game is that, for the fourth time in the Lopetegui era and for the first time in LaLiga, Sevilla went into half time scoring three or more goals. More curious still is that it is the second consecutive time that it was acheived against Valencia, as happened in the last edition of the Copa del Rey, when Sevilla reached half time with a 3-0 lead which would be the final result. Previously it has also happened against Ciudad de Lucena with a 3-0 win and in the 2019/20 Europa League, in Luxembourg against Dudelange. Sevilla reached half time in Luxembourg winning 4-0 and it ended up finishing 5-2. 

Finally, to understand the achievement of what Sevilla did last night against Valencia, you have to emphasise that in it is the first time, in LaLiga, that a José Bordalás team have suffered such a start in the first 22 minutes of a game. Never before, in the 158 games in his career at the highest level, a team managed by Bordalás has conceded three goals. Since his arrival at Sevilla, Lopetegui has won 6 games against Bordalás.