Joaquín Correa del Sevilla FC ante el Liverpool
Match reports

2-2: SEVILLA RECOVER AT ANFIELD AND WIN A HARD-EARNED POINT

13/09/2017
Despite Berizzo's men starting well through Ben Yedder, Liverpool were ruthless in turning the score on its head before the break. In the second half everything changed. Sevilla played their natural game and recovered a draw through a fine Correa goal. Muriel even had a chance to win it in injury time

A very valuable point won for Sevilla FC at Anfield. In a country where the side as always come up short in the Champions League, Berizzo's side managed to overturn the dominance of the Reds of the first half, though Ben Yedder had got them off to a flying start. In the second half, a much calmer Sevilla side took advantage of Liverpool's decline by equalising through Correa.

The start could not have been any better. Though Liverpool were already showing warning signs that they would play dangerous football, Sevilla grabbed an early first. Great combinations between Correa and Escudero led to a backpost cross from the left-back, where Ben Yedder waited to put it past Karius. Berizzo's side had scored first, but Liverpool were not going to take it lying down, something they made clear very quickly through Mané and Firmino. The threat of an equaliser was made reality when Firmino, after a cross from Alberto Moreno, turned in from just inside Sergio Rico's six-yard box.

Firmino and Salah, with a deflection from Kjaer, turned Ben Yedder's opener on its head

The panic Liverpool wanted to achieve reigned supreme and very soon after, Emre Can had a chance to make it two. But bit by bit, Sevilla got the situation slowly under control through good spells of possession. The English tirade seemed to have passed, but an extremely unlucky bit of play allowed Liverpool to take the lead ten minutes from the break. A clear foul from Salah on and under pressure N'Zonzi was ignored by the referee, and the Egyptian was able to shoot from range, gaining a fortunate deflection to take it past Sergio Rico and make it 2-1. They were hard minutes for Sevilla, as Mané was fouled fairly clearly by Nico Pareja, and Liverpool had a chance to make it three from the penalty spot. Thankfully, Firmino hit the post. Pizarro, who had shown signs of a knock earlier on had to be replaced by Sarabia before the break.

The second half was very different to the first. Liverpool knew they had the advantage and tried to do damage on the break. For their part, Liverpool allowed their opponents to have more of the ball, but the Sevillistas now knew how to make use of it. Banega and N'Zonzi got more involved in the game, while Sarabia fell out onto the wing to give more options in possession. Liverpool were still posed a threat, but did so with less men than before and in a less convincing fashion. 

In the second half everything changed

Berizzo, who was sent off for throwing the ball away from his technical area, opted to substitute Ben Yedder for Muriel, who already showed signs of fatigue. It's was a change that worked out well. 20 minutes from the final whistle, a direct piece of play led to the equaliser. A throw-in from Escudero was controlled by Muriel and centred for Correa, who controlled semi-fortunately and found himself one on one with Karius. With astounding composure, 'Tucu' lifted it just inside the right post of Karius to equalise. 

It got more difficult from there, but Sevilla showed the determination of champions and foresaw that Liverpool would hit back with all their might. They were able to navegate dangerous waters and even had the clearest chance to win it at the death, a one on one for Muriel went wide and did not mean a famous comeback. The Nervión side win their first point and make themselves joint leaders of Group E, after Maribor and Spartak's 1-1 draw. In two weeks, the Nervionenses will host Maribor.

MATCH SUMMARY

2. LIVERPOOL FC: Karius; Gómez, Matip, Lovren, Moreno; Wijnaldum, Can (Coutinho, minute 75), Henderson; Salah (Oxlade-Chamberlain, minute 88), Mané (Sturridge, minute 83) and Firmino.

2. SEVILLA FC: Sergio Rico; Mercado, Kjaer, Nico Pareja, Escudero; Pizarro (Sarabia, minute 44), N'Zonzi, Banega; Jesus Navas (Corchia, minute 82), Ben Yedder (Luis Muriel, minute 68) and Correa.

GOALS:  0-1, minute 5: Ben Yedder. 1-1, minute 20: Firmino. 2-1, minute 37: Salah. 2-2, minute 72: ‘Tucu’ Correa.

OFFICIALS:  Danny Makkelie, Dutch. Berizzo and Joe Gómez sent off. Yellows for Mercado, Alberto Moreno, Nico Pareja and Banega.