Match reports

1-1: TEN-MAN SEVILLA GET A POINT AT ESPANYOL

20/02/2022

Rafa Mir opened the scoring, but Darder equalised in the second half. Koundé was dismissed in the 77th minute

Sevilla FC came away from the RCDE Stadium with a point, but the team will not be particularly happy after the events of Sunday afternoon. They led at the interval, but Espanyol equalised a few minutes after the restart. Then, the team had to dig deep for the final 20 minutes of play after Jules Koundé was unfairly dismissed. Rafa Mir gave the visitors the lead late on in the first half, but Darder levelled about five minutes into the second half. The result means Sevilla remain second with 51 points.

The first half saw both sides take control at varying points of the half. RCD Espanyol had their best spell midway through the half, taking advantage of Sevilla temporarily being down to ten men, as Martial had to be substituted due to a muscle injury in his left leg. It was during Martial's minutes of treatment that the hosts had their best chance of the half, with Bono getting a strong hand to Raúl de Tomás's powerful drive from outside the area. The rebound fell to Vilhena but he couldn't connect well enough to open the scoring. Aside from that chance, neither keeper had really been troubled up until that point.

Fernando won the ball back and played in Papu, who found Rafa Mir at the far post to open the scoring

Papu Gómez, the man who replaced Martial, brought about a change in Sevilla's style of play, as he became the focal point on the left wing but with freedom to come inside. He would play a key role in the opening goal. Fernando won the ball and found Papu on the left wing. His cross to the far post found Rafa Mir, who had lost his marker, and the striker made no mistake. Sevilla went into the break a goal to the good, with the only chance of the half after Mir's goal coming via Herrera, who fired over.

Julen Lopetegui's side did not get off to a good start after the break, conceding after barely five minutes. Óscar Gil's cross from the right hand side was placed to perfection and found the completely unmarked Darder, who headed powerfully past Bono. The team struggled to find a response, which saw Lopetegui make two changes, bringing on Rakitic and Óliver Torres for Jordán and Augustinsson, to give the team more control of the middle of the park.

The team initially struggled after Darder's goal

Despite the change, it was Vicente Moreno's side who continued to create opportunities, and they had a gilt-edged chance to take the lead. Pedrosa's cross from the left found Yangel Herrera, but his shot went just wide of the post. Sevilla went down the other end straight away and had an even bigger chance, with Papu Gómez firing over the bar after Óliver Torres found him with a low cross. The match then became a real end-to-end affair. However, disaster then struck for Sevilla. Koundé, who had already been booked for an innocuous challenge, was given a straight red card for an alleged foul on Puado, who had committed a foul on the French defender by dragging him back for a few seconds as he tried to break forward. Raúl de Tomás then nearly gave the hosts the lead after an effective counter-attack.

There was little to report in the final minutes of the match, but Julen Lopetegui's side pushed for a winner despite being down to ten men. However, tiredness and the numerical disadvantage kicked in and took its toll on the team, and they could not create another chance to beat Diego López. The point means Sevilla FC are now on 51 points, second in the table.

MATCH SUMMARY

1. RCD ESPANYOL: Diego López, Óscar Gil (Loren, 87), Sergi Gómez, Cabrera, Pedrosa, Bare, Herrera, Darder, Puado (Embarba, 87), Vilhena (Aleix Vidal, 71) and Raúl de Tomás.

1. SEVILLA FC: Bono, Tecatito (Jesús Navas, 70'), Koundé, Diego Carlos, Augustinsson (Óliver Torres, 55'), Fernando, Delaney, Jordán (Rakitic, 55'), Ocampos, Martial (Papu Gómez, 26') and Rafa Mir (En-Nesyri, 70').

GOALS: 0-1 Rafa Mir, 36'. 1-1 Darder, 50'.

REFEREE: González Fuertes. Bookings for Raúl de Tomás, Augustinsson, Tecatito, Koundé (before receiving a straight red), Bare, Puado, Ocampos and Aleix Vidal.