1-0: A NARROW DEFEAT AT LEICESTER CITY

Sevilla FC fell to a second defeat in two days in England, narrowly losing 1-0 against Leciester City.

It was a much-changed performance from yesterday's 6-0 loss at Arsenal. The team were able to take the initiative, but were eventually beaten after a shot deflected in off academy player Kike Salas.

The use of varying tactics by Julen Lopetegui was also noticeable during the latest pre-season clash, especially for the three-man defence that he has occasionally used since joining the club three years ago. 

Unlike yesterday in London, the first half in the East Midlands was quite an even affair, with both sides having chances to take the lead. The first fell to Harvey Barnes, who fired wide from the left-hand side.

We suffered a blow within 20 minutes, as Suso, who returned from an eight-month lay off just seven days ago in Lisbon, had to be substituted as a precaution. Munir took his place.

It was the Moroccan who created our first chance. His free kick from the right-hand side looked to be heading in at the far post after Jonny Evans headed towards his own goal, but Iversen was alert and made an important save.

The hosts were also causing danger, Maddison and Vardy in particular, but Nemanja Gudelj put in a strong performance and blocked a number of shots both before and after the interval.

Maddison was next to go close, forcing Dmitrovic to tip his shot from the edge of the area over the bar. Leicester were then forced into a change of their own, with Ricardo Pereira going off with a knock.

Our best chance came a couple of minutes before half time. Munir created some space on the edge of the area and fired agonisingly wide of Iversen's left-hand post. That chance spurred the team on, with Iván Romero also having an opportunity to break the deadlock, but Fofana crucially stepped in to deny the academy player.

Leicester then went straight up the other end and nearly created a goalscoring chance, but Kike Salas put a stop to it. Maddison then fired a free kick wide with the last kick of the half.

Youngsters Iván Romero and Nacho Quintana went close in the second half

The intensity dropped a little after the interval, with chances few and far between initially. However, the hosts struck with their first real chance of the half, with Dewsbury-Hall's shot cruelly deflecting in off Kike Salas.

An equaliser nearly followed just two minutes later, when Iván Romero's effort from the edge of the area went narrowly over the bar. Daka then tried his luck for Leicester with a strike from a similar position, but Dmitrovic tipped the ball round the post for a corner. 

As time began to run out, Nacho Quintana went closest for Sevilla with just under ten minutes remaining, with a low, powerful effort from distance going just wide of Schmeichel's left-hand post. The team were unable to create any further chances.

After going unbeaten in the first three pre-season fixtures, the team fell to two defeats from two in England. The last pre-season match will take place on Saturday evening, the Antonio Puerta Trophy fixture at home to Cádiz CF, while the league opener against Osasuna in Pamplona is just twelve days away. 

MATCH SUMMARY

1. LEICESTER CITY FC: Iversen (Schmeichel, 46'); Ricardo (Tielemans, 37'), Evans, Fofana (Amartey, 46'), Justin; Castagne, Dewsbury-Hall (Mendy, ), Ndidi (Soumare, 68'), Maddison (Albrighton); Barnes (Praet, 67') and Vardy (Daka, 68').

0. SEVILLA FC: Dmitrovic; Ocampos, Montiel, Gudelj, Kike Salas, Pablo Pérez (Luismi, 79'); Delaney (Pedro Ortiz, 71'), Jordán; Suso (Munir, 17'), Iván Romero (Zarzana, 79') and Papu Gómez (Nacho Quintana, 79').

GOALS: 1-0: Kike Salas (o.g., 68').

REFEREE: Stuart Attwell. Montiel, Munir, Jordán and Kike Salas were all booked.