1-1: THE POINTS ARE SHARED AT HOME WITH A DETERMINED ALAVÉS

02/02/2020

Ocampos' penalty was the equaliser after Joselu had put the away side in front in the 70th minute

Sevilla FC failed to break down a resilient Deportivo Alavés side at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán this evening, with their only goal of the game coming from the penalty spot after Jesús Navas' cross was handled in the box. Throughout the game, the away side were solid and even took the lead in the encounter around the 70th minute mark. They didn't allow the home side many chances at all, as Sevilla FC didn't look comfortable on the attack for the duration of the game.

It was a very monotonous first half at the Sánchez-Pizjuán, and it took 22 minutes for either team to get a shot off, when De Jong had a header well saved from a corner. The home side dominated possession, and moved the ball from side to side in search of any openings; but Alavés' resilient defence made it impossible. Just before the halftime whistle, and as he has done on many occasions so far this campaign, Vaclík came to the rescue whenever he stopped Joselu from putting the away side ahead with a great stop with his foot on a one-on-one situation.

Koundé had a good opportunity not long after the second half began, but his header went just wide of the post

Sevilla looked to have come out from the dressing room at half-time recharged; however they were still struggling to break down Alavés. Soon after the restart, Lopetegui made a double substitution - one of them being Suso who, from his first involvement, looked lively and as if he could be the one to create something. From a corner, Koundé almost gave the home side the lead with a header which just went wide of Pacheco's post.

However, Alavés, who had only been defending up until this point, went head. Camarasa's free kick was headed towards goal by Manu García. Vaclík made a good save to deny him, but the rebound fell kindly for Joselu who calmly opened the scoring. Sevilla had to respond to the shock of conceding, and it did not take them long at all. Less than five minutes later, a Jesús Navas cross was blocked by the hand of Duarte, and the referee pointed to the spot. Ocampos drilled the penalty low into the corner, sending the keeper the wrong way. The scores were again level and the hope of winning the game had returned.

Sevilla did not create any chances in the fifteen minutes after their equaliser

However, there was nothing else for Sevilla. In the final fifteen minutes they ran out of stream too quickly, and were unable to forge anything together to unsettle the Alavés defence, who continued to play solidly despite the equaliser. The result means that Sevilla have lost third place in the table to Getafe, but both teams have the same number of points. Next week, Julen Lopetegui's side will face an away trip to Celta Vigo on Sunday at 18:30.

MATCH STATISTICS

1. SEVILLA FC: Vaclík, Jesús Navas, Koundé, Sergi Gómez, Reguilón, Fernando, Jordán (Vázquez, 50'), Banega, Ocampos, Nolito (Suso, 50') and De Jong (En-Nesyri, 78').

1. DEPORTIVO ALAVÉS: Pacheco, Laguardia, Magallán, Ximo Navarro, Martín (Borja Sáinz, 85'), Duarte, Fejsa (Luis Rioja, 57'), Camarasa, Manu García, Burke (Pere Pons, 57') and Joselu.

GOALS: 0-1 Joselu, 72'. 1-1 Ocampos, 76' (penalty).

REFEREE: Del Cerro Grande, Madrid. Yellow cards for Reguilón, Laguardia and Vázquez.