THE SECOND BEST POINTS TALLY AFTER 16 MATCHES

When it seemed more difficult than ever to face an away game, especially at San Mamés, a stadium where the club had won just once in the league in the last decade, Sevilla FC dug deeper than ever and came out on top, allowing them to maintain their strong league form and remain in second place in the table. Injuries, fatigue, the painful exit from the Champions League just 72 hours previously: nothing could stop Sevilla. The squad once again showed their fighting spirit and picked up all three points from one of the toughest venues in Spanish football. 

The team's numbers at home in the league so far this season have been outstanding, dropping just two points in their seven matches, but don't let that detract from their performances away from home. In their nine matches, they have won four, drawn three and lost two. Those numbers mean that the team are on 34 points already, three matches before the halfway point of the season. Only once before have the club had more points at this stage of the season, which came back in 2006/07, when Juande Ramos was in the dugout. 

That team were league leaders after Matchday 16, with 37 points, three more than the current side do. In fact, that team lost three matches, one more than this season's side, but they had won twelve matches as opposed to ten, and drawn one match instead of four. As for goals, there were more scored back in 2006/07, 35 compared to 26, but the current team have conceded 11, four fewer than Juande's side. However, in 2006/07 the team reached the halfway stage with 38 points, just one point more. This means that this team could equal that record with four points from the next three matches, against Atlético de Madrid, FC Barcelona and Cádiz CF.