SEVILLA FC HAVE CONCEDED THE FOURTH FEWEST GOALS AND HAVE LET IN MORE THAN ONE GOAL JUST THREE TIMES

Sixteen matchdays have gone by in La Liga and Sevilla FC find themselves up in second place in the table, level on 31 points with Atlético Madrid. A privileged position is based, not just on the good work and effectiveness in front of goal by Machín's team, but on the defensive solidity that they have been acquiring as the matches go by this season, in which Sevilla have already contested 31 official matches.

At the same stage last season Sevilla had suffered two heavy defeats in La Liga, but this season they have been beaten by more than one goal on just two occasions

So far this season, Sevilla have conceded the fourth fewest goals in the First Division, only behind Atlético de Madrid, Getafe and Valencia. With an exact average of one goal conceded per match, Sevilla have managed to keep a clean sheet on five occasions after more than one-third of the way into the competition, a percentage of 31%, with the last one on Sunday against Girona.

Furthermore, it is worth noting that Sevilla have only conceded more than one goal on three occasions in the league, against Getafe, Levante and Barcelona, especially taking into account that at this stage last year they had suffered two heavy defeats in the league. 4-0 at the Mestalla and 5-0 at the Santiago bernabéu. Out of the 31 matches played so far this season, they have conceded more than one goal in six matches.

Sevilla have already kept five clean sheets in La Liga, 31 per cent of all matches played

These stats that demonstrate Sevilla's good defensive work should also be looked at in the context of the matches in which many players, whose principal roles are defensive, were unavailable due to injuries. Mercado, who has missed the most matches with ten games, due to a fracture in his arm. Escudero, with a similar injury, was unavailable for seven matches, while Aleix Vidal has missed one more with eight matches. Navas and Kjaer have also missed four and three games respectively.

Despite many casualties at the back, Mercado (10 matches), Aleix Vidal (8), Escudero (7), Navas (4) y Kjaer (3), the defence has overcome these difficulties with flying colours

The excellent work of the goalkeeper Vaclík should also be highlighted, with the player recently recognised as the league's player of the month for November, a deserved reward for his performances that are helping Sevilla to maintain such a high standard. Solidity in goal and in defence are helping to create a team that fancy themselves offensively and are also comfortable without the ball.