Matchday 9 Review
- Callum McIlwaine
- Oct 15, 2024
- 7 min read
Sevilla FC Vs. Real Betis Balompie
Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, 6 October 2024
Final Score: Sevilla FC 1 - 0 Real Betis Balompie
The penultimate game of matchday 9 took us to our first El Gran Derbi of the season with both Seville sides of Sevilla FC and Real Betis going head to head. The last 4 games of these two sides have ended in draws so we were hoping to see a team come away with the 3 points but we also knew we were in for some fireworks (hopefully). We got the kick off we were expecting when instantly the home side were on the offensive, giving Betis absolutely no time to get into any sort of rhythm. Within the opening 6 minutes of the game, we had already seen a call for handball on Natan, a corner kick that was taken by everyone in the stadium it felt like, the crowd were electric. it was all attack from Sevilla and they even had the ball in the net after 9 minutes, this was ruled out for offside from the VAR but these were the clear warning signs and the statement of intention by the home side. The following 10 minutes of the game were more of what we expect to see from Betis, decent movement and passing plays, a few good crosses but ultimately, Nyland in the Sevilla goal was never too worried about any of the efforts on target. Vitor Roque got the first of these efforts with a well placed Bellerin cross, directly at the keeper but Roque was out there on his own mission during the opening minutes. Lo Celso then had a shooting opportunity but unfortunately skied the effort, unlike the in form player to miss that bad at the moment. There was a free kick opportunity at the other end for Sevilla and Lukebakio had the chance to strike on goal, his low and hard effort went through the wall but was stopped on its way in by Rui Silva, what looked like a routine save was actually some great reactions. Pedrosa was causing issues down his wing for the Betis defence, another whipped ball into the box unluckily managed to find the gloves of Rui Silva but it was Sevilla's real first chance to try and recreate the opening 10 minutes. It started to get slightly end to end in the first 25 minutes, Roque finding Lo Celso again but he strikes wide from the edge of the D, Isaac and Lukebakio burst through the Betis defence with relative ease but it was stabbed wide for a corner. Lo Celso returns the favour for Roque to slide him through but the angle kept getting tighter so no real stress for Nyland. All of these attacking opportunities were within 5 minutes of each other, reaching the half hour mark it was interesting to see who would tire out first from each side. At the 34 minute mark, Roque catches the defence sleeping and intercepts and breaks towards goal, his effort was saved by Nyland and Abde on the follow up committed a foul to give possession back to Sevilla, this was one of the first real clear cut opportunities for Betis and for Roque. The game was then halted by what seemed like a nasty head collision by Lukebakio and Abde, both players down and receiving treatment but luckily enough they both got back to their feet on their own and managed to continue, maybe a tactical clashing so their teams could get a rest? That would be a wild conspiracy...In the final minutes of the half, Betis were trying desperately to get out of their own box, let alone their own half, between the 40th and 42nd minutes, they attempted to clear the ball 3 times I counted, each time the ball getting intercepted in the middle of the field by either: Lukebakio, Carmina or Agoume. There was absolutely no let up for Betis but somehow, other than the offside goal, no one had scored yet? As the half came to a close, the tension and the atmosphere went from excitement to anxiety for the home support, how can they have had all of this attacking strength but not be winning this game? The half time whistle blows after only one minute of added time and we were asking ourselves how this is still level, let's hope for more in the second half!
The second half kicked off and we had the exact same start from Sevilla, all guns blazing as they attacked the Betis box once again. Clear game-plan at the start of the halves. Within 3 minutes, there was a free kick awarded outside of the box, the resulting free kick was crossed in and Agoume rose to head the ball towards goal. He managed to connect with the ball but it took a deflection from a Betis defender, the Sanchez Pizjuan home support erupted screaming for handball on Llorente, the decision went to VAR and the crowd waited anxiously. After an review the penalty is given! The ball was deemed to have struck Llorente on the way down from the jump and he was deemed to have been in an unnatural position for the blockage, Lukebakio stands over the spot. He takes a breath and confidently dispatches the penalty in to the opposite side of the diving Rui Silva, a great penalty and I guess I got what I wanted in the second half, a legal goal! 1 - 0 Sevilla. The tension was relieved only a little by this as the home team and support knew that Betis were going to go on the offensive to try and bring this deficit back. Tackles started to fly in and cards started to be brandished by the referee, it started with Peque's theatrics after being studded by Natan, with the Betis defender seeing yellow, followed by Gudelj's tackle on Lo Celso which saw the Sevilla captain booked as well. The game was starting to get a bit heated and looking more like the Gran Derbi that we expected. We get our first break away in the half from Isaac Romero, who intercepts a pass from the Betis defence but still has a lot of work to do on his own, luckily for the visitors, Rui Silva dealt with the resulting effort comfortably. At the hour mark, with the tensions calming down, I started to realise that near enough all of Sevilla's efforts were going through Ejuke primarily, he seemed to be the key man for a lot of the movements and was instrumental in their attacking play throughout the match to this point. Another interception, this time in favour or Abde, who falls into the same issue Isaac had, the defence were too organised and the shot ended up wide, but seeing that this was the third or fourth time in the game that an interception had been made, maybe the minds out there on the pitch were starting to get tired. Directly from this, Isaac plays a cross over to Peque in the box but Llorente makes up for his penalty concession with a great bit of defending, ball goes out for a goal kick but on the replay, this should have been a corner, not what VAR is designed for but potentially a future use case? Betis' best opportunity so far came from Ruibal playing through Bakambu, he strikes first time and passes Nyland but strikes the foot of the post for the ball to bounce back out. This is the first time in the match that Nyland was uncomfortable in the goal. Just after this attack from Betis, the Sanchez Pizjaun, absolutely erupts at the introduction of Jesus Navas to the game, this is the record appearance in El Gran Derbi taking over Betis' Joaqin and also most likely his last appearance in this fixture on home turf. 20 minutes to play and the team looked elevated with his presence on the pitch. Even with this excitement, Betis still looked to equalise, after some solid interplay, the ball falls to Cardoso who swipes at it and hits wide, this was closely followed by another Bakambu effort after a great through ball, Nyland once again comes to the rescue with a sliding blockage this time, like a defender in his prime. After soaking up this pressure, the home side had decided to turn on the last amount of attacking power they had left, starting with Ejuke (that man again) playing through Lukebakio who strikes on a tight angle, potentially even clipping the post on the way past. The ball is cleared and its a footrace between Bellerin and Ejuke with the Sevilla man getting the better of the defender, crossing the ball to Lukebakio who again strikes slightly wide. This was a great move and an even better answer to the Betis pressure from minutes before, the game was still being played as if it was a 0-0, great contest. Still, Betis were going for this equaliser, Bakambu was unfortunately offside in the build up to this effort but the resulting attempt from Avila was...misplaced if not a bit acrobatic. One final effort for Sevilla as the ball is sent over the top, Llorente can't deal with it and it falls to the feet of Lukebakio with Rui Silva off of his line. The resulting shot was weak and showed the tired legs of the Sevilla forward and was easily dealt with by the retreating goalkeeper, that would have absolutely sealed the game for the home side. We're now into the final minutes of the match, we've had near enough everything that we expected from this game, but we were still missing one key element: a red card. Nianzou must have thought this as well as he went in for a second bookable offence and saw his marching orders, the referee had actually nearly forgotten that he had delivered a yellow earlier, maybe due to the amount of fouls that flew in during the game and all the different players being booked. During all of this, Natan, the Betis defender had taken up a more forward position, confusing but it was actually due to an injury that he had been nursing for a few minutes now. Betis had used all of their substitutes and couldn't afford to go down to 10 men so he stayed on the half way line and was in clear discomfort and was in visible pain, was a shame to see this as up until this point, he had played a very good game. Betis absolutely peppered the Sevilla box with crosses and attempts in the extra time, taking advantage of the extra man and the tired legs, but nothing would go through for them. This was to be the end of the game as well as the referee blows the final whistle and the home crowd celebrate like they've won the league. It's been a tough time for Sevilla in their administration, that's no real secret. This must hve felt like more than just a regular victory. Full time at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, 1 - 0 to Sevilla, a great match.
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