The tension grew in the Sánchez Pizjuán. Díaz de Mera had conceded the goal to Brereton in the 95th minute, in the last play of the game, after what seemed like a struggle with Kike Salas inside the area. The striker gently beat Dmitrovic to make it 1-2. Probably, at that moment Sevilla’s lawyers were going to begin drafting the dismissal letter for Diego Alonso, a coach who never wins. Prieto Iglesias, VAR referee, notified Díaz de Mera, who went to the monitor. A funeral silence filled the stadium. Díaz de Mera verified that Brerenton had blocked Salas and annulled the goal. Sevilla, half dead, saved a point.
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Dmitrovic, Nianzou Tanguy Kouassi (Kike Salas, min. 72), Juanlu Sanchez, Gudelj, Marcos Acuña (Adrià Pedrosa, min. 45), Rakitic, Fernando (Óliver Torres, min. 93), Djibril Sow, Lucas Ocampos, Lukebakio and En-Nesyri
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Jorgensen, Juan Foyth, Jorge Cuenca, Albiol, Alfonso Pedraza, Álex Baena, Adrià Altimira (Alberto Moreno, min. 70), Parejo (Coquelin, min. 83), Comesaña (Capoue, min. 70), Gerard Moreno and Morales ( Ben Brereton, min. 87)
Goals 1-0 min. 74: Kike Salas. 1-1 min. 76: Morales.
Referee Isidro Díaz de Mera Escuderos
Yellow cards Alfonso Pedraza (min. 45), Djibril Sow (min. 48), Juanlu Sanchez (min. 52), Adrià Altimira (min. 54), Rakitic (min. 95) and Reina (min. 97)
Villarreal, frustrated, had to settle for a draw. Actually, the fairest thing after what was seen in a very even match, where Sevilla dominated and threw thousands of balls into the area, many times in a crazy way. Villarreal counterattacked well and had the virtue of responding quickly to Kike Salas’ goal. He lacked, however, a point of ambition.
If Sevilla is very affected, this team that Marcelino is trying to rehabilitate is not one to get excited about either. In Nervión it was not bad, not too good either. Sevilla improved somewhat, with a lot of drive, but their football is too simple and the defense falls apart at key moments. They have now gone nine games without winning between the League and the Champions League. They only have one victory, in the Cup, of the last 13 games in all competitions.
A terrible penance inherited from Mendilibar and that has been consummated with Diego Alonso. Sevilla has not won in the League since September 26 (5-1 against Almería). Only the mediocrity of this League means that it has not fallen to relegation positions, from which five points separate it pending what Celta does today against Cádiz. A very complicated panorama, outside of the Champions League. Villarreal walks more calmly. His 16 points make him inhabit the lower middle zone. It seems that he will improve with Marcelino as soon as his players loosen up a little more.
In the 37th minute, the Villarreal coach was a whirlwind on the wing. Full of fury, he asked his goalkeeper, Jorgensen, to delay the kick and be calm. A gesture that perfectly explained the game his team was playing, strangely imprecise against a Sevilla that went from less to more, but that started the game as a flan. The environment is not good. The fans every now and then ask for the departure of the current leadership team composed of the duo Del Nido junior and José Castro. All on the eve of a meeting that seems tense and with a clash of demands between the entity’s largest shareholders.
In that environment, Sevilla never wins and its coach, Diego Alonso, is a statue. Unmoved, he tries to field the best eleven possible with a group plagued by casualties such as Nyland, Navas, Sergio Ramos, Soumaré, Suso, Badé or Lamela, among others. Thus, Villarreal’s lack of ambition against this greatly diminished Sevilla drew attention. Barely any run by Morales with a lot of space ahead was the only attacking baggage of a very slow team, which had won the three games it had played with Marcelino in three different competitions, but which lacks football. For this reason, and because Nervión pushes, Sevilla got into the game thanks to the speed of its full-back, the young Juanlu, and a Lukebakio who looked like a big but fickle footballer.
With many difficulties, without much talent, the truth is that Sevilla accumulated some dangerous arrivals at the visiting goal. The two best came in the final stretch of the first act. Jorgensen became the protagonist. He got a poisonous shot from Acuña and then, in the overtime period, a good shot from En-Nesyri. Foyth saved Ocampos’ subsequent shot between the sticks. Villarreal did not shoot once between Dmitrovic’s three posts in a very dull first half. Marcelino, for his part, continued making waves in the band.
Sevilla had to make efforts to get Villarreal into their area. With a rustic style, without football between the lines, everything was hanging balls from the wing until Kike Salas managed to finish off a great cross from Pedrosa. Villarreal, who had had a couple of very dangerous approaches well resolved by Dmitrovic against Baena, tied with a goal from Morales as a pure center forward (seven goals in his last three games with Villarreal). Focused on attack, with the north lost, Diego Alonso’s team was surprised by Brerenton’s goal. It was the final blow to a broken team. The VAR warned and the debacle was not complete.
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