Sevilla’s Defeat Against Arsenal: What Went Wrong?

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Why was Sevilla defeated beforehand in London? It was the big question that hovered before, during and after the Andalusian team’s fiasco against Arsenal. A defeat that could come, without a doubt. The bad thing was the way. A dedicated Sevilla, turned into a true tactical gibberish, with a barely recognizable starting eleven and an absolute absence of competitiveness. In all fairness, the Andalusian team was defeated by an Arsenal that did not need to press the accelerator too much. It was enough for him with two blows from his main players, in the case of Saka, Trossard and Martinelli, to finish off a rival who did not want to know anything about the clash.

2

David Raya, Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu (Zinchenko, min. 45), Gabriel, William Lintasa, Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, Jorginho (Mohamed Elneny, min. 90), Bukayo Saka (Jakub Kiwior, min. 85), Martinelli ( Reiss Nelson, min. 81) y Trossard (Fabio Daniel Vieira, min. 80)

0

Dmitrovic, Juanlu Sanchez, Gudelj, Loic Bade, Kike Salas, Lamela, Djibril Sow (Rakitic, 65th minute), Joan Jordan (Boubakary Soumare, 65th minute), Adrià Pedrosa (Nianzou Tanguy Kouassi, 75th minute), Fernando y En-Nesyri

Goles 1-0 min. 29: Trossard. 2-0 min. 63: Bukayo Saka.

Referee István Kovács

Yellow cards Boubakary Soumare (min. 65), Juanlu Sanchez (min. 71), Lucas Ocampos (min. 76), Zinchenko (min. 81) and Declan Rice (min. 84)

Diego Alonso placed himself on the target. He created an unexpected eleven, with players without rhythm and positioned in a strange way. The result was that Sevilla offered absolutely nothing, unable to shoot between the three posts of the goal defended by the Spanish Raya until the 96th minute on a shot by Mariano. With this defeat, the Andalusian team must win the last two group games against PSV and Lens and hope to have some chances of qualifying, always as second, to the round of 16. He was favored by PSV’s victory against Lens (1-0). But that is not the question. The issue is addressing why this Sevilla does not compete. And Diego Alonso, after the dismissal of José Luis Mendilibar, seems unable to stop the fall.

Nobody could guess what Sevilla’s plan was to try to compete against a good team like Arsenal. It gave the impression that Diego Alonso improvised with an eleven full of substitutes with the exclusive mission of surviving the foreseeable gale of the fourth-placed team in the Premier League and leader of the group. With men like Navas, Rakitic, Ocampos, Suso, Soumaré and Lukebakio on the bench, Sevilla was a pain in a very discreet first half. An exercise in ineffectiveness inappropriate for a team that is supposed to be elite like Sevilla.

The Andalusian team did not shoot on goal in the first 45 minutes and had its first possession with more than three passes in the 20th minute. It was all about weathering the English game by retreating into their own area, being massacred on the wings by the speed of Saka and Martinelli before the young Juanlu and Kike Salas, who lived through a most painful episode. The image of a small team permeated everything, even somewhat disconcerting an Arsenal team that was missing the injured Gabriel Jesús.

In fact, Arsenal scored with their only shot between the three sticks after a great shooting play between Jorginho, Saka and Trossard, which pushed into the net. Sevilla, exhausted, overwhelmed and sad, had switched to a defense of three centre-backs just one minute before the English goal. The best thing was that they only lost 1-0.

The second half was another torment. Nothing changed in Sevilla, once again impassive, devoted like a lamb to the attacks of an Arsenal that could not expect such little resistance. In fact, Arteta’s team chose to retreat and wait for their rival. As soon as this tactical change occurred, a great pass from Martinelli left Saka alone, who cut back and scored the second goal with Gudelj breaking the offside of the Arsenal attacker. Sevilla, without any personality, savored the taste of defeat against a superior rival, but not enough to pay that obvious homage that condemned it.

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2023-11-09 02:02:08
#Sevilla #forgets #compete #Arsenal