Espanyol 0-2 Sevilla
Julen Lopetegui’s first La Liga match in charge of Sevilla was a successful one as his side ran out comfortable 2-0 winners over Espanyol to begin their season.
The former Spain and Real Madrid manager fielded a new-look side with several fresh faces. That’s after the club lost their top three goalscorers from last season in Wissam Ben Yedder, Pablo Sarabia, and Andre Silva.
But despite the changes, they still looked much superior to their hosts, as SBOBET tips had anticipated in the preview of that match. And thanks to that win, Lopetegui joins his old team atop the table after one matchday following Real’s 3-1 win over Celta Vigo.
Highlights of the game
Lopetegui’s first starting XI included six new acquisitions in Sergio Reguilon (on loan from Real Madrid), Diego Carlos, Lucas Ocampos, Joan Jordan, Oliver Torres, and Luuk de Jong.
The likes of de Jong and Ocampos have some big shoes to fill as they replace Ben Yedder and Sarabia, who combined for 30 goals and 22 assists in La Liga last season.
It was Sevilla who had the first notable attack of the match, which came after seven minutes. Reguilon was able to dribble into the penalty box and had his left-footed shot deflected by an Espanyol defender. However, the referee somehow didn’t see the deflection and awarded a goal kick, to Reguilon’s dismay.
Sevilla also produced the game’s first shot on target on 20 minutes care of Jesus Navas. The Sevilla skipper cut inside from the right, but his tame left-footed shot was easily saved by Espanyol keeper Diego Lopez on his near post.
Sevilla’s Tomas Vaclik was forced into a slightly more difficult save nine minutes later. Espanyol midfielder Matias Vargas’ long-range strike took a bounce in front of Vaclik, but the Sevilla shot-stopper was able to push it to the side. Striker Facundo Ferreyra also had his long-distance effort comfortably caught by Vaclick minutes later.
The visitors finally broke the deadlock just before half-time. Navas’ deflected cross was met by Luuk de Jong, whose header was somehow kept out by a brilliant Lopez save. Unluckily for Espanyol, though, the ball bounced off the bar and into the path of Reguilon, who poked the ball home from close range.
The second half was a slow burn, with no La Liga 2019 highlights taking place for the first 15 minutes or so. Although, Espanyol did have a penalty shout on 56 minutes after the ball struck a Sevilla defender’s arm. But after consulting with VAR, the referee opted not to award the penalty.
The first shot of the second half came four minutes after the hour mark. Former Manchester City forward Nolito made his way from the corner into the penalty area to unload a right-footed shot, which went just wide of the mark.
Nolita had another glorious opportunity to extend Sevilla’s lead on 72 minutes. After a Navas long ball released him for a quick counter, he was unable to keep his composure as his shot sailed over the crossbar.
Eventually, though, Nolito did go on to grab the goal that would seal the win for Sevilla just four minutes from time. After receiving the ball off a throw, Nolito worked his way past some shockingly weak Espanyol defending and slotted past a helpless Lopez.
While it wasn’t the most dominant performance in the world, it was still a promising start for Lopetegui’s side.
Key statistics
Sevilla were a class above Espanyol, and the stats bore that out. The visitors enjoyed 55 per cent of possession and outshot the home side, 12-7.
Surprisingly, Sevilla’s full-back Reguilon led the team with five of those 12 shots, including a goal. He also committed two fouls and picked up a yellow to complete his eventful La Liga debut for Los Rojiblancos. Based on his bright debut, the Real Madrid man could end up being quite a pick-up for Lopetegui.
As for Espanyol, this was their first defeat since losing the Catalan derby to Barcelona back in the end of March. They had gone on a nine-match unbeaten run (five wins, four draws) to end last season.
What’s next?
Sevilla will have a great opportunity to make it two wins out of two next week as they take on newly promoted Granada. Despite being away from home, the Aldalusians should still be favoured by most La Liga 2019 predictions to come away with all three points in that match.
Meanwhile, Espanyol will similarly be away from home as they visit Deportivo Alaves, who finished in 10th last season.
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