Faith brings Sevilla closer to salvation after defeating an Espanyol that has gone 18 matches without winning

The party in Nervión was one of the great ones. It came when least expected, when Espanyol was winning 0-1 and only 10 minutes remained. Then, Castrín, a kid from Lugo, decided to push forward and start a majestic run, which ended with a great dribble in the area and a shot that Dmitrovic swallowed. It was the 82nd minute and Sevilla equalized Dolan’s goal. Nervión exploded because it felt that in that run, in that act of faith, in that mistake by Manolo González for keeping a very tired Roberto who did not stop Castrín, was life. A giant step towards salvation that Akor sealed in the 92nd minute. Another unheard-of mistake by Espanyol. A long ball that Cabrera and Calero missed for Akor to make it 2-1. Tears welled up in the Espanyol spectators. The emotion exploded in the Pizjuán, devoted to the cause of a team of very low quality, but that has faith, that nurtures a spirit that not long ago led it to win titles. The weight of the institution, of the jersey, that weight that barely supports Espanyol, now closer to Segunda.

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SEVSevilla

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Odysseas Vlachodimos, José Ángel Carmona (Juanlu Sánchez, min. 63), Gabriel Suazo (Oso, min. 63), Kike Salas, Andrés Castrín, Lucien Agoumé (Djibril Sow, min. 57), Chidera Ejuke, Rubén Vargas (Akor Adams, min. 74), Nemanja Gudelj, Isaac Romero (Alexis Sánchez, min. 45) and Neal Maupay

ESPEspanyol

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Marko Dmitrovic, Carlos Romero (José Salinas, min. 74), Leandro Cabrera, Fernando Calero, Omar El Hilali, Ramon Terrats (Jofre Carreras, min. 74), Rubén Sánchez (Charles Pickel, min. 65), Urko González de Zárate, Edu Expósito (Pol Lozano, min. 82), Tyrhys Dolan and Roberto Fernández (Kike García, min. 82)

Goals 0-1 min. 55: Tyrhys Dolan. 1-1 min. 81: Andrés Castrín. 2-1 min. 90: Akor Adams

Referee Javier Alberola Rojas

Yellow cards Urko Gonzalez (min. 25), José Ángel Carmona (min. 60), Ruben Vargas (min. 72), Djibril Sow (min. 72), Tyrhys Dolan (min. 72), Omar (min. 90), Akor Adams (min. 91), Andrés Castrín (min. 98), Calero (min. 98), Charles Pickel (min. 100)

They are 18 games without winning while Sevilla, with 40 points, is getting very close to salvation. Great work by Luis García Plaza, especially mentally. And very accurate in the changes, with the entries of Alexis and Akor. Quite the opposite of Manolo González. Sevilla, which was a corpse, resurrected. Espanyol has no remedy.

“Neither retreat nor surrender” read a large banner in the Gol Norte stand of the Pizjuán. It had hailed an hour earlier over Sevilla, but neither the rain nor the wind before the match diminished in the slightest the impressive atmosphere experienced at the Sánchez Pizjuán. Without a doubt, that fan base was the best thing seen in a match unbearable from a football point of view. Fear and nerves seized the heads and legs of the Sevilla and Espanyol players, already anguished by their classification situation. Amid long balls, clearances, bad decisions and even senseless collisions between players, a first half was cooked with only two chances. One for Sevilla, saved by Dmitrovic in the 7th minute after a great touch by Maupay, who was not offside. And another for Espanyol, after Expósito stole a ball in a recklessness by Agoumé. Odysseas made a great save for the Espanyol midfielder.

The rest was a nonsense in the first half. Sevilla showed itself incapable of producing the football it had against Real except at the start with some explosiveness, with Vargas and Ejuke well controlled by Espanyol. Manolo González’s men showed why they had gone 17 games without winning. Without football, precision or finishing, they only lived off Dmitrovic and Cabrera’s actions. At least they kept the zero-zero at halftime. Since it was a vital match for survival and being two points from Sevilla, a real treasure for the Catalans.

The match improved in the second half. Alexis gave Sevilla play and a goal that VAR annulled for offside. Sevilla felt the blow and allowed Espanyol to grow. Without doing much, they began to reach Odysseas’ area. Dolan scored from inside the area to make it 0-1. Fear took over the stadium, with an impressive tension surrounding the Sevilla players. The team had no play, no midfield, and only arrived in bursts. Until Espanyol, which was almost saved with the victory, allowed Castrín’s run of faith. The Galician, who had failed on Dolan’s goal, entered the area and scored with Dmitrovic’s collaboration. The 1-1 came in the 82nd minute.

What happened next was a total collapse of Espanyol. Manolo González changed too late, the Pizjuán turned into a party and Cabrera and Calero allowed Akor to score with a great shot from the edge of the area. It was the 92nd minute. Sevilla caresses salvation and Espanyol looks like a Segunda team (it has only won six of the last 54 points at stake). A total collapse.

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Standings

Standings	PT	PJ	PG	PE	PP
10 OSA	42	35	11	9	15
11 RAY	42	34	10	12	12
12 SEV	40	35	11	7	17
13 ELC	39	35	9	12	14
14 VAL	39	34	10	9	15

Standings	PT	PJ	PG	PE	PP
13 ELC	39	35	9	12	14
14 VAL	39	34	10	9	15
15 ESP	39	35	10	9	16
16 MLL	38	34	10	8	16
17 GIR	38	34	9	11	14