2023-09-22 00:22:53
And again. Once again Sevilla fails to win on the first day of the Champions League. Once again he throws stones on his roof, making the group even more uphill if possible. Once again, Sevilla does not get the three points because of its own mistakes. Because when he had a valuable three points in his hand thanks to an early goal from Ocampos, a foul came at the edge of the area that Marko Dmitrovic is not able to stop. And it won’t be because the ball was difficult, because he had almost everything to stop him and he made it more complicated than it really was.
A first part with a bitter taste
The match It started with a Sevilla launched. stalking a Lens that was looking for a quick recovery and transition. However, the French were not effective up due to the good defensive work of the locals, who in the first ten minutes took the lead with a great goal from a Lucas Ocampos who was fine during almost the entire match.
From there, hethe Hispalenses tried to continue controlling a match that the visitors were interested in breaking up, to take advantage of the quick counterattacks that could do damage. and, in one of Wahi’s attempts to go inside, he achieved a foul that was almost a maximum penalty. But the result was not going to leave the visitors dissatisfied either, since a not very complex hit to stop by Fulgini, ended up surprising Marko Dmitrovic (and with it all the fans there and in their homes) and, after touching the ball, he was not hard enough to clear it, ending up inside the net halfway through the first half.
After that, Sevilla continued to insist, but as if a jug of cold water had fallen on them, as they seemed less and less convinced in attack. It was not the Sevilla that had entered the pitch as soon as the match began.
Lucas Ocampos celebrating his goal against Lens | Photo: Gettyimages
A second sleepy part
SIf someone wanted to know what it means to play 45 minutes flat, they could watch the second half of this game and I would understand. The opposition that the red and whites put up when the French approached their area was becoming less and less. Many corners conceded and balls out of control that prevented them from being that electric and insistent team that the match demanded. After game time, he entered last Sunday’s scorer Dodi Lukébakioand seeing what he did and what he has done, it seems that his entry into the field came late.
He also entered to the ground Boubakary Soumaré, inexplicably by Djibril Sow, one of the best (yes, again) of the game, something already common. With them he changed the face of Mendilibar’s team a little, especially with the Belgian who has shown not to be afraid to shoot. In a few minutes he was already one of the most dangerous in the entire second half, coming close to scoring a great goal that ended up missing due to a clearance by the rival defense, although the referee signaled a goal kick.
And so, The minutes passed while the hopes to win a Champions League match on the first day of the competition since 2015, they were diluting. In Sevilla the fear of losing two key points was growing while At Lens, they saw the tie getting better and better away from home in an environment that was at the height of what the competition is. So, the locals tried, they insisted, they persisted. Through Lukebákio, through the debutant Mariano Diaz, hanging centers, shooting from outside the area. But the goal did not arrive, while his opponent did everything possible to kill the gamedespite the fact that he had a very clear chance to score the second that was saved, now by the Sevilla goalkeeper.
Mendilibar and Franck Haise greeting each other | Photo: Gettyimages
Finally, everything was resolved with a tie. a bitter tie. Sevilla had one of the most viable games to win tonight, and has not been able. Not because I haven’t tried nor because it has shown inferiority, but because a failure that felt like a slap in the face, made the game go from being dominated by the red and whites, to being flat, boring. With few ideas and few resolutions in the last few meters. And this is what Sevilla has been in the Champions League in recent years, and even when it seems to have it easier, they are unable to win the first match of the edition of the highest European competition. Now it’s time to row a lot, because what comes to them now is a priori more complicated than what they have encountered today. They will have to get it right even more than expected in the remaining days, if not, they are in a good European mess.
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