He Betis and the Sevilla tied one in the Villamarín derby, where the Betics showed more ambition and a great improvement against his eternal rival, who perhaps sinned from excessive conservatism and in which the Moroccan Yassine Bono avoided the local triumph by stopping a penalty to the French Fekir a quarter of an hour from the end.
After a first half with few occasions, although with a greater green-and-white push, Sevilla, very suspicious, went ahead at 48 minutes with a goal from Suso neutralized five minutes later by the tie of Sergio Canales in a penalty protested by the sevillistas rigorous, after which Betis had another cartridge, but Bono, masterful, stopped another maximum penalty to Fekir.
In a derby again without an audience and marked by the COVID-19, for the positives of the Betis Joaquín, Guardado and Montoya on the eve and who joined Álex Moreno, Betis, with 9 total casualties, Betis had to overcome adversity, recovered the Chilean goal Bravo and opted for Canales, Mexican Lainez and Loren.
In Sevilla, who was bothered by the role of favorite that, a priori, was given to him for this appointment, Julen Lopetegui introduced three changes in his eleven with Óliver Torres and the Serbian Nemanja Gudelj, this one by the Brazilian Fernando Reges, key in the sevillista midfield and who was sanctioned, and the Dutch De Jong above.
With great caution on both sides, the same in a duel of maximum Sevillian rivalry, and especially on the part of a Sevilla more timid than usual, the clash began even and intense in the first half with very few occasions, although with a greater push of the verdiblancos.
Chilean Manuel Pellegrini’s team pressed more in the middle, with Argentine Guido Rodríguez and Canales, helped by Ruibal and Lainez, beating Jordán, Gudelj and Óliver Torres, very gray, and local pressure led to good arrivals, although isolated, that yes, from Betis, with the Mexican Lainez especially active.
From his boots and clairvoyance came the best opportunities in a period where Betis looked harder for the goal against an excessively temporizing Sevilla who never found the key to hurt a rival with more intensity and ambition.
There were hardly any clear chances, but the clearest were signed by the Verdiblancos, who were able to go ahead in the equator of this half with a shot from the French Nabil Fekir slightly deflected after a good play by Lainez, the most incisive, and another by Canales, in new action from the Mexican, who hit Gudelj and went out.
In the resumption, Lopetegui showed his discontent with the shipwreck of his midfield and the first time of yours. He moved to enter the Croatian Ivan Rakitic, by a very lost Óliver Torres, and the Moroccan Youssef En-Nesyri – his top scorer with 9 goals, 5 in the league – by an impotent De Jong, very alone above.
This shaking of the tree in Sevilla, previously overly suspicious and inferior to a Betis with more ideas, soon paid off, because at 3 minutes En-Nesyri took advantage of a serious error by the Algerian Mandi, whose clearance was intercepted by Ocampos, and the back pass from the Moroccan was picked up by Suso in the area to beat Bravo with a tight shot.
He Sevilla improved in the second half and he tried it on occasions from the Argentine Lucas Ocampos and then from the Serbian Gudelj, although in between Betis, more incisive, had the victory in their hands, but did not take advantage of it when Fekir missed a penalty from the Argentine Acuña on himself by making a great Bono stop, who gave a point to his team.
In the final stretch, already with many changes in both teams, Lainez, the best of Betis along with Canales, also had his option, but his shot taking advantage of an error by Bono at the start was cleared by the sevillista rear, although the Moroccan goal was key for Lopetegui’s men, by masterfully stopping Fekir’s penalty, thus saving an intense and competitive match for his team.
Datasheet:
1 – Betis: Bravo; Emerson, Mandi, Víctor Ruiz, Miranda; Guido Rodríguez, Canales (Paul, m.81); Lainez, Fekir, Aitor Ruibal (Rodri, m.89); Loren (Borja Iglesias, m.84).
1 – Sevilla: Bond; Jesús Navas, Koundé, Diego Carlos, Acuña; Jordán (Óscar Rodríguez, m.77), Gudelj, Óliver Torres (Rakitic, m.46); Suso (Munir, m.77), De Jong (En-Nesyri, m.46), Ocampos (Aleix Vidal, m.90).
Goals: 0-1, M.48: Suso. 1-1, M.53: Canales, from a penalty.
Referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande (C. Madrileño). He admonished the locals Miranda (m.20), Víctor Ruiz (m.27), Guido Rodríguez (m.46 +), Lainez (m.58) and Emerson (m.85), and the visitors Óliver Torres (m. 42) and Rakitic (m.89).
Incidents: Match of the seventeenth day of LaLiga Santander, played behind closed doors at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán. Lawn in perfect condition.
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