Sevilla move further clear of drop zone with win against Villarreal
Unbeaten in five and confident after cruising into the UEFA Europa League semi-final in midweek, Sevilla started at breakneck speed in front of a buoyant Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuan and created a flurry of early chances.
Ivan Rakitic led the charge when he almost lobbed Pepe Reina with an audacious chip from distance, before Rafa Mir found space in the area but dragged his shot just wide of the bottom corner.
For their part, Villarreal struggled to contain Los Nervionenses, and looked largely shot of confidence after travelling on the back of a humbling 2-1 loss against Real Valladolid.
The visitors had Reina to thank for keeping the scores level with a full stretch save to keep out Suso’s stinging strike from the edge of the area.
Eventually, Sevilla’s persistence paid off when Suso carried the ball from his own half into Villarreal’s area and released Mir, who unleashed an unstoppable first-time strike high into the net past Reina.
However, Sevilla’s hard work was nearly undone just before the break, after Giovani Lo Celso scuffed a shot wide from close range, and Nicolas Jackson’s tap-in was ruled out for offside by VAR.
A Villarreal comeback was going to take a monumental effort, considering the Yellow Submarine had not scored away against Sevilla since 2019.
Yet, the determined visitors came out strongly after the break, and Pau Torres levelled the scores by volleying into the net from Yeremy Pino’s knockdown.
An end-to-end finale ensued with both sides eager to push on to take all three points, and Villarreal came closest to securing the winner, as Etienne Capoue’s dipping effort was tipped over the bar by Marko Dmitrovic.
The whistle was almost at the referee’s mouth for full-time when Sevilla won a corner with practically the final kick of the evening. Ivan Rakitic delivered an exquisite ball, and En-Nesyri met it with a perfect header to send the swathes of red around him into delirium.
A huge win moves Sevilla eight points clear of the LaLiga relegation zone, while Villarreal again dropped points against lower-table opposition, meaning that the Yellow Submarine finish this weekend seven points adrift of the UEFA Champions League qualification places.
