Nervión is breathing a little easier. Sevilla won at home against Valladolid (2-1) and took the three points with a hard-fought victory. The team managed by García Pimienta needed a win to leave behind a shaky start to the league.
The Seville team tried to dominate the match from the start and was close to taking the lead in the 8th minute with a shot from Saúl from the edge of the box that grazed the crossbar. However, from that shot onwards, the pace of the match was slow, although Sevilla had a little more control of the game.
The evidence of the lack of fluidity in the clash between the Sevillians and the Blanquivioletas was the action with which the local team took the lead on the scoreboard. In the 42nd minute, in a confused play with several rebounds, the ball reached Dodi Lukébakio and he put it on the penalty spot for one of his teammates to finish. In an attempt to deflect Peque’s shot, David Torres put the ball into his own net.
After the break, Pucela’s men came out to bite and it was noticeable in the intensity of their play. It took just 10 minutes of the second half for Paulo Pezzolano’s men to equalise. Mario Martín was key to the goal for the Valladolid side, as he broke away from the home side Agoumé and Barco, and provided a superb assist for Kike Pérez, who sent the ball into the back of the net from the right side of the area.
The 1-1 draw gave rise to counterattacks between the two teams, but García Pimienta’s team grew in the last 20 minutes. Hein, Valladolid’s goalkeeper, made two providential saves against two chances from Lukébakio and Peque. But the solution came from the bench: Ejuke’s entrance onto the pitch unbalanced the game and made a run from the edge of the area to launch a cross shot that beat the Pucela goalkeeper in the 85th minute. Sevilla played the last five minutes of the match with one less player. Valladolid tried to take advantage of the advantage, but their attacks were timid.
Awaiting the rest of the matches of the seventh round, Sevilla is in twelfth place with 8 points; while Valladolid falls into the relegation zone with five points.
Valencia, 0 – Osasuna, 0
After an important victory against Girona (2-0), which was the first of the season, Valencia was looking to extend its positive momentum to move away from relegation. But the Valencian team was unable to overcome an Osasuna that was solid in defence but did not shine in attack.
Both teams played out a goalless draw. The first half was marked by inaccuracies and no threat to Mamardashvili or Sergio Herrera.
The game continued to be a tight affair in the final 45 minutes. The clearest chance for Rubén Baraja’s men came in the 60th minute, with a good save from Herrera after a shot from Dani Gómez. For the red-and-whites, Budimir gave the Valencian team a scare in the 85th minute with a header that went just over the crossbar.
The draw saves Valencia from relegation and provisionally places them in 17th place, with just five points out of a possible 21. Meanwhile, Vicente Moreno’s Osasuna remains close to the European spots with 11 points and occupying seventh position.
Source: www.lavanguardia.com
