Hasta la muerte?
Sevilla received some much-needed respite in their Copa del Rey last 16 clash against Alavés on Tuesday night. But in truth, the only positive was the result and the fact they managed to keep a clean sheet.
Los Nervionenses are enduring a torrid season by any measurement. Languishing in the relegation zone in LaLiga, knocked out of the Champions League at the Group Stage for the second consecutive season, and suffered a prolonged, messy divorce with Julen Lopetegui.
The return of Jorge Sampaoli – the fireball of energy from Argentina – has not had the desired effect, either in football terms, or to galvanise the mood of the club, which is approaching rock bottom. There are ongoing internal battles, and a growing level of discontent among the fans, fed by the now genuine fears that they could suffer relegation to the second tier for the first time 2000.
A Copa del Rey win away from home is a positive result, but Sevilla had to suffer to get over the line. To illustrate the discrepancy in how each club approached this game, Sampaoli named a strong lineup, including two World Cup winners. In contrast, Luis García Plaza made nine changes at Mendizorroza, as his side are chasing promotion.
In this context then, it is damning that the man of the match was Sevilla ‘keeper Marko Dmitrović, who was forced to make three saves, one tremendously. Sevilla scored with their only attempt on target.
The game marked one year and one day since the completion of the ill-tempered derby with Real Betis, resumed 24 hours after its initial abandonment. That match could be interpreted as the turning point. Before then Sevilla had won seven of their previous ten matches in all competitions and were second in LaLiga. After this acrimonious match, they only won four of their next 14, as they slipped down the table, just about clinging on to 4th spot, and suffered a meek Europa League exit to West Ham.
It has been widely acknowledged that the end of Lopetegui’s cycle began in January last year, but the relationship was allowed to fester, and the official conscious uncoupling dragged on into this season, like a hangover after a grimy night out.
The problems facing Sevilla now are much more acute. With relegation no longer an irrational fear, fans and directors are getting jumpy. The deplorable graffiti from the Biris Norte is testament to that. Monchi must get this window right, or he could be the first to face the consequences.
Tuesday night also saw the return of Lucas Ocampos, another case which represents Sevilla’s plight in microcosm. He left on loan for Ajax in the summer, replaced by Adnan Januzaj. The pair have made six appearances each all season. Now the Argentine is back and Sevilla are looking to move the Belgian on. This muddled thinking in the market is so uncharacteristic of Monchi, with no apparent strategy beyond working within the financial constraints.
In football terms, the individual errors are hurting them, often a consequence of Sampaoli’s insistence on playing out from the back. In mitigation, there have been several defensive injuries and multiple rotations. Diego Carlos and Jules Koundé were among the best partnerships in Europe, let alone LaLiga, and their absence is proving to be catastrophic.
Their ability to keep opponents out has drastically reduced. As an example, Sevilla only conceded 13 goals away from home in the league last season. This season it is already 14 before the halfway point. Moreover, they kept nine clean sheets in their first 17 LaLiga matches in 2021/22. This season, just the solitary one to their name.
Similarly, they are the team who are worst off in terms of points: their meagre tally of 15 points from 17 games (0.88 PPG) is a staggering 22 fewer than they had at this stage last season (37, 2.18 PPG). Any follower knows that the benchmark for salvation is around 40 points, or just over one point per game, and Sevilla are currently below that level.
Their next game is a Andaluz derby and a relegation six-pointer against Cádiz, who are one point and one place above them in the table. They have their own frustrations, yesterday calling for their game against Elche to be replayed from the 81st minute onwards after VAR failed to spot an offside in the build-up to Ezequiel Ponce’s equaliser.
With all the tension, rancour and nerves, Saturday night at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán could well be explosive. Sevilla will be more than happy to settle for another 1-0.