The Sevilla League is back
When it comes to Europa League, Sevilla F.C. are capable of setting aside all their troubles and showing the world why it’s their favourite competition.
Despite their awful LaLiga season and their extremely poor run in the Champions League, the Andalusian side is somehow very close to another Europa League semi-final.
They pulled off a miraculous result at Old Trafford after drawing 2-2 in a game that seemed done and dusted after just 20 minutes, when Marcel Sabitzer scored a brace.
With José Luis Mendilibar’s line up packed with rotations, Sevilla’s dreadful form this campaign and United’s great performances against Spanish Sides in the Europa League (Barcelona and Betis), many thought the tie was basically over.
All eyes were set on the weekend game against Valencia, which seemed like the main priority for the club in order to avoid another dip into the relegation zone.
But Sevilla rose from the dead and scored 2 fortunate goals from the 84th minute onwards, to ensure a very favourable result. The sort of fortune they’ve lacked all season in LaLiga, but which never lets them down in the Europa League as we saw against Fenerbahçe and more recently versus United.
Somehow, a great opportunity has arisen to knock out the Red devils at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán. With the unrelenting support of their fans, the chances of returning to another Europa League semi-final are no longer far fetched. Not only that, Sevilla have gone 3 games without a defeat (2 wins and 1 draw), their best run in LaLiga this season, which means their confidence is definitely peaking.
Given Sevilla won comfortably the following league game against Valencia CF and that they’re now 8 points clear from the relegation zone, it’ll be interesting to see how Mendilibar approaches this second tie. Whether he’ll stick to prior rotations or change his mind now at the tempting possibility of qualifying in front of his home fans.
Most of the squad will be available for this clash with the exceptions of Joan Jordán, Gonzalo Montiel, Pape Gueye and Tecatito Corona, the last two out for not being registered in this competition.
If Sevilla actually manage to scrape through to the next round, be sure it won’t be pretty. Mendilibar is a specialist at making the most of what he has at his disposal. In this case, a decent squad that has been burnt-out emotionally and seemed almost impossible to recover.
For that reason his appointment is one of the few right decisions Monchi has made this season. Even if their European journey finishes this Thursday, because the priority is to remain in the Spanish top tier to start afresh for the next campaign.