Curri carrillo
Seville, Jan 27 (EFE) .- Sevilla qualified for the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey by beating a depressed Valencia 3-0, who, with up to nine changes in their eleven and the absence of up to nine regular starters, it was always much lower than a Sevilla team that resolved on the fast track with three goals in the first half.
The Andalusian team cemented their clear triumph in a great collective game in the first half and in the effectiveness of the Dutchman Luuk de Jong, who took advantage of the opportunity that Julen Lopetegui gave him by scoring a double on his return to ownership, with two goals in minutes 20 and 33, an advantage that the Croatian Ivan Rakitic extended in 38 and that sank Valencia, impotent and with little reaction capacity, although he tried after the break.
Seville and Valencia played it all or nothing in a tournament that has given them joy so far this century, in a duel to which these Spanish football classics arrived with opposite states of mind, as the Sevilla players were fourth and occupying places of 'Champions' against the fourteenth place of the Che team, just two points from the descent.
Apart from his numerous casualties (Cillessen, Correia, Diakhaby, Mangala, the repechage Piccini, Gameiro and Guedes), the Valencian coach, Javi Gracia, perhaps due to his imperative need in the League, revolutionized his eleven with up to nine changes compared to the clash of the Metropolitan. Only the Brazilian Gabriel Paulista and the Serbian Racic repeated.
Gracia left important people like Gayá, Soler, former Sevilla player Cheryshev, Musah or strikers Manu Vallejo and Uruguayan Maxi Gómez on the bench, while at Sevilla Julen Lopetegui brought out a team with most of its usual starters and only three novelties : the Serbian Gudelj, Munir and the Dutch De Jong for the Brazilian Fernando, the Argentine Ocampos and the Moroccan En-Nesyri, their top scorer.
On the way out, the Andalusian team was surprised by a strong high pressure from the Valencians to look for theft of the ball in danger areas, although Sevilla gradually took control and, with rapid rises and openings to the wings, on all to an active Suso Fernández, neutralized the initial push of the Levantines.
The people of Seville gave their first warnings about the first quarter of an hour, with a pumped shot from Jordán that Cristian Rivero cleared or a shot from the front of the area of the Cadiz winger, against a Valencia without ideas or depth to put the Moroccan goal in trouble Bonus and that it was diluted before the local superiority.
This lack of the Valencian team worsened when they conceded 1-0 at 20 minutes, when De Jong rose above Racic and beat Rivero with an accurate header in a corner thrown by Argentine Marcos Acuña.
This blow was fatal for the Valencian interests, because less than a quarter of an hour later, at 33, De Jong scored the second by shooting the young visiting goalkeeper with a cross shot after a great play by Lopetegui's men, with many passes and that ended with a subtle pass behind Suso to the Netherlands international.
Gracia's team, very lost to the clear local dominance, was unable to react and only had two offensive attempts in a loose and focused shot from Jason that Bono stopped before 2-0 and, already after this goal, a shot high of the youth squad Álex Blanco who went high, after a pass from the left of Toni Lato.
Meanwhile, Sevilla did not slow down, willing to take advantage of the facilities of an increasingly depressed rival and to capitalize on their superiority, which resulted in 3-0, seven minutes before the break, with a great Vaseline goal from the Croatian Ivan Rakitic, who, after collecting a rebound in the front of the area, surprised Rivero something ahead.
In the resumption, and with the eliminatory virtually resolved in favor of the Hispanics, Valencia wanted to pull with pride and prowled in some actions near the local area, but hardly created any real danger, while Sevilla without problems kept an income that, from the first minutes of this period, he was even able to expand.
They were close to achieving the fourth Jordan, who, all alone, headed high a center and, again, Rakitic, who finished off a drop from De Jong. By not changing the scenery after the break and given the emphatic score against, Javi Gracia reserved Gabriel Paulista and Racic by replacing them with Esquerdo and Guillem Molina.
Lopetegui also gave rest to regular holders such as Suso and Jordán, first, and later to the full-backs Jesús Navas, in this case when noticing a muscle puncture in 65, and Acuña, who were relieved by Óliver Torres, the Moroccan Idrissi, Aleix Vidal and the Dutch Rekik.
Sevilla relaxed and Valencia tried to shorten their disadvantage, although, as in the whole game, it was not very wise despite the fact that Danish Daniel Wass, who reappeared after serving his sanction, looked for the goal in the final stretch with a strong shot that Bono cleared and with a dangerous center that took the rear, which ended with a great disappointment for the Valencian players.
– Data sheet:
3 – Seville: Bonus; Jesús Navas (Rekik, m.67), Koundé, Sergi Gómez, Acuña (Aleix Vidal, m.67); Joan Jordán (Idrissi, m.63), Gudelj, Rakitic; Suso (Óliver Torres, m.63), De Jong (En-Nesyri, m.85), Munir.
0 – Valencia: Rivero; Wass, Gabriel Paulista (Esquerdo, m.53), Hugo Guillamón, Lato; Jason, Koba (Musah, m.90), Racic (Guillem Molina, m.53), Blanco; Kang In Lee, Rubén Nephew.
Goals: 1-0, M.20: De Jong. 2-0, M.33: De Jong. 3-0, M.38: Rakitic.
Referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande (C. Madrileño). He admonished the locals Acuña (m.62), Aleix Vidal (m.80) and Munir (m.92).
Incidents: Single-match elimination of the Copa del Rey round of 16, played behind closed doors at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán stadium. EFE
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