MADRID, 21 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Sevilla and Real Betis shared the derby this Sunday on matchday 35 of LaLiga Santander held at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, without goals and with some tension at the end.
The local team, after sealing their ticket to the seventh Europa League final in their history, did not show excessive mental or physical exhaustion after the last few weeks. The first half left a score between residents of the Andalusian capital, with hardly any occasions.
All in all, the atmosphere, the rhythm and the intensity did not disappoint, in an exchange that did not end up in danger of scoring. The option to change something for Manuel Pellegrini in the second half was Rodri’s entry, and the Betic youth squad worked.
Meanwhile, José Luis Mendilibar suffered loss due to Oliver’s injury, bringing on shortly after En-Nesyri and Bryan Gil. The rotation gave way to a more usual eleven for Sevilla, with Carvalho’s injury in a Betis with problems to contain the rival.
Lamela did not succeed in concretizing the local dominance, in a final stretch that helped Joaquín to add one more derby and one more match to equal Zubizarreta’s record. Jesús Navas entered those of Nervión, another legendary player who had to calm things down after a hard challenge from Miranda for which he saw a direct red card.
As far as the table is concerned, Sevilla’s climb slows down one iota, although they will want to take it out on the European route in a big way and for the ‘Champions’ by winning the Europa League. Meanwhile, Betis has a very good chance of repeating that second continental step next year.