Sevilla lost sight of Real Madrid further on Sunday afternoon. Julen Lopetegui’s team showed a weak appearance when visiting Espanyol and, given the odds, could be satisfied with 1-1. Jules Koundé brought Sevilla in trouble with another red card. The defender allowed himself to be provoked, as before against Barcelona, when he threw a ball to Jordi Alba. Sevilla lost eight points in five games and are now six points behind leaders Real.
Karim Rekik was injured against Dinamo Zagreb (3-1) on Thursday and was not on the side of Sevilla. The Andalusians had a difficult opening phase, in which Espanyol proved to be a tough opponent. Tonny Vilhena, who again started as left midfielder for the home team, had the first good opportunity in the rebound, after Yassine Bounou was able to save Raúl de Tomás’ shot. However, Vilhena was unable to score.
Red for Koude! † Now it’s all about squeezing buttocks for Sevilla! †#ZiggoSport #LaLiga #EspanyolSeville pic.twitter.com/LJvckmVl2f
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) February 20, 2022
A wonderful preparatory action by Papu Gómez gave Sevilla the lead after more than half an hour. The Argentinian dribbled past two opponents and placed perfectly at the far post, where Rafa Mir was able to enter: 0-1. Espanyol scored the deserved equalizer five minutes after the break via Sergi Darder, who was able to head in from a cross from Óscar Gil: 1-1.
Sevilla had to continue with ten men fifteen minutes before the end, after Jules Koundé was provoked by Javi Puado and saw red. With the ball at the foot, the defender hit twice backwards towards Puado, who held him. De Tomás came close to winning Espanyol after a dangerous dribble in the penalty area, but Diego Carlos was able to block the striker’s shot at the last minute. Sevilla substitute Youssef En Nesyri missed a mega chance one-on-one with Diego López in injury time, but a goal would not have counted anyway due to offside.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | † | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 25 | 17 | 6 | 2 | 31 | 57 |
| 2 | Seville | 25 | 14 | 9 | 2 | 20 | 51 |
| 3 | Real Betis | 24 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 16 | 43 |
| 4 | Atletico Madrid | 25 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 42 |
| 5 | Villarreal | 25 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 18 | 39 |
| 6 | Barcelona | 23 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 11 | 39 |
| 7 | Real Sociedada | 23 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 38 |
| 8 | Athletic Club | 24 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 34 |
| 9 | Osasuna | 25 | 8 | 8 | 9 | -5 | 32 |
| 10 | Celta de Vigo | 24 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 31 |
| 11 | Rayo Vallecano | 24 | 9 | 4 | 11 | -1 | 31 |
| 12 | Valencia | 24 | 7 | 9 | 8 | -2 | 30 |
| 13 | Elche | 25 | 7 | 8 | 10 | -6 | 29 |
| 14 | Espanyol | 25 | 7 | 8 | 10 | -5 | 29 |
| 15 | getafe | 25 | 6 | 8 | 11 | -4 | 26 |
| 16 | Real Majorca | 23 | 6 | 8 | 9 | -14 | 26 |
| 17 | Granada | 25 | 5 | 9 | 11 | -13 | 24 |
| 18 | Cadiz | 25 | 3 | 11 | 11 | -18 | 20 |
| 19 | Alaves | 25 | 5 | 5 | 15 | -23 | 20 |
| 20 | Levante | 24 | 2 | 8 | 14 | -26 | 14 |