A goal from Croatian Ivan Rakitic from a penalty, at 89 minutes, defeated a Cadiz very defensive (1-0) and gave the second victory at home in the League to Seville in an Andalusian duel to get out of the relegation places, which the Sevillistas abandon at the expense of a very conservative team from Cádiz, who barely attacked, in a match of net local dominance.
After a first half of total control of Sevillawho had a goal by Argentine Erik Lamela disallowed in added time, when the VAR intervened for an offside by Óliver in the action prior to Jesús Navas’s cross, the local team also commanded in the second against a crouching Cádiz , until he found his prize with a penalty at the hands of Iván Alejo, sent off for a double yellow in that play, which Rakitic scored to inject oxygen into a much-needed team.
It was an agonizing Andalusian duel between two sets in relegation, high voltage and marked by tension on both sides: Sevilla, due to its unexpected situation in the bottom of the table that led to a concentration of Sevillismo’s base against the management of the council; and Cádiz, for what they have denounced as a negligence of the VAR, recognized by those responsible, in their last draw at home against Elche (1-1) by not warning of an offside in the visiting goal.
For this reason, and after the challenge of that match by Cádiz and its request that it be resumed from minute 81, in which the Elche tied, The focus was on the reaction required of Sevilla to get up and on the performance of the arbitration teamin the field and in the VOR room, given the indignation of the cadism for said VAR error.
The team coached by Argentine Jorge Sampaoli, driven by necessity, He came out with a lot of verve and ambition, with a great presence up top to the point that it forced Sergio González’s team to hide behind. Sevilla’s dominance was absolute, but no clear arrivalsagainst a Cádiz that, firm in defense, seemed to give up the attack and was a fronton.
With two changes in his eleven compared to the last one against Elche (the Senegalese center-back Momo for the injured Fali and the Congolese winger Bongonda for the suspended Fede San Emeterio), against the four from Sampaoli (the goalkeeper Bono, Navas, Fernando and Óliver Torres for the Serbian Dmitrovic, the Argentines Montiel and Acuña – penalized- and Suso), the yellow box withstood the offensive attempts well of a Seville somewhat accelerated and without sense, but more intense than in other appointments.
The people of Seville played with more rhythm and verticality, but without success. Even so, the first shot with a certain danger was signed by the Honduran Choco Lozano on the edge of the equator of a first half controlled by the Sevillistas, but deflected Bono.
On the local side they tried it with a cross shot from the Argentine Erik Lamela, very active and who claimed a penalty in the 28th minute for an entry from Iza Carcelén; Oliver Torres on a volley that went wide; and Navas in a cross that was poisoned and was neutralized between the top of the crossbar and the Argentine goalkeeper Jeremías ‘Conan’ Ledesma.
In the last action of the first half, Lamela scored in added time, but, after the VAR intervened, his goal was annulled for offside by Óliver Torres by influencing and hindering Cadista Pacha Espino in the action prior to Navas’s cross, which which motivated the Sevilla sports director, Ramón Rodríguez ‘Monchi’, to show his anger at the foot of the field.
At the restart, Sevilla continued to be dominating and far superior to a racano Cádiz, extremely defensive and distrustful, although he did not find the ways to overcome the containment system of the Cadiz team, despite having a lot of the ball. He was almost a Sevilla monologuebut without any success before the goal well defended by Ledesma.
They warned Ivan Rakitic, splicing a ball in the area that the Argentine goalkeeper stopped in minute 51, and already in the middle of this period the French Badé with a deflected header, Óliver Torres in a shot that Iza Carcelén saved on the goal line and again the Croatian, with a kick that Ledesma cleared for a corner.
The Sevilla goal was chewed, although it was hard to come by and came after the changes, when Sampaoli was no longer on the field when he was sent off for a double yellow at the edge of the hour of play. The Argentines Montiel and Lucas Ocampos refreshed Sevilla, the latter on his return to Nervión after his failed half-year loan at Ajax, as well as Suso and Rafa Mir.
Sevilla, with less depth, continued to command against a Cádiz that opted for the tie and saw how all their defensive work went to hell shortly after the end in a center that was Ocampos and that Iván Alejo deflected with a hand inside the area. Hernández Hernández, warned by the VAR and after seeing the action at the foot of the field, signaled a penalty and sent off the Cadista winger for his second yellow card.
The maximum penalty was converted perfectly by a veteran like Rakitic, who thus tied up three vital points for his team and took them out of relegation, a distressing situation for a Sevilla not used to flirting with those positions.