The bottom-placed team of La Liga, Elche CF, hosted the favored FC Sevilla in this highly anticipated match due to their recent good results. However, the home team managed to secure a hard-fought 1-1 draw, even though the visitors were closer to victory. The match featured the participation of Moroccan player Youssef En-Nesyri, who delivered the decisive assist for Sevilla’s goal. Meanwhile, his compatriot Yassine Bounou remained on the substitute bench and did not make an appearance in the match.
The early stages of the match suggested that the expected outcome would be respected, with Sevilla poised to secure all three points. This was further reinforced as the Andalusian club took the lead in the tenth minute of the game. Thanks to Lamela, who capitalized on a pass from En-Nesyri, he unleashed an unstoppable shot. Announcing the opening goal.
The joy was short-lived for En-Nesyri’s teammates, as they soon found themselves at a numerical disadvantage after the Senegalese player Pape Gueye was sent off. Before conceding a goal in the 25th minute that could have been avoided if Serbian goalkeeper Marko Dimitrovic had not been too far off his goal line.
And while the absence of Bounou clearly had a direct impact on the result, the substitution of En-Nesyri in the 78th minute with Spanish player Rafa Mir did not bring any improvement for Sevilla. The latter had no impact on the offensive side and failed to create any goal-scoring opportunities.
This result did not change anything for Elche, who were already relegated. Meanwhile, Sevilla, temporarily sitting in ninth place with 49 points, risks being overtaken by Osasuna if the latter secures a victory today against Athletic Bilbao.
It is worth noting that this matchday is part of an anti-racism campaign initiated by the Spanish federation in response to the recent racist incidents suffered by Brazilian player Vinicius Jr., which have sparked numerous reactions on an international scale. The two Spanish teams, just like all the other teams in La Liga this week, displayed a banner that read, « Racists, stay away from football, » in reference to the Vinicius incident and all similar incidents.
Here is the match summary video:
