Haaland punishes a Seville without gunpowder
The Norwegian, with a brace, guided Manchester City to victory at the Sánchez-Pizjuán
MADRID, 6 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Sevilla has added its umpteenth stumble of the season by falling this Tuesday in the first match of the Champions League group stage against Manchester City (0-4), who, supported by a double from the Norwegian Erling Haaland, dominated the duel at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán to endorse the Nervionenses their fourth defeat in five games.
With two lashes, the Scandinavian was enough to sentence a duel in which Julen Lopetegui’s men paid dearly for their lack of gunpowder. Nervión exploded against the board asking for a reaction for a team that is now bottom of Group G, which leads City ahead of Borussia Dortmund, who defeated Copenhagen (3-0).
The Basque coach surprised from the start with an eleven without a pure ‘nine’, with ‘Papu’ Gómez and Isco as the main offensive references, although it was Jesús Navas who first reached the ‘citizen’ area with a center that cleared an attentive Joao I cancel. From that moment, Guardiola’s men took control.
With patience, the English team took possession of the ball and gained strength to worry Bono, who saw Grealish and Haaland warn with two shots that they went wide. The Norwegian, on his second chance, no longer forgave. In the 20th minute, Kevin de Bruyne put in a precise cross for the Scandinavian striker, who completely unmarked, hunted down the ball to score his 24th goal in his 20th match in ‘Champions’.
A foul on the side of the Belgian’s net threatened to increase the income of the ‘sky blue’, although it was a recovery by Haaland in three quarters of the field that forced Bono to act again; Grealish put the pass of death for a Foden who found himself with the saving mitt of the Moroccan goalkeeper.
The Nervion team only reacted in the last five minutes of the first half, in which ‘Papu’ was about to surprise Ederson with a shot that went over the crossbar. A relief that Lopetegui sought to enhance by bringing on Joan Jordán and Rafa Mir for Thomas Delaney and Ivan Rakitic.
However, the ‘citizen’ harassment continued with a one-on-one from De Bruyne that Bono sent to a corner kick with his foot and with a new shot from Haaland that went wide, a prelude to another goal from the English; After a play down the right wing by Cancelo, Phil Foden cut back the Sevilla defenders to adjust the ball to the left post and put up a 0-2 that silenced Sánchez-Pizjuán (min. 58).
The English international also participated in the third of the visiting account with a left-footed shot that the Nervionense goalkeeper repelled; with the ball dead in the small area, Haaland appeared again (min. 67), who shortly after left the field with the job done.
Rúben Dias’s goal in stoppage time finally unleashed the wrath of the stands at the Sevilla Coliseum, who chanted “Pepe Castro, resign” in unison. A connection that Lopetegui’s men will have to repair urgently in the coming weeks to avoid greater evils.
–RESULT: SEVILLA FC, 0 – MANCHESTER CITY, 4 (0-1, at halftime).
SEVILLE: Bonus; Jesus Navas, Carmona, Nianzou, Acuna; Gudelj, Delaney (Joan Jordán, min.46), Rakitic (Rafa Mir, min.46); Papu Gómez (Suso, min.73), Telles (Dolberg, min.57) and Isco (Januzaj, min.78).
MANCHESTER CITY: Ederson; Cancelo, Dias, Akanji, Sergio Gomez; De Bruyne (Mahrez, min.78), Rodrigo (Kalvin Phillips, min.78), Bernardo Silva; Foden (Palmer, min.70), Grealish and Haaland (Julián Álvarez, min.70).
0-1, min.20: Haaland.
0-2, min.58: The foot.
0-3, min.67: Haaland.
0-4, min.92: Rúben Dias.
–REFEREE: Davide Massa (ITA). He admonished Rafa Mir (min.89) by Sevilla.
–STADIUM: Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán.
