Sevilla 2-1 Athletic Club de Bilbao; “Argentina Stand Up!!!”

By: Anthony | February 4th, 2009

After our epic win over Athletic Bilbao in El Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán we now have one foot in the final of the Copa del Rey. The game didn’t exactly go as planned but right now I’m still not over the euphoria of Acosta’s injury time winning goal, so I couldn’t care less!

Today was a night of many first goals, but what a night it was.

Over the past few weeks with our less than convincing results there has been a lot of pressure on the players but more so Jiménez to deliver the results we all know are possible. We just about squeaked past Valencia in the last round with Sébastian Squillaci scoring in the 89th minute to send us through on the away goals rule and today was no different with Argentina’s 20 year old sensation, Lautaro Acosta.

Jiménez due to Fabiano’s injury started Renato playing slightly behind Kanouté. Adriano who was also back from injury occupied the left wing while Navas worked the right, Duscher slot in at the defensive midfield role and Romaric the attacking one. Mosquera on a night of many returns also made his in the right back position as the French duo Squillaci and Escudé were the lynchpins of the back line and Fernando Navarro was at right back. Of course watching the game from behind everyone was our usual saviour, Andrés Palop.

From the get-go it was all about Sevilla and we showed no signs of remorse. On a day where the pitch was absolutely flooded and only slightly cleared off, we were definitely playing well. Of course though when you’re happy, being let down hurts just that much more.

Despite absolutely dominating the first 40 minutes, Athletic struck on the 43rd minute through a Llorente header from a corner which Palop was caught in no man’s land. This is where of course I said, “Oh here we go again”. Half time arrived and the players walked off to rightfully angry Sevillistas. We absolutely dominated the first half with Navas putting in numerous dangerous crosses that our forwards failed to get on the end of. Romaric and Duscher were pretty solid in the midfield but Adriano looked a bit off the pace, probably since it was his first game back from a couple weeks off.

At the half Renato was substituted for Lautaro Acosta who returned from injury last game and looked rather lively to say the least. We started the second just as we had the first and since the field was dried out by the lovely Sevilla maintenance crew at half time, we started to play our good ol’ speed game and looked better than I’ve seen us for a long time. This is the style I love, the quick one-two’s, the runs off the ball, no long ball garbage and just pure Spanish skill.

It paid off sooner rather than later as in the 61st minute we won a corner and after it was swung in, Athletic failed to clear and as a result, all credit to Acosta as he fought off two defenders on him, won the ball, keep fighting with his head up, eventually saw Kanouté in the box who just missed the header but right behind him to pick up the pieces was Acosta’s fellow Argentine, Aldo Duscher. What an absolute bullet by our (defensive!!) midfielder, by the time the ball went in and out I thought he had either missed the target or hit the bar!! This was Aldo’s first goal and what a time to get it, when the Sevillistas were stopping their singing and the players were getting frustrated, this goal was absolutely vital to us staying in the match.

In the 60th minute Jiménez looked to exploit Athletic’s slow paced team further when he brought on Diego Capel for the totally out of place Adriano Correia. Of course Diego lit up the side with his darting runs down the left and sneaky dribbling around and behind defenders.

We dominated for the rest of the second half but a 1-1 draw in my eyes was not justified considering we were beating Athletic to every ball, and totally outplaying them, it was a really frustrating day indeed. Just as I was about to accept the draw and try and convince myself it wasn’t such a bad result after all, Kanouté was fouled in the box by the Athletic defense and the ref pointed to the spot. What relief, I was beyond ecstatic and more relieved than anything because on the run of play its what we deserved. Kanouté has probably beat almost every keeper in the league at one time or another by his stunning penalties, but of course since it was crunch time he stepped up to the spot and smacked it against the crossbar. Athletic keeper Gorka went the wrong way but by the time the ball came back to Freddie Gorka was back in position to save his weak shot.

That right there was basically the summary of our day – frustrating.

Even after this disheartening miss the boys kept their heads up and played like they had all game, with heart and passion. Tempers flared up after big Freddie’s miss though probably due to our frustration with the lack of goals we should have had. El Capitan Andrés Palop came out to calm the boys down as Escudé was knocked down by an Athletic forward and a arguement broke out amongst all players from both teams with a massive huddle ensuing.

I don’t know what the hell Andrés told them but it looked to have worked as right after we passed the ball around the Athletic players like they were the cones in a training ground exercise. Only 3 minutes of extra time were added and in the 92nd minute Mosquera threw the ball in to Romaric near the Athletic goal who passed back to Duscher near the top of the 18-yard box, Also went for broke with a left foot shot which failed miserably but then did well as he scissor kicked the ball back in, on the way in it his the Bilbao defender on the side of his leg and fell to Acosta who touched it once and slotted it in the back of the net. El Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán erupted in cheers. The staff were going crazy as Jiménez probably knows that goal was one that may have saved his job. No one was more excited than Lautaro though as this was his first goal in the Rojiblacno since his summer move to Nervión from Argentine side Lanús.

Athletic took the kickoff but a minute later the referee blew his final whistle while the passionate Sevillistas sang the loudest they have in weeks. Finally a game where we actually played well and deserved to win, in all honesty there should have been about 2-3 more goals going our way, but as a result of poor finishing it just wasn’t to be.

Top Player of the Night:
I’m sure you already know who it is. Of course none other than Lautaro Acosta who from the minute he came on injected a boost of energy in the squad and never for one minute stopped running, that’s what you call heart, makes me think a few of our other pre-madonnas should take a page out of his notebook and study it hard. He set up Duscher for our first goal and scored the winner in the 92nd minute to send us to Bilbao with the lead.

Flop Player of the Night:
Needless to say this was definitely not Kanouté’s night, from the start he never looked in place and his missed penalty just added to the Mali International’s frustration. Good thing he’s probably the most positive man alive, most players wouldn’t be able to pick themselves up after such an abysmal performance.

So yes Argentina, you can proudly stand up with pride because you have some simply amazing footballers, thank you from all of us here in Nervión.

Highlights

Jornada 22: DERBY DAY
Oh yes, it’s that time of the season again, the largest Andalucían derby between Sevilla and their pathetic neighbours Real Betis. We stay in Nervión for the next few days to train before our big game against our neighbors. The only thing we both have in common this year is our inconsistency, but once again the difference there is that Betis is still garbage, hence their league position. The reverse fixture earlier this year ended in a boring 0-0 draw in their dump of a stadium down the road but in all fairness it could have gone either way with both of us having a selective few decent opportunities.

Earlier this year my little friend from the Betis offside proposed a deal to me in which he said Betis would not only stay in the Primera División but also finish higher than Sevilla and if those both happened I would have to wear a Betis shirt *shudders* but if either one of those didn’t he’d wear the colours of a champion – the rojiblanco of Sevilla. Of course like any brave warrior I did accept the challenge and with the utmost confidence indeed. I seriously hope he looks good in red because this Saturday will be the first of many nails in your coffin. ¡¡PUTA BETIS O E!!

¡¡VAMOS MI SEVILLA
VAMOS CAMPEÓN!!