Sevilla end winless run in La Liga and gain breathing space in relegation battle against Rayo Vallecano
Rayo Vallecano 1-2 Sevilla
Seville finally ended a run that stretched to December 19 without a win in La Liga, a streak of five games. It came against a frustrated Rayo Vallecano, who could not break down the Andalusian wall in front of them, despite the cracks appearing.
The first half saw both sides finding joy with the ball. Youssef En-Nesyri opened the scoring with an excellent finish, latching onto a deflected ball into his path from Aridane. Isaac Romero had already rounded Stole Dimitrievski, but failed to shoot, while the Moroccan made no mistake. Dimitrievski had beaten him after a ball at the far post, but the few breaks Sevilla put together Ray he struggled to deal with it.
Rayo were doing the damage for Sevilla themselves, though, with Ivan Balliu running down the right and Isi Palazon suffering a headache inside. It was from the left that the goal came, however, finding Isi in the box, whose finish went into the top corner beyond Orjan Nyland.
On the stroke of half-time, however, Isaac's excellent link-up play gave En-Nesyri the chance to finish first, and he made no mistake to leave Sevilla in control going into the second half .
Rayo had their best spell just after the half but went closest through Pep Chavarria's free header from just six yards, found by Balliu. Moments later, Isi danced between three Sevilla defenders but couldn't conjure up a finish past Nyland at the near post. Just when it looked like Vallecas would have the ball in the net, Quique Sanchez Flores' introduction of youngster Diego Hormigo and Oliver Torres swung the game in Sevilla's favour, giving Los Nervionenses an outlet down the right.
With Ocampos released further forward from his wingback role, alongside En-Nesyri, the Argentine would have the best chance from here on out, hitting the post one-on-one. The home team huffed and puffed, but could no longer find spaces to exploit in the final third, reduced to desperate long shots in the final moments. Of course for Ocampos, this game will be remembered as the game where he was placed in the bum by a fan.
Sevilla move to 15th, three away from the drop zone, and just four behind their hosts for the evening. It was only their fourth win of the season, excluding the Copa del Rey, but it will ease the pressure a bit. Meanwhile Rayo will be grateful that Cadiz (7 points back) and Granada (12 points back) are still within striking distance as they have just one league win in three and a half months.
