Position: 15th
Class: D+
Record: 10-11-17
Goals scored: 48
Goals conceded: 54
Top scorer: Youssef En-Nesyri – 20
Top assistant: Suso – 5
Story of the season
How do you solve a problem like Seville? Last season ended in chaos, this season started in chaos, and this season ended with the club we blaspheme against Jesus. They have not been relegated, but when this is the positive leader…
You'd think Jose Luis Mendilibar would have gained at least six months since his Europa League win last season, but that wasn't the case. The “new era” under a new president and new Sporting Director Victor Orta looked a lot like the old one. They were let down a bit by Monchi, but after spending the whole summer saying they wouldn't sign Sergio Ramos, and then a Netflix documentary and a philosopher changed his mind a day after the transfer window – not composed, at least not by us.
When the season started, Ramos was very good, but Sevilla was not. Mendilibar did not give much time, but could not capture the same energy that they had last season, and once again they were close to the relegation zone.
The unfortunate appointment of Diego Alonso seemed like a risk, and it was. Alonso managed to hold his team together for the full 90 minutes or so against Real Madrid in a 1-1 draw, and while they kept the ball better, the bouncing new manager didn't see them win a game for a month.
Enter Quique Sanchez Flores, and he managed to stabilize things after a lot of deep breathing and angry looks from behind his beard.
The discovery of Isaac Romero was indeed a very exciting development, and his collaboration with Youssouf En-Nesyri was exciting until the former got injured. In the second half of the season, they did enough to survive comfortably, based on a back three and some gritty performances.
Explanation of the degree
When your side is good enough to win the Europa League but avoiding relegation may not be the goal for a team the size of Seville, with his budget and this team. Yes, there are big gaps in the side, and money is getting tighter, but the reality is that Sevilla didn't seem cohesive or clear in their identity for three quarters of this season.
Sacking a sixth manager in two years speaks to the instability of the project, and for every Ramos, there is a Mariano Diaz, Hannibal Mejbri or Adnan Januzaj. Sevilla have shown again that they have it to some extent, and the way Fernando Reges spoke about the side not caring about defeats after the departure is not encouraging. Avoided catastrophe, but we still scale this as a disastrous season.
Outstanding moment: 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. He was not kicked because of the team often this year, but this was Sevilla of old, overcoming Diego Simeone's men.
Key player: Sergio Ramos – we don't feel too sucked into the narrative here. He commanded the backline and raised his game when needed. He also scored a few crucial goals, and the reality is that there are not too many candidates.
Seasonal surprise: An unsurprising choice here – Isaac Romero. He was about to be loaned to Segunda after playing in lower leagues with Sevilla Atletico for a couple of years. At the age of 24, you wouldn't normally expect academy players to burst onto the scene, but he did, and to great effect.
Glass half full
Surely they are in for an easier summer and season next year? If they can keep their cool, that should allow a better work environment, and Garcia Pimienta it might not be to everyone's taste, but he is used to working in difficult environments, even if Barca Atletic and Las Palmas are not the same size of the heat, both have egos and politics at work as well.
This year it feels like expectations will be lowered, but when it comes down to it, many of their players are at least useful eight La Liga players. They just need to regress to the mean to get better.
Glass half empty
Jesus Navas is going to leave at the end of the year, Fernando and Ivan Rakitic are gone, Sergio Ramos could leave too. It was an aging side and perhaps it was time for a release, but with Sevilla also looking to sell En-Nesyri, there is still plenty of quality left.
The tension with the court has not subsided much, and Sevilla will have to find a way to sell their project to the fans and players. Basically, they need a whole culture change, and are the conditions for that?
