Villarreal led 2-0 after 55 minutes, but two shabbily-conceded goals in the space of two minutes, and Sevilla were able to take all three points thanks to a Victor Ruiz penalty (and red card) converted by Ever Banega.
Cedric Bakambu and Carlos Bacca scored for the Submarine, and we could have scored another, and might have been awarded a penalty. But, of course, we weren’t.
Although Fornals, Bacca and Bamambu dominated proceedings, key mistakes killed us. Ramiro Guerra (who came on for an apparently injured Rodri just after halftime) conceded a free kick and Mariano Barbosa made a hash of things—Lenglet heading home. Then shortly after the defense was all at sea allowing Franco Vasquez to equalize.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Ruiz red card and a late Jaume Costa yellow mean they both miss our next league match at Leganes. Maybe the long trip to Kazakhstan took its toll in the second half—I don’t know. I(It certainly seemed to for Ruiz—what a silly challenge and obvious penalty!) But whatever the reason, Villarreal will never have a better chance to defeat Sevilla than today, and we let it slip away. Frustrating.
This was the first time we’ve thrown away a two-goal lead at home to lose—I think —since the infamous “banana” game against Barcelona, when we gave up two own goals to equalize things before the inevitable Barca winner.
Best players: Bacca, Fornals, Bakambu. Apart from that, Ruiz had a mare, and Barbosa was not his usual self either.
Highlights if you can bear to see them are below. At least the first couple of minutes are okay!