Sevilla play their biggest game of the season against Athletic Bilbao this weekend, but they didn't hold back in Thursday's Europa League tilt against Valencia. Los Che have arguably overperformed in this competition, and they looked very much like an average mid-table La Liga side in their 2-0 loss away to Sevilla.
Sevilla vs. Valencia: Final score 2-0, Los Che in trouble headed home
Valencia should have enjoyed a bit of advantage due to only having one competition to focus on, but Sevilla brought their best on Thursday.
Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno
The home side was on the front foot early on, with Carlos Bacca nearly scoring on a breakaway before taking a bad touch inside the first 10 minutes. Valencia's Juan Bernat did force Beto into a tough save in the 17th minute, but the rest of the first half was dominated by Sevilla, and they had two goals before halftime.
Stephane Mbia scored their first with a cheeky backheel in the 33rd minute, cleaning up after a free kick by Ivan Rakitic bounced around the box. Three minutes later, Vitolo set up Bacca on the edge of the penalty area for Sevilla's second, and just like that, Valencia were two goals behind.
Somehow, despite their domination and numerous chances, Sevilla failed to score again. Federico Fazio had a header from point blank range saved just before halftime, and his side came out firing again after the break. Vicente Guaita had to make a couple of huge saves early in the second half, denying Fazio in the 53rd minute and Bacca three minutes later.
Valencia’s best chance to pull a goal back came in the 88th minute when Eduardo Vargas grazed the crossbar. Other than that, there wasn’t a lot of life in the visitors’ attack, and they’re lucky that they don’t trail by more than two goals.
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