En Nesyri at the double as Sevilla secure win over Real Sociedad in LaLiga
Sevilla hit the ground running in the first half, carving out two big chances inside three minutes. First, Youssef En Nesyri sent Adria Pedrosa’s cross inches wide of the post with a strong header, before a poor backpass from Umar Sadiq was seized upon by Isaac Romero, who shrugged off two challenges before his close-range shot was smothered by Alex Remiro.
The rewards the hosts deserved for their bright start arrived soon after. In the 11th minute, a corner was partially cleared to Hannibal Mejbri, but his sliced shot fell to Romero, who was denied by Remiro, before falling to En-Nesyri, who was perfectly placed to slot home the rebound.
Two minutes later, Pedrosa fed the Moroccan striker from the left wing, and though the angle was against him, his powerful effort was too strong for Remiro as Sevilla went 2-0 up.
La Real grew into the game as the half wore on, and they were handed a route back into the game in first-half stoppage time when Sergio Ramos was penalised for handball. Andre Silva stepped up and halved the deficit with his first league goal for the visitors.
With half of their points coming on the road, and only one away league defeat since October, Imanol Alguacil’s side would have been optimistic of completing the comeback.
However, Los Nervioneses restored their two-goal cushion 20 minutes after the restart; Sadiq cleared a corner to Oliver Torres, whose cross picked out Ramos amongst the crowd, and his header looped into the bottom corner to atone for his penalty concession.
Three goals should have become four in the 73rd minute, but Romero fluffed his lines in front of goal after receiving a ball across from En-Nesyri.
Brais Mendez set up a grandstand finish late on with a direct free-kick, but Real failed to secure an equaliser, meaning they have now picked up only nine points from their last 12 in the league, with the unenviable task of facing Paris Saint-Germain in midweek.
Back-to-back home wins for the first time under Quique Sanchez Flores, meanwhile, means Sevilla have now lost just once in six in La Liga.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Youssef En-Nesyri (Sevilla)