Sevilla lag behind Spanish League front-runners post Osasuna draw

Sevilla slipped further behind La Liga pacesetters Barcelona and Real Madrid on Sunday after being held to a 1-1 draw away to Osasuna, who played the final third of the game with 10 men following the sending-off of Oier Sanjurjo.

The draw interrupted a five-game winning streak in all competitions for Julen Lopetegui’s side and left them third in the standings after 16 games on 31 points, three behind leaders Barca and second-placed Real, who each have a game in hand.

Osasuna, who have lost only once at home in the league since April 2018, are 10th on 23 points.

Sevilla forward Munir El Haddadi put the visitors ahead in the 11th minute with a confident finish after galloping on to a through ball, but Chimy Avila equalised at the end of the first half with a vicious shot into the roof of the net. Osasuna forward Marc Cardona clashed heads with Diego Carlos in the first half and had to be taken off on a stretcher. His club said he had been concussed and was taken to hospital for further tests but had regained consciousness.

Sevilla forward Javier Hernandez saw a goal narrowly ruled out for offside in the first half while substitute Moanes Dabour almost snatched a winner as stoppage time approached but struck the post.

“We had a lot of chances but it wasn’t meant to be. We knew it was going to be a very difficult game and we leave with a point that feels like very little,” said goalscorer Munir.

“We said at halftime that we had to go all out to win the game and that’s what we tried to do but we couldn’t pull it off.”

Osasuna coped well after Oier’s dismissal in the 61st minute and felt they should have been awarded a late penalty for a possible handball by Diego Carlos. Their goalkeeper Juan Perez dedicated the result to team mate Cardona and praised his side for how they dug in with 10 men.

“Every player in the team sacrificed a lot today, we normally go out to win every game at home but today we had the red card which conditioned our performance and we had to suffer once again,” he said.

Reuters