Lucas Ocampos was the star of the match during Sevilla’s 2-0 win over Real Betis on Thursday. The Argentinian, who was doubtful for this contest due to illness, scored a goal and set up another one during his team’s comfortable 2-0 victory at home. It was the first match of LaLiga since the league went on a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic in early March.
It was pretty noticeable this was the first game following a three-month hiatus. Just like it happened in the Bundesliga last month, the game lacked pace and both teams were quite inaccurate with their movements and passes, at least during the first half. That said, there were a fair share of scoring opportunities during the initial 45 minutes.
Most of them belonged to Sevilla. Ocampos came close to score in the 11th minute but his effort rattled the crossbar. Midway through the first half, Munir sent a cross into the box and Luuk de Jong nodded the ball home, but his effort went inches to the right of the goal. The first half ended with a scoreless draw, but the hosts were undoubtedly on top.
Lucas Ocampos changes the game for Sevilla
That differential got reflected in the result only a few minutes into the first half. A VAR-aided penalty from Marc Bartra allowed Ocampos to net the first goal of the contest. The former Marseille winger placed the ball out of Joel Robles’ reach with a fierce shot into the bottom right corner. It was a deserved result based on how the game had unfolded.
Betis’ resistance crumbled after the goal and Sevilla took advantage of the momentum to add another goal. Just six minutes after the opener, Ocampos was at it again. This time, he played a ball into the area towards Fernando, and the central midfielder nodded the ball home past Joel to make it 2-0.
The final 25 minutes of the contests were downright poor. Betis made several changes looking to spark things up and sent the likes of Loren Moron and Joaquin into the box, but the results weren’t there. Sevilla didn’t have problems to secure the win in this derby. Betis looked tired and out of games as the game progressed, while Sevilla had more stamina and didn’t have issues to control the contest on route to a comfortable win.
Match Report
Sevilla: Vaclik (6); Jesus Navas (6), Diego Carlos (6), Kounde (7), Reguilon (5) (Vazquez (-), 80’); Joan Jordan (8), Fernando (7), Oliver Torres (5) (Escudero (-), 80’); Munir (6) (Suso (-), 74’), de Jong (6) (En-Nesyri (-), 71’), Ocampos (8) (Banega (-), 71’)
Real Betis: Robles (5); Emerson (6), Bartra (4), Sidnei (6) (Feddal (5), 46’), Alex Moreno (5) (Pedraza (-), 78’); Sergio Canales (6), Rodriguez (5), Carlos Aleña (5) (Joaquin (5), 69’); Fekir (6), Borja Iglesias (6) (Loren Moron (5), 69’), Tello (5) (Lainez (5), 61’)
Goals: Ocampos (1-0, 56’), Fernando (2-0, 62’)
Referee: Antonio Mateu
Yellow Cards: Emerson, Bartra (BET)
Red Cards: None
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