Sevilla is the Europa League champions, and they should provide Manchester United with their toughest test in the competition so far this season. However, the club has won the trophy six times and has had a disastrous season. They finished fourth last season, and there have been times this season when they would have taken fourth from the bottom due to the real threat of relegation.
Europa League pros Sevilla lie in 13th in La Liga
The first blunder was not parting ways with Julen Lopetegui in the summer. Both sides knew that a successful three-year run was ending. So, hiring a new coach before the season could have resulted in a more cohesive start. Instead, seven games into the season, the new coach was announced as Jorge Sampaoli. Fashion has already shifted dramatically.
Sevilla’s second goal in a 2-0 win over Cadiz came on a three-pass move from one penalty area to the other in his first game as manager. Intricate build-up play in the team’s first third is almost entirely prohibited. Sampaoli’s attempts to play out from the back were made all the more difficult because the defense has been Sevilla’s main issue this season. Last summer, they lost Diego Carlos to Aston Villa and Jules Kounde to Barcelona and failed to replace them adequately.
Tanguy Nianzou has looked every bit the talented but inexperienced 20-year-old who was given little time at Bayern Munich. Marco, the more experienced player, has only made four league appearances due to injury.
They also made mistakes in other departments’ transfer markets. The gamble on rehabilitating Isco, who was signed from Real Madrid, failed, and left in January. Too many players appeared preoccupied with the World Cup rather than the team. Papu Gomez had been ineffective leading up to the Qatar tournament and then injured.
