I’m not over optimistic about the second half, we need to make changes that suit our rapid counter attacks. I’m not totally convinced by Oliver Torres either so it could be Mudo. Whatever about De Jong, he’s a great help as a defensive player for corners etc it’s up front he’s most questionable and not a rapid counter attacker. I’d put Chicharito on for De Jong, we have a good defensive record after 3.5 games, so what the heck.
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Gudelj for Jordan, so he went for defence, OK we’ll see how that works before the next change.
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Chicharito for … ? De Jong
Sevilla totally lost and wobbling, we’re going to suffer without a second goal.
We need to hold firm! It would be a real shame not to win this now! C’mon Sevilla!
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Mudo on for Torres! Last change by lope!
Turned into an all-out war at the end. Way to hold on guys! A few close calls. Ugly 3 points, just the way i wanted them. ¡Vamos! 
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Top of the fucking table!
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We are top like a boss! I’m loving how rock solid we are. It would have 4 clean sheets in a row if not for the magic from Denis against Celta. Top of la Liga and only conceded 1 goal. Are we the new Atletico?, I certainly would love it, if we were. I’m sure more goals will come too!
Bring on Real Madrid next! Although we have our first europa game first! Vamos!
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Chicharito did well, arguably better than De Jong but we should’ve signed someone like Vedat Muriqi (combination of Ibra and Mandzukic) in the summer window. Man Utd, Tottenham and some other good teams are after him so we don’t stand much chance now probably, but De Jong is not the striker we need for this system.
Gudelj made that crucial tackle at the end, but he lost many balls and not good at positioning, probably not the sub midfielder (joker) we need, food for thought for the January window.
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We’re not just top, we’ve regained first spot, first to reach double digit points, least goals against (1). Suck that up Atletico (4).
Alaves showed they were thugs towards the end and notice how their crowd started chanting ‘puta Sevilla’ during the standoff when they committed the foul that created the shoving. They’re off my Christmas card list.
After seeing the Jordan goal, I’m glad we didn’t buy Pacheco.
But the football I’m seeing is what Monchi bought more than what loopy is creating.
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I would definitely do squad rotation for Thursday’s match. Give others who not played as much a go. This is why we put this strong squad together. We need to use it and also give our first team a rest, plus it’s an opportunity for others to impress and force their way into the 1st team. Europa is important but we in a relatively soft group on paper. We should still be able to get through well by rotating our team.
We can still get a good result against Qarabag and then against Real Madrid with the correct rotation used. I hope Dabbur gets a start against Qarabag!
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The new rule is that you can’t have your players in the opponent’s wall, but you can have them at least 1-2 feet in front of it. Not sure about the exact distance, but Ocampos was allowed to stand there.
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I was travelling home today and couldn’t get to see the game but that chant came through loud and clear on the car radio Tim.
You can bet that nothing will be said about it though, unlike the big news it will be next sunday if we are heard giving the same to madrid
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Expecting something like this, just that I’d like to see Sergi Gomez in for Diego Carlos (resting purpose, and to see Sergi play as a CB a bit), also maybe Dabbur in the second half or something.
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Re-watched the 1st half of this game…
I appreciate Lopetegui playing it safe. I loved how everyone has bought in to the defensive structure of the team. Fernando bossed it, and was a perfect custodian. Almost all Alavés’ passes were getting intercepted, and the ball kept going back into their half. Even De Jong was coming back for us to maintain that defensive shape. The makings of a serious team.
I found it funny that we have 6 wingers in the squad, and only Ocampos featured. The inclusion of Óliver gave us another playmaker, and made sure we kept recycling the ball. He played the Isco role, where he was licensed to roam, and made for some interesting combinations. If only the CF could have fed off just one of these.
A few times, Jordán found himself occupying the spot where Luuk should’ve been. It led to successful triangle plays between him, Óliver & Reguilón, who took full advantage and sprinted into open space. It just never came off for De Jong, as nearly every layoff was just a bit off, or he couldn’t anticipate any teammate’s pass. Almost as if he was just in the way.
I’m not too bothered with Lopetegui’s selections, as he just wants to start off right with something consistent. We can clearly see De Jong is struggling. But then again, he’s a plus for us defensively. Playing it safe. Our attacking players waiting in the wings (no pun intended) should be highly motivated once these chances come. Thank God for European football. The lineup against Qarabag should be very interesting.
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The team is showing signs of solid defense, which is much needed if we want to stay at the top of La Liga. However, the number of players writing their names to the score sheet is limited and we must find a solution to this fast.
The UEFA game this week should give us a great opportunity as we can greatly improve our confidence by scoring as many goals as possible.
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I wonder how much of De Jong’s struggles comes down to the language barrier? Possibly another reason Dabbur hasn’t featured. Neither speak Spanish. How does the team make sure that they understand what the coach is asking of them? I didn’t notice a translator in Dallas; however, many in the team do speak English.
It hasn’t kept De Junk out of the team !
I see that Ocampos is travelling with the squad although he can’t play for suspension, while Dabbur didn’t travel to Espanyol for ‘technical reasons’, and still hasn’t sat on the bench in an official game, what a way to go if you’re trying to alienate a player.
The final insult would be not playing Dabbur or giving him a cameo role in terms of minutes.
I also noted that Rony Lopes played 20 minutes against Celta and was clearly not in ‘match fit’ conditions.
Perhaps a bit harsh to say, but I’d loan Rony Lopes out or sell him come January window. We need a serious winger to compete with Ocampos, he clearly can’t compete and I doubt he’ll do anything worthy in less important matches or when Ocampos is not available.
Time will tell.
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