There was a time when the Seville he sat down at Real Madrid’s table as a candidate to win the League. It was February when many analysts pointed out that the Seville team had real options to win to the whites after collapsing in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Paris Saint Germain. Time, however, has shown us that Julen Lopetegui’s boys were neither ready nor able to take the extra step to threaten the Whites in the domestic championship, despite having known how to survive without many players in January after the African Cup dispute.
Much of the blame for the involution of Sevilla in the recent times reside in some injuries that have taken away indisputable players such as Diego Carlos, Montiel, Rekik, Papu Gómez or Martial. All of them resorted to medical services outside the club due to the frustration they experienced due to their ailments, creating a rarefied climate in the locker room. This is the main reason, but far from the only one, for the fall of a Sevilla that adds 13 points out of a possible 27 in the League.
The elimination in the Europa League -the club’s fetish tournament- at the hands of West Ham pointed to Lopetegui as a not very brave coach in difficult moments. The Basque coach has not been able to give the necessary confidence to strikers who came with tremendous inertia like Rafa Mir or Youssef En-Nesyri. Both have been far below their performance and the Martial’s arrival in the winter market has taken away more confidence than bringing competition.
It’s weird to say, but one of the factors of this collapse is also motivated by Monchi’s mistakes in the winter transfer market. Neither the aforementioned Martial nor Tecatito Corona have fit into a Lopetegui scheme that has had to put players in positions other than their own, highlighting a midfield with circumstantial midfielders.
Finally, we cannot ignore that pressure has been the worst possible enemy of a club accustomed to not having the national spotlight on them. This weekend against Barça, it is likely that their transfer of second place in the table will be consummated and many predict that they should not be neglected because Betis is four points away, making the difference between finishing in Champions or Europa League positions. There will be a busy summer in Seville to try to clarify all the causes of why a team that had everything to win a title this year leaves empty, while watching how the eternal rival plays to win the Copa del Rey.