Key Highlights
Sevilla were left to rue missed opportunities as Deportivo Alavés left the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán with a goalless draw. The home side carried the greater threat throughout and enjoyed the better of the possession, but Antonio Sivera produced a succession of saves to claim player of the match in front of more than thirty-eight thousand people.
First Half
Sevilla began on the front foot in a four two three one with Gabriel Suazo wearing the captain’s armband, probing through Rubén Vargas, Isaac Romero and Félix Correia. Their control showed in the statistics, roughly sixty-two percent possession and expected goals just under one compared with a fraction for Deportivo Alavés, and they fashioned the clearest opening of the half when Rubén Vargas saw a very good chance in the thirty-second minute kept out by Antonio Sivera. Alavés, set up in a three five two with Ander Guevara captaining, offered early warnings of their own with headed efforts from Youssef Enríquez and Toni Martínez in the opening minutes, and Lucas Boyé and Nicolás Valentini forced further saves before the interval. The half closed with neither side able to find a finish and the half-time score was goalless.
Second Half
The second half carried much the same pattern. Sevilla remained marginally on top in the attacking exchanges and their best spell, from the fifty-seventh minute to the sixty-eighth minute, produced a string of shots and a series of saves rather than a breakthrough. Juan Iglesias and Lucas Stassin tested Sivera more than once, while Chidera Ejuke’s introduction around the hour mark and a later change brought fresh impetus that could not be turned into a goal. Deportivo Alavés answered with their own clearer spell between the seventieth minute and the seventy-fifth minute, Carlos Protesoni and Nicolás Valentini seeing efforts that lacked the precision to punish Sevilla. In the end the visitors held firm largely on the back of Sivera’s day, and the full-time result was goalless.
Closing Thoughts
For Sevilla the draw is a chastening reminder that territory and possession do not always yield goals; they remain in the upper reaches of the table but will head into a local derby with Real Betis under pressure to convert chances into points. For Deportivo Alavés the clean sheet feels like earned reinforcement of mid-table stability, a morale-boost before they entertain Deportivo A Coruña next. Antonio Sivera’s performance and Nicolás Valentini’s defensive composure were the decisive factors that allowed Alavés to leave Sevilla with a valuable point, while Sevilla’s expected goals advantage showed the shortfall is one of finishing rather than creativity.
