Sevilla thrash Almeria 5-1 to ease pressure on Mendilibar

• Sevilla thrashed Almeria 5-1 at home on Tuesday night to ease pressure on under-fire boss Jose Luis Mendilibar
• The heat is now on Almeria’s coach, Vicente Moreno, as his team remains winless with only two points from their first seven matches

Sevilla thrashed fellow strugglers Almeria 5-1 at home on Tuesday night to ease pressure on under-fire boss Jose Luis Mendilibar. This was Sevilla’s second victory this season and they are now eleventh on La Liga standings with seven points.

Youssef En-Nesyri and Dodi Lukebakio gave Sevilla a 2-0 lead within the first eight minutes of play, with Suso adding a third in the 37th minute. Former Tottenham Hotspur man Erik Lamela scored the fourth goal in the 51st minute before Luis Suarez pulled one for Almeria 20 minutes later. Kike Salas caused more damage for Almeria in added time when he scored Sevilla’s fifth goal of the night.

Sevilla beat Almeria 5-1. Photo/ Onda Cero.

Sevilla’s coach, Jose Luis Mendilibar, can now relax a bit following his side’s massive victory on Tuesday night. Speaking after the win, Mendilibar admitted he went into the match feeling the heat but was delighted with the response from his players.

“Before a game you never think it will turn out like this. We were successful in the first actions, we went 2-0 early and that weighed on Almeria. We have had a better streak of play, not so much of results, since the game against Girona. This time we were successful in front of goal and that gave us life to be more aggressive later. The result often gives you the power to do more things.” Tribal Football quotes Sevilla boss Jose Luis Mendilibar.

The heat is now on Almeria’s coach, Vicente Moreno, as his team remains winless with only two points from their first seven matches. They will be hosting Granada, who are also struggling, on Sunday.

How Sevilla Thrashed Almeria 

Sevilla’s peculiar record of remaining unbeaten in Tuesday continued last night, with the hosts taking the lead in the seventh minute. Youssef En-Nesyri’s quick reaction opened the scoring for Sevilla after Loic Bade’s header crashed back off the crossbar.

The hosts then doubled their lead barely a minute later as summer signing Dodi Lukebakio weaved his way into the dangerous area and fired a shot into the top corner. Sevilla came knocking again a few minutes later but Almeria’s goalkeeper Luis Maximiano demonstrated amazing reflexes to stop Lukebakio from getting a brace.

But it didn’t take long before Sevilla added their third goal of the night, this time the goalscorer being Suso. The Spain international curved a sumptuous effort into the far corner to increase his side’s lead to 3-0.

Sevilla’s victory over Almeria eased pressure on manager Jose Luis Mendilibar. Photo/ ZeroZero.

As Almeria pushed forward in numbers after the break to at least pull one back, they were caught on the counter, with Erik Lamela finishing the brilliant move. The visitors got the consolation goal they needed in the 71st minute, courtesy of Luis Suarez. Kike Salas added salt to the injury scoring Sevilla’s fifth goal of the night in added time.