La Liga: Round 17

Real Sociedad 0-4 Sevilla FC

Lineups:

Real Sociedad: Rulli; Yuri, Martínez, Zaldúa, Mikel; Prieto, Illarramendi, Granero; Oyarzabal, William José, Vela. (4-3-3)

Sevilla FC: Rico; Mariano, Rami, Pareja; Mercado, N’Zonzi, Vázquez, Escudero; Nasri, Vitolo; Ben Yedder. (3-4-2-1)

Before round 17 started, this game promised to be the best game in which no team was named Real Madrid, FC Barcelona or Atlético de Madrid. Both Sevilla FC and Real Sociedad have had a fantastic season in terms of getting results and playing good quality of soccer. The two teams were in a most-win situation knowing that the battle for Champions League spots is close.

Sevilla took the initiative since the beginning of the game. The visitors took control of the ball, pushed Real Sociedad inside their box and marked every passing lane while playing with just three defenders in a 3-4-2-1 lineup. Real Sociedad responded very well during the first 20 minutes of the game. They deployed a very well-used transition strategy while going back and forth on attack and defense. Wingers and fullbacks had the most crucial job because they had to fulfill both roles perfectly.

It did not take too long for Sevilla to ruin that tactical move. In the 25th minute, the visitors stroke first after Franco Vázquez sent a long shot to Gerónimo Rulli. The goalkeeper could not control the shot, so that allowed Wissam Ben Yedder to put the rebound inside the net.

Four minutes later, Ben Yedder dribbled inside the box and scored the second goal of the night after Vázquez used his head to assists him. Both goals made Real Sociedad lost their tactical order on defense. They started to commit a lot of mistakes when taking the ball from the back through short passes. Those very imprecise build-ups gave Sevilla enough space, time and confidence to take care of the game from that point on.

Even tough Real Sociedad used their three substitutions early in the second half, that did not help them to change the pace of the game. In the 73th minute, Real Sociedad backline made another mistake that ended up in the third goal for Sevilla. Ben Yedder assisted Pablo Sarabia for an easy definition inside the box — he got out from the bench four minutes earlier.

Ten minutes later, Real Sociedad backline would end its nightmare after making another huge mistake that ended up in the fourth and final goal of the game. Nicolás Pareja grabbed a bad pass and made a beautiful through assist that went through the second and the first line of Real Sociedad. Ben Yedder measured it very well and scored his hat-trick.