Sevilla beat Betis with a great goal from En-Nesyri (1-0) in the historic derby held in the Mexican city of Guadalajara, hometown of Andrés Guardado, captain of the Verdiblancos and one of the demands of the local population as it was he Thecatite Crown with the sevillistas. 9,242 kilometers from Seville, LaLiga promoted this atypical derby, the first on American soil in the more than hundred-year history of the two great rivals of the Andalusian capital, but not the first outside the Iberian Peninsula. In 1944, Sevilla and Betis played a derby in the current Moroccan city of Larache, then part of the Spanish Protectorate of Morocco. Then Betis won. In the state of Jalisco, Sevilla did it. As a curiosity, Atlético de Tetuán, also from the Spanish protectorate, came to play in the Spanish First Division in the 51-52 season.
The derby lacked the morbidity of Isco’s presence at Betis. Despite the fact that the player’s environment does not stop affirming that his physical condition is optimal, the man from Malaga was left out of this atypical derby because he does not have the necessary freshness to face a match with the minimum guarantees. Isco signed for Betis in a lightning operation on July 26 and has not played an official competition match since November 13 of last year, in a Cup clash against the modest Velarde. Manuel Pellegrini, the Betic coach, is convinced that Isco can contribute to his new project, but, for now, he needs to achieve the minimum form to be competitive.
Sevilla showed, once again, that they play better in derbies, even this strange one. En-Nesyri’s great goal in the 92nd minute of the volley defined the clash, where Betis had better chances to score earlier, but who suffered from their lack of punch. Pellegrini’s team played with more headlines than its rival, where footballers like Navas, Suso or Rakitic did not line up. Borja Iglesias missed a sung goal after 15 minutes. The striker missed the empty goal after a shot from Luiz Henrique turned into a great pass. Betis was better in the first half, with Luiz Henrique himself very active. Montiel made a hard tackle on the Brazilian and a small fight ensued. The derby did have moments of abruptness and some mistimed entry. The distance did not detract from intensity and numerous yellow cards were drawn.
Bono, always in shape, saved Sevilla in the second half with two good saves against Juanmi and Willian José. The first against Juanmi was simply spectacular. With the local public doing the wave before the low level of the derby in those minutes of the game, Mendilibar brought on several starters in the final stretch. In a good action after a throw-in, Fernando crossed into the area and En-Nesyri scored with an excellent shot. The old formula continues to bear fruit for the Europa League champion. A goalkeeper who saves games, Bono, and a striker who scores, En-Nesyri. What a Betis lacked with a good touch, but without punch during the time they dominated this summer derby in Mexico.
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