Sevilla vs Real Betis: Akor Adams and Ejuke silenced as Finidi’s ex-club take first Seville Derby
Sevilla’s Nigerian stars flop in the home Seville derby against Manuel Pellegrini’s Real Betis.
Sevilla largely dominated possession for the opening hour but failed to create anything telling. Real Betis’s superior offensive quality shone through with two goals in the second-half to win 2-0.
Adams and Ejuke both started the game for Los Nervionenses and struggled to provide the offensive quality Sevilla needed, as Real Betis, through goals from Pablo Fornals and Sergi Altimira, won their first league derby at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan since 2018.
Key match details
The first half finished goalless, with both sides probing but neither able to find the finishing touch. Betis broke the deadlock in the 54th minute when Pablo Fornals produced a brilliant individual effort, robbing his man, driving into space and finishing low into the corner, to make it 1–0 and give the visitors a foothold in the derby.
Betis then built on that momentum, and in the 68th minute, Fornals delivered a dangerous set piece, which Sergi Altimira met at the far post to fire a thunderous shot into the roof of the net to make it 2–0.
Tensions flared as the match wore on. Sevilla were reduced to ten men when the referee showed a straight red to Isaac Romero after an act of aggression against Valentín Gómez.
That dismissal further defused Sevilla’s hopes of a comeback. Later in the second half, the referee briefly halted play after objects were thrown from the stands, a disruption that required stewards and officials to intervene before the match could be completed safely.
Play resumed, and Betis saw out the closing stages without conceding, confirming a famous victory against their bitterest rivals in the hottest derby in Spain.
