Sevilla FC and Real Betis contested the 142nd iteration of the ‘El Gran Derbi’ on Sunday night. After four tame draws in the previous two seasons, has this bitter battle of brothers lost its spark? Jack Harris investigates.
LaLiga is known worldwide for its intriguing list of derbies. For most viewers, an El Clásico ‘derby’ – though not a ‘derby’ in the traditional, intra-city rivalry sense – is the first event to find on the fixture list. Whenever Real Madrid take on Barcelona, a spectacle fuelled by decades of bad blood on and off the pitch is guaranteed. In the Basque Country, two clashing ideologies exchange blows on the turf as the academy-centric Athletic Bilbao take on the cosmopolitan Real Sociedad. Madrid, Galicia, Mallorca and Asturias host derbies so violent and bitter that their off-pitch activities invariably outshine (for better, but more often for worse) any kicks of a football.
“… a rivalry so tense and unrelentingly fiery, a footballing passion driven wild by the heat and released in sheer catharsis at the expense of a neighbour. For Sevilla and Real Betis are exactly that: neighbours. Brothers, even.”
In Spain’s southern region of Andalusia, however, lies a rivalry which historically befits the region’s soaring temperatures and perennial sunshine. Andalusia’s capital, Seville, is baked by the sun almost year-long, forming a lifestyle where locals siesta through the day and fiesta into the night. Perhaps, then, it’s this constant exposure to the unforgiving elements that fuels a rivalry so tense and unrelentingly fiery, a footballing passion driven wild by the heat and released in sheer catharsis at the expense of a neighbour. For Sevilla and Real Betis are exactly that: neighbours. Brothers, even. Betis itself formed out of the ashes of internal disputes within Sevilla, after an outcry following the Sevillistas’ refusal to sign a player from the working-class Triana district in 1913 led defecting Sevilla directors to form ‘Betis Deportivo Balompié’ (literally ‘Betis Football Club’). Temperatures only continued to rise, particularly when Sevilla’s former president Rámon Sánchez Pizjuán funded Seville’s tram network — deliberately cutting the line off at a half-hour walk from Betis’ stadium.
Recent iterations of the on-pitch rivalry have been nothing short of exhilarating. Sevilla’s demolition of their city rivals with a 6-0 aggregate victory in 2016’s Copa del Rey quarter-finals was a humbling reminder of who ruled Sevilla. Betis would soon have their revenge, with Los Verdiblancos tearing Sevilla apart in a chaotic league encounter in January 2018, humiliating their rivals 5-3 in Sevilla’s own stadium. Another Copa derby played out in 2022, seeing Betis narrowly edging out a 2-1 win before going on to win the trophy itself — a victory that their fans made sure to flaunt to their neighbours.
Yet, as the two teams lined the tunnel of Sevilla’s Rámon Sánchez Pizjuán stadium on October 6th, 2024, they prepared for battle in a league fixture that had given four draws in its previous four iterations. Has the spark left Spain’s fiercest derby?
The hordes of white-and-red-clad supporters certainly didn’t seem to think so. Some 44,000 Sevillistas had filled their stadium, braying for Betis blood and pouring their chants down to the pitch as the two teams left the tunnel. New Sevilla coach García Pimienta, prowling the dugout in his first Seville Derby, made only two changes to the side that had quite literally snatched a draw from Athletic Bilbao at San Mamés; Ejuke Chidera bundled the ball into the net with a wicked deflection off Bilbao’s stand-in goalkeeper, Álex Padilla. Young Argentinian wingback Valentin Barco and former Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho were replaced in the squad by left-back Adrià Pedrosa and young Spanish ace Isaac Romero respectively. For Betis, wholesale rotation was in order after their narrow loss to Legia Warszawa in the Europa Conference League. Vitor Roque would once again lead the Betis line, following a surprising loan-deal from FC Barcelona, while club captain Hector Bellerin replaced Aitor Ruibal as Manuel Pellegrini’s starting right-back.
“Lukebakio was a joy to watch throughout, the focal point of a Sevilla trident whose other two points were neutralised by near-impeccable defensive displays by Bellerin and Diego Llorente.”
Sevilla began with far greater attacking impetus, driving relentlessly towards a Betis backline that were largely content with clearing the ball out of their half. Star winger Dodi Lukebakio looked frightening for Sevilla: a red-white blur of liquid limbs, pirouetting and tiptoeing between green-and-white shirts with hypnotic, almost balletic grace. The Betis defence were herded by the magnetism of the winger’s skill, having to defend in twos and threes but never quite dispossessing the Belgian. The pressure told quickly, as Lucien Agoume found José Ángel Carmona, whose scuffed effort fell kindly to an unmarked Ejuke who dispatched an easy finish for the opener. VAR was quick to intervene, though, correctly determining that both Agoume and midfielder Nemanja Gudelj were influencing play from an offside position and chalking off Sevilla’s opener.
Betis are a team that — particularly playing away from home — rely on such moments: inviting pressure, waiting for an opponent to lose momentum, before cutting them apart on the break. Los Verdiblancos, initially very wasteful with possession and passing, put together some dazzling displays of one-touch dexterity to drive the ball into the Sevilla half. Bellerin was an integral figure to this success. His defensive work-rate in the opening half was superb, abating Sevilla’s pressure and looking to play forward. He very nearly tee’d up the opener for Vitor Roque, with an acrobatic cross that the Brazilian striker could only head straight into Ørjan Håskjold Nyland’s thankful gloves. Giovanni Lo Celso, currently in the midst of a stunning season in LaLiga, found good space in and around the Sevilla box, but couldn’t profit from a number of chances: his best a low, driven thunderbolt that scratched the paintwork of Nyland’s bottom-left corner, following a brilliant interception by Marc Roca on 25 minutes. Shortly after, Lo Celso would deliver a remarkable through-ball to Roque who — although left with plenty of space — missed from a tight angle after a heavy touch. Pellegrini’s Betis were, as ever, scintillating in the build-up: a true joy to watch with the deft, careful artistry of their passing moves tying Sevilla’s midfield in knots.
While the Sevilla centrebacks struggled to contain a rampant Roque who darted through gaps in their defensive formation, Sevilla’s attackers looked dominant in this first half. Lukebakio was a joy to watch throughout, the focal point of a Sevilla trident whose other two points were neutralised by near-impeccable defensive displays by Bellerin and Diego Llorente. Abdessamad Ezzalzouli conceded a reckless free-kick to Sevilla, being shown the yellow card and allowing Gudelj a free-kick that Lukebakio very nearly capitalised on. The Belgian winger struck a low shot with venom, a powerful effort that necessitated an equally powerful low save from Rui Silva. While both fanbases fuelled their teams with a rancorous, unceasing wall of sound — Betis’ chants of “Puta Sevilla” sometimes so deafening that they drowned out the home crowd — the teams went into half-time with the deadlock unbroken.
In tight, tetchy clashes between rivals desperately unwilling to concede victory to their enemy, it is often the small moments or mistakes that define the contest. Almost as soon as proceedings had resumed, Llorente was very unlucky in handling a goal-bound header from Agoume. Lukebakio made no mistake from the spot and slipped a low ball into the bottom-right corner after sending a hapless Silva to the wrong side. Those hordes of sun-soaked Sevillstas rose in perfect unison, a chorus of utter, delirious cacophony filling the Sánchez Pizjuán. Betis looked broken. Llorente shook his head despondently, desperate for anything to reverse the one moment of poor decision making that allowed Sevilla to get their noses in front. Fortune often favours those who score the derby opener.
With Betis in regression, Sevilla turned the game up a gear. Consistent possession in combination with a bombardment of the Betis box saw Sevilla claw away at their rivals in pursuit of another goal. Isaac Romero and Gerard ‘Peque’ Fernandez both looked to find Sevilla’s second goal — the latter agonisingly close but for the phenomenal defensive retribution of Llorente. Already silenced by the opener, the Betis fans disappeared from the soundscape of the match altogether as Sevilla’s hometown hero, Jesus Navas, took to the field. The right-back, now 38 years old, made a record-breaking 28th appearance in El Gran Derbi to the unquestioning adulation of the Sevilla faithful. Navas — playing through injuries, ignoring pain, and defying the clock of age — is a Sevillista hero through and through. His appearance was thoroughly deserving of the ovation with which it was met.
Clearly desperate for the equaliser, Betis needed some luck, in search of which they were prepared to throw caution to the wind. Cédric Bakambu and Chimy Ávila nearly combined to get Betis back in the game on 87 minutes, only failing to bulge Nyland’s net. Yet fortune was to favour Betis on the stroke of 90 minutes as Sevilla centreback Tanguy Nianzou saw red for a second foul, this time on Lo Celso. Betis threw everything at the Sevilla defence in the 7 minutes of added time, constantly threatening to equalise but never quite materialising a good enough chance. Fighting tooth-and-nail in every challenge, Sevilla successfully repelled wave after green wave to secure the derby victory, keeping a vital three points at home. Their cross-town rivals will have a lot to dwell on, with easy missed chances in both halves that could — and should — have furthered their push for the European spots.
Perhaps the rivalry has dampened in recent seasons, at least in terms of the scoreline. But there’s a fire, a passion, a desire to be the big brother, that was evident in both sides. In Pimienta, Sevilla have a solid foundation with which to shut out the internal, directorial noise and discourse, focussing on rediscovering that brand of football which once sparkled on the continent. For Betis, Pellegrini provides consistency; he is an established point of leadership that demands a flavourful attack facilitated by intelligent, thoughtful, technical possession and passing. In the case of both teams, an ascendency through the league standings (Betis currently sit 10th; Sevilla 12th) is a necessity. If both clubs keep their quest for Europe alive into March, the return derby promises to be a firecracker.
SEVILLA FC (4-3-3): 13. Ørjan Håskjold Nyland; 3. Adrià Pedrosa (4. Kike Salas, ’79); 24. Tanguy Nianzou (Red Card, 90′); 22. Loic Badé; 32. José Ángel Carmona; 14. Gerard Fernandez (10. Suso, ’79); 6. Nemanja Gudelj [C]; 18. Lucien Agoume (12. Albert Sambi Lokonga, ’72); 21. Chidera Ejuke (23. Marcao, ’90+1); 7. Isaac Romero (16. Jesus Navas, ’72); 11. Dodi Lukebakio.
REAL BETIS (4-2-3-1): 1. Rui Silva; 12. Ricardo Rodriguez (15. Romain Perraud, ’86); 6. Natan; 3. Diego Llorente; 2. Hector Bellerin [C]; 21 Marc Roca (24. Aitor Ruibal, ’64); 4. Johnny Cardoso; 10. Abdessamad Ezzalzouli (9. Ezequiel Ávila, ’79); 20. Giovanni Lo Celso; 18. Pablo Fornals; 8. Vitor Roque (11. Cédric Bakambu, ’64).
