Winless Almeria strike late to draw against Sevilla in thriller
Perhaps the only thing left to play for this season for Almeria is to avoid falling short of Sporting Gijon’s La Liga record-low 13-point tally, but they looked far from a side with no league wins to their name in the opening stages.
A particular bright spark was Luka Romero, who has shown promise in his limited minutes since joining on loan from Milan, although the 19-year-old’s quality of finish didn’t match his movement after he latched onto Jonathan Viera’s searching ball.
The defensive frailties that have got the Andalusian side into this position began to show as the half went on, allowing the dynamic attackers of Sevilla to set their sights on goal. Kike Salas had Luis Maximiano backpedalling as he looped a header against the bar, before Isaac Romero should probably have beaten the Portuguese stopper with any of his three attempts, and the visitors were left to rue those chances as they were hit on the counter before the break.
Viera drove his new side forward and played a perfectly-weighted ball to Adrian Embarba, who came in from the left to slot under Orjan Nyland and notch his first of the campaign.
The hosts weren’t resting on their laurels in the second half, and they successfully managed to lower the tempo from a frenzied end to the first period. Gaizka Garitano’s men could even have had a second when Viera hit over for the second time in the game, but they were ultimately on the wrong side of fortune in a four-minute period which exemplified their calamitous campaign.
Sevilla were propelled forward by Isaac, and in very similar fashion to Almeria’s opener, he slotted through Dodi Lukebakio for the substitute to fire across goal for the equaliser.
With that goal under their belts, the away side had the confidence to search for another, and they got it with just a few minutes remaining.
Suso’s corner ricocheted its way to Lucas Ocampos, who had an easy finish from just a few yards out.
Many at the Power Horse Stadium thought things were done there, but Almería had the last laugh as Marko Milovanovic rose to head into the bottom corner and salvage a point for his side.
Sevilla will be disappointed to surrender the lead after working so hard to come from behind, while Almería fail once again to end their remarkable La Liga-record 31-game winless streak.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jonathan Viera (Almeria)
