December 2018 - European disappointment, domestic delight
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Some smashing results in the league, but Europe tells a different story. Let's dive straight into it:
Sevilla at home...
Superb result with some clinical edge in attack. We had a lot of shots blocked against a deep-block Sevilla defence; it took a bit of Tadic magic to open the scoring. The Serbian winger smashed in a free-kick in the opening 25 minutes to give us the lead. Sevilla equalised shortly after and what ensued was a boring encounter full of blocked shots and nothingness. With Seferovic playing a VERY weak game, Abel Hernandez made a sub appearance with 27 minutes left. In the 83rd minute, with nothing really happening, Lucas whips in a stunning cross from deep and Hernandez is on hand to volley home. A fantastic way to end a drab game. Hernandez has impressed me a lot more than Seferovic, surprisingly enough.
Logroñes away...
We didn't rotate as heavily as I initially hoped, purely because I felt like we would struggle if so - changing so much for this game and then a league game would probably contribute to a narrow win here and draw against Levante. I stuck to my guns, changed some small things, and ended up with a 3-1 victory. Nothing emphatic or special, but enough to know we'll be going through to the next round. Seferovic opened the scoring with a fine long-range strike after Arribas' lay-off. Again, we spent most of the game having our shots blocked. In the 2nd half, Logroñes scored. I was worried that there was going to be an upset on the cards... until super sub Tadic wins a penalty (Lucas scores) and then whips in a corner for Arribas to emphatically crush past the goalkeeper. A late flurry of goals. One foot in the next round!
Levante at home...
Fantastic result to decimate a Levante side with A LOT of bite. Despite their lack of goals here, they did have some golden chances. Fabricio made 5 saves, all in batches: a triple and double save. Both in between our goals. He was key in this result. Seferovic scored another goal, thankfully, and Lucas kept up his fine form this month. Both headed goals from inside the box. A good 3 points going into the Man City game.
City at home...
And so ends our European journey this season. Yes, you read that right
European journey. We didn't make it into Europa because of head-to-head. I was hoping to drop back into it and have another successful run like last year. This is a huge wake-up call. We need to shift our tactics around in the Champions League. We're the 4th seed; our groups are always going to be tough. But that should never rule us out. Here, City were the better side and deserved their goal. Even if we had won, Porto did so too. It wouldn't have granted us passage to the next round. We learn from our mistakes and we will grow.
Confirmation:
5 points. Not good enough.
If goal difference was the deciding factor, we would've finished 3rd... oh, well.
Athletic away...
A phenomenal turnaround when morale was clearly low after the City result. After going 2-1 down, you could not have blamed the players for switching off. But they didn't. They fought harder. Labyad's strike from a tight angle, assisted by Corredera, gave us the lead early on... it was cut off by Williams' goal just before half-time. Early into the 2nd half, we found ourselves down courtesy of a powerful Raul Garcia header. Up steps Corredera, knocking in from a corner after a goalmouth scramble. 7 minutes later, San Emeterio fires in his specialty: a pin-point cross... the big man Seferovic knocks in and cements the full turnaround. He and Hernandez have been unbelievable this month! Another important goal from the Swiss striker!
Logroñes at home...
An explosive first-half was enough to put this tie beyond Logroñes and deliver us another victory for the month. Fabián and Lucas prospered from two flawless Antonio Luna crosses for 2-0 in 30 minutes. Abel Hernandez beat the offside trap 5 minutes later after a long-ball from Mosquera... the Uruguayan expertly tucked it past the goalkeeper. In the second-half, just to wrap things up, Lucas is felled in the box and Abel doubles his tally with an emphatic penalty. 7-1 on aggregate. Not too shabby.
We find out our opponents for the next round...
AGAIN? Give us a break. We never get an easier side in the fifth round. Aside from the first season, we've now played Real Madrid and Barcelona twice! I actually want to end this trophy drought...
Real Sociedad away...
Another superb turnaround. TWICE! Granero gave Real Sociedad the lead early on. It took us 62 minutes to equalise with substitute Fabián going on a mazy run and tucking the ball past Kivrak. 4 minutes later, the comeback was complete: Abel Hernandez expertly volleyed in a Saúl cross. It looked like another fantastic result against a Basque side... until Granero decided to score again in the 71st minute. This could have derailed the team. It could have spurred on Real Sociedad. The pendulum swung our way. In the 88th minute, when things looked beyond us, Andreas Pereira picked up the ball near the centre circle, dribbled past a couple of players and smashed a shot from 30 yards out. Not only did this goal give us the 3 points in beautiful fashion, it was the best goal scored in my tenure AND won goal of the month. A great way to end the game and month. On a side note, Pereira is a phenomenal. Can't believe we picked him up on a free. He's been the most impressive midfielder this year.
League table:
So close to the halfway point and there we sit, top of the league. 3 points clear. Wow.
This was a toss-up between the Uruguayan and Seferovic. It was tough, but I had to look at how many goals each player scored this month and how important the goals were. Abel had four, Seferovic three. Abel scored in the turn around against Real Sociedad and provided us with a win against Athletic earlier on in the month. He just about edges it. Nothing beats having two strikers in scintillating form. Makes for healthy rotation.
And so ends the month of December! In January, we may be making a new signing... who knows?! One thing's for certain: we play both Copa legs against Barcelona. 'Til then! Forza Depor!
