Lucas Ocampos and Youssef En-Nesyri struck to earn new Sevilla coach Jose Luis Mendilibar a crucial 2-0 victory over La Liga relegation rivals Cadiz in his first game in charge yesterday.
The Andalusian derby was an early test for the former Eibar coach, who replaced Jorge Sampaoli, and his team rose to the challenge with a back-to-basics display to move into midtable. Sevilla struggled to create chances in a tight first half which the hosts shaded, but Ocampos broke the deadlock soon after the break.
Cadiz goalkeeper David Gil punched a corner into his path and the forward drove home confidently. En-Nesyri finished well on the break to double his team’s lead after Bryan Gil cushioned the ball into his path with a nice touch.
Oliver Torres came close in stoppage time as Sevilla climbed to 13th, five points above the relegation zone. Sevilla have not finished in the bottom half of La Liga since they were promoted to the top flight in 2001.
Earlier, Girona snatched a 2-1 win in a Catalan derby clash with Espanyol thanks to Christhian Stuani’s late penalty. Both sides had a player sent off as Girona, 10th, left Espanyol 17th, a point above the relegation zone. Getafe earned a creditable 0-0 draw at Athletic Bilbao and are 14th, four points above the bottom three.
Tillman double keeps Rangers in pursuit of Celtic
Malik Tillman showed why Rangers are keen to make the American’s move from Bayern Munich permanent by scoring twice in a 2-0 win over Dundee United. A 14th win in 15 Scottish Premiership games since Michael Beale took charge moved Rangers to within six points of leaders Celtic, who are in action today away to Ross County.
Beale revealed ahead of kick-off that Rangers are working on exercising an option to buy on the season-long loan deal that brought Tillman to the club. The 20-year-old has now scored six goals in as many games and 12 for the season.
Rangers had struggled to break down a resolute United defence until Todd Cantwell’s inventive pass picked out Tillman to drive low past Mark Birighitti on 38 minutes. Another cool finish 10 minutes after half-time put the game beyond the visitors, who remain rooted to the foot of the table.
Elsewhere, Aberdeen moved to within a point of third-placed Hearts with a 1-0 win away to 10-man St Johnstone. Andrew Considine was sent off against his old club after just six minutes, but Aberdeen made hard work of the man advantage as Remi Matthews’ own goal was all that separated the sides.
Hearts lost 2-1 at Kilmarnock to slump to a fourth consecutive defeat. Christian Doidge scored the winner for Killie, who held on despite having Rory McKenzie sent off in the second half, for a vital three points in their bid to beat the drop.
