Adriano Strike Downs Almería

Sevilla maintained their unbeaten start to La Liga as they picked up a priceless three points away at Almería in a game which predictably, with both sides missing key players, offered little in the way of chances and was largely contested in the midfield.

After a dour first half the game was eventually decided less than ten minutes after the interval by Adriano who struck a nice volley from 20 yards out but only saw it go into the back of the net after a huge deflection.

Sevilla, without Luis Fabiano, Freddy Kanouté, Javier Chevantón and Arouna Koné, looked blunt upfront for most of the match and despite their impressive midfield they failed to create too many chances of note.

Likewise the hosts, without Pablo Piatti, didn't really trouble Andrés Palop for the whole match and manager Gonzalo Arconada will be disappointed with the overall performance of his team. They worked hard in midfield and defence and maybe deserved a draw but in the final third they lacked any bite and the Sevilla back four dealt with them relatively easily.

Indeed, their best chance of the match came in injury time when José Chico headed straight at Palop when he should have at least worked the experienced keeper.

For Sevilla it is another impressive win on their travels and without many of their best players this victory really signals them out as strong contenders for silverware this year. Almería on the other hand will be frustrated and with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Villarreal all to play in the next few weeks they could find their good start undone unless they can cause an upset.

All Change

It was all change for Sevilla as they travelled to the Estadio Mediterraneo with Fabiano, Kanouté, Koné and Chevanton all absent from the front line for the visitors. Instead Manolo Jiménez started out with an attacking midfield with Acosta darting forward into an attacking postion, Adriano and Navas the main threats on the outside and Romaric playing upfront on his own.

For Almería it was a new look strike force too with Pablo Piatti out injured and Álvaro Negredo playing as the lone target man with midfielders looking to pick up on his knock downs and clever hold up play. He was involved early on as well as Ortiz linked up with him only for Negredo to try an ambitious shot which Andrés Palop did not even have to move for.

Indeed, the first real effort to test either keeper came at the other end where Lautaro Acosta fired a shot in which Diego Alves had to dive to palm away. Acosta was looking a real threat, picking up on knock downs and driving forward and constantly keeping the Almería defence on their toes with his smart movement. Likewise Romaric upfront, who was given a starting role for this match, imposed himself on the game quickly and had a couple of efforts early on which flew wide of the Almería goal.

Despite their lack of strikers Sevilla were looking the more comfortable of the two sides and were winning the midfield battle to dominate possession for most of the first an hour. Romaric was winning the balls in the air and he nearly picked up on a spill by Alves but the Brazilian managed to claim the ball at the second time of asking. After a promising start to the half it started to degenerate into a bit of an ugly affair with the ball been given away too easily and the wet surface and heavy rain not helping proceedings.

Tackles too were flying in and Enzo Maresca had a chance to put Sevilla ahead just before the break with a free-kick a few yards outside the box but he shot straight at the keeper. Soon after that effort, and with the half time whistle looming, the visitors nearly conceded a suicidal goal as Fernando Navarro completely mis-kicked the ball, leaving Palop to nick the ball way from Negredo in the nick of time, but not without a heavy collision with the striker. Luckily for Almería the Spaniard got up and was fine and luckily for Navarro he was able to clear and spare his blushes as the half-time whistle blew on a game which promised a lot but went downhill since the opening fifteen minutes.

Lucky Break

After the interval both sides seemed to come out looking refreshed and Adriano cut inside early and pinged a shot wide from his right foot before Juan Manuel Ortiz nearly nipped in behind the defence but David Prieto found Palop with his back pass. The promising start got the crowd going and Juanito tested Palop with a nice effort before Acosta sprinted nearly the whole length of the pitch on the break to earn his side a corner. That determination and effort was to be the spark for the opening goal as the corner was headed out and Adriano struck a sweet volley which, with a hugely fortunate deflection, beat Alves and gave Sevilla the lead. There is little doubt that the Brazilian hit it well from 20 yards but it looked as though the keeper would have saved it relatively easily were it not for the fact it hit a defender and wrong-footed him completely.

It was an unfortunate goal to concede but it seemed to bring Almería to life and Corona started to show some menace with his running whilst Negredo was working tirelessly to try and create something but to no avail. Sevilla seemed content to sit back a little after the goal and with the pace of Adriano, Acosta and Navas they tested the Almería defence on more than one occasion but never really created an end product with Romaric not been able to keep up with the trio. The hosts looked vulnerable on the break but they dominated possession after the goal and Corona blasted a good chance way over as he got the ball on the edge of the box in acres of space.

Kalu Uche came on for Ortiz with 25 minutes left and he certainly added some zip to the side whereas another replacement, Natalio, had his most notable moment when he was booked for diving as he flung himself to the floor in the box. Almería were starting to look dangerous though and Julio Álvarez curled a free-kick just wide of the post after Romaric had been booked for a late tackle outside the area. Despite controlling the possession though they couldn't really create any chances from open play and Navas should have killed the game off as he picked up on a horrible clearance by Bruno and tried to square for Acosta but his pass was too short and Alves cleared it.

As had been the case for the past 85 minutes Almería couldn't break Sevilla down and the back four looked very impressive as they kept Negredo, Uche and Natalio at bay with relative ease. Indeed, the hosts had their best chance of the match in injury time as José Chico rose for a header just a few yards out but he could only direct his effort straight into the arms of Palop when he should have at least made him dive. That was the last chance for Almería as the referee called full time on a match which offered glimpses of excitement but on the whole was a largely mediocre affair with the absence of strikers very notable.

Almería 0-1 Sevilla

`52 0-1 Adriano

Bookings: Navas `64, Natalio `72, Romaric `76, Fernando `83

Almería: Alves, Bruno, Chico, Pellerano, Mané, Soriano (`62 Natalio), Juanito, Mosquera, Corona (`83 Solari), Ortiz (`66 Uche), Negredo

Sevilla: Palop, Konko, Preito, Escudé, Navarro, Duscher, Romaric, Adriano (`75 Armenteros), Maresca (`67 Fazio), Navas, Acosta (`86 Fernando)


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