The penalty decision awarded to RC Lens was at the heart of Sevilla FC’s postmatch frustrations following their 2-1 defeat in Pas-de-Calais to crash out of Europe.
The Spanish side needed to come away from France with a victory to secure European football while Les Sang et Or could progress with a draw.
Sevilla dominated the ball but failed to create opportunities to turn their dominance into an advantage, while Lens struggled to break out of their half. Despite this, it was Lens who opened the scoring with a penalty that would later become the focus of Sevilla’s disappointment, as it appeared that Facundo Medina initiated his own contact when he went to ground in the Sevilla box.
The visitors would go on to equalise with their own penalty before eventually losing the game late into added time after a sloppy play allowed Angelo Fulgini to secure progression to the Europa League for Lens.
Sevilla frustrated with the result
Following the loss, the Sevilla manager, Diego Alonso expressed his disappointment in the match, in a transcription provided by L’Equipe: ‘Everyone saw the same game: it was our team which dominated from the first minute.’
The manager continued ‘We created a lot of things but it was difficult for us, as in previous matches, to make the difference. I think we dominated in almost every area, including defensively. We hardly let Lens have a shot on goal.’ Speaking on the penalty decision awarded to Lens, Alonso had this to say, ‘The goal, the penalty or the so-called Lens penalty, is an isolated fact. We underestimated Lens
The Sevilla goalscorer, Sergio Ramos, was to the point in quotations provided by AS: ‘‘We’re screwed as always when we are eliminated from a competition. We had a good opportunity to win here and qualify for the Europa League… the game turned out the way it did, but at least we have a clear conscience for having left our all out on the field.’
However, on the penalty the former Paris Saint-Germain defender had this to say, ‘I put my hands on my head watching the penalty. It’s crazy. It’s a penalty that only the referee has seen. We don’t usually linger on referee decisions but I think what happened today was scandalous.’ Before adding that, ‘I don’t know why it happens to us. If it’s a matter of respect or something else, but the little things that happen in these types of games are very decisive. Small details make the difference.’
This was a bitter result for Sevilla to process, and it leaves Alonso in a perilous situation as the team are yet to record a victory under the manager outside their match in the Copa del Rey against an amateur side in CD Quintanar. While, for Lens, this was a crucial win that will provide them with knockout European football for the first time since the 2006/07 season.
