Alaves 1 Sevilla 1: Katai delivers blow to Sampaoli´s title hopes

Sevilla’s LaLiga title hopes were dealt a blow on Monday as substitute Aleksandar Katai snatched a 1-1 draw for Alaves at Mendizorroza.

Victory for Jorge Sampaoli’s side would have moved them back to within two points of leaders Barcelona but after their stalemate in the Basque country they sit four adrift in third.

It all looked to be going so well for Sevilla when Wissam Ben Yedder – who netted twice against Alaves in October – ended his eight-game scoring drought midway through the first half, the striker collecting Pablo Sarabia’s pass and slotting past Fernando Pacheco.

The visitors were made to rue a number of misses, though, as Ben Yedder, Vicente Iborra and Sergio Escudero all saw chances to extend their lead go begging.

Alaves had struggled for quality in the final third despite creating a number of chances before Katai bundled home to get them back on level terms.

¡¡¡GOOOOOOL #ALAVÉS!!! ¡¡¡GOOOOOOOL #KATAI!!! GOAAAAAL!!! 1-1 #GoazenGlorioso #AlavésSevillaFC pic.twitter.com/xxGki3rOJg

— Deportivo Alavés (@Alaves) March 6, 2017

Oscar Romero’s mazy run and cross was not cleared by Sergio Rico and his Sevilla defenders, allowing Katai to level things up from close range.

And it could have been even worse for Sevilla in the closing minutes as Rico made a crucial save to deny Deyverson, but they clung on to earn a share of the spoils.