Sevilla 1 Leganes 1: More points dropped for LaLiga title hopefuls

Sevilla’s LaLiga titles hopes took another hit in a disappointing 1-1 draw at home to a determined Leganes side on Saturday.

The visitors went in front early on through Gabriel and, despite conceding the equaliser to Stevan Jovetic just before half-time, had the better of the chances in the second half at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. 

Having also drawn 1-1 at Alaves in their previous fixture, the result sees Sevilla remain third in the table, three points behind Barcelona and two back from Real Madrid, with both of the top two in action on Sunday. Sevilla have also played two games more than Madrid and one more than Barca. 

Leganes made a bright start and took a surprise lead in the third minute when Nabil El Zhar collected the ball in space at the back post and cut it back for Gabriel, whose clever back-heeled finish beat Sergio Rico with the help of a deflection. 

2′ GOOOOOOL DEL LEGAAA!!! GOOOLAZO DE GABRIEL!!!! 0-1 #SevillaLeganés pic.twitter.com/06KpZjYxej

— C.D. Leganés (@CDLeganes) March 11, 2017

El Zhar should have made it 2-0 in the 10th minute, getting in behind the Sevilla defence and racing clean through down the right side of the box, only to lift a chipped finish over the bar with Rico rushing out. 

Sevilla had the ball in the back of the net in the 32nd minute, but the offside flag denied Franco Vazquez, who had finished smartly with his chest from Joaquin Correa’s delivery.

They did eventually draw level two minutes before half-time, Jovetic exchanging a one-two with Vazquez to find himself one-on-one with Iago Herrerin and then managing to slide the ball around the goalkeeper’s body before stabbing it home from a tight angle. 

GOAL! 43′ | 1-1 | @sjovetic draws #SevillaFC level! He combines with Franco Vázquez and beats the keeper one-on-one at the second attempt. pic.twitter.com/weiqLrDZ91

— Sevilla FC (@SevillaFC_ENG) March 11, 2017

Correa missed a good chance to restore Leganes’ lead 10 minutes into the second half, dragging a half-volley wide from El Zhar’s header, while substitute Luciano Neves almost caught out Rico with a cheeky attempted lob in the 69th minute, as both teams were ultimately forced to settle for a share of the spoils.