Sevilla miss chance to pile pressure on Clasico rivals with shock loss

Sevilla missed a chance to add to the pressure on Real Madrid and Barcelona ahead of their Clasico clash by losing 2-1 against a Granada side previously winless in LaLiga this season.

Victory would have, at least temporarily, sent Sevilla ahead of Barca into second and put them three points adrift of leaders Madrid, with the arch-rivals meeting at Camp Nou later on Saturday.

However, Jorge Sampaoli’s side fell behind after 27 minutes when Manchester United loanee Andreas Pereira slotted home, though he earned a booking for lifting his shirt to show a message in honour of those who lost their lives in the Colombian air tragedy this week.

David Lomban doubled Granada’s advantage when he stole in at the back post to convert Artem Kravets’ flick-on from a Pereira corner, putting three points in sight after a first win of the season against Osasuna in the Copa del Rey in midweek.

Wissam Ben Yedder pulled one back for Sevilla in the 95th minute after drawing a penalty from Lomban, but there was not enough time to stop Granada ending their 14-match winless streak in the top flight, a record which crossed over to last season.

Sampaoli was frustrated by the outcome, but tried to look for the positives ahead of Wednesday’s crunch trip to face Lyon in the Champions League.

 “We came with the hope of maintaining our place up high and the truth is that it was a very confusing game,” he said.

“We did not have our minds on Lyon, we had it on Granada and on getting the three points, but it could not be achieved.

“The first goal stimulated them a lot and hurt us. The second killed us, there was a long way to go from there.

“We could not generate what we normally do. Hopefully it will better prepare us for the game against Lyon.”