A turgid first half between Real Betis and FC Sevilla continued in the second period, and so the Derbi sevillano finished with a scoreless draw at the Estadio Benito Villamarín. After 90 minutes there were very few chances of note for the guests, with passion taking over a total of 12 yellow cards were brandished.

Vociferous start at Estadio Benito Villamarín

The home fans created a wonderful atmosphere with a beautiful choreo at the beginning and the Béticos showed that they didn't want to hide against the much-fancied local rivals. As a result, the start to this match was very promising.

Insantly, Molinero got a yellow card in the 4th minute after a foul against Tremoulinas and there was a heated debate between Betis and Sevilla players. The intensity was there from the starting whistle.

Adán and Sergio Rico had a rather relaxed start into the derby, both teams had some chances in the opening stage, but most of the time the defenders blocked it before the goalkeepers needed to intervene.

The first chance of the match fell to the guests in the 11th minute. A great pass by Banega found Gameiro and the free Frenchman was thwarted by Adán and got only a corner for his troubles. As expected, Sevilla were the better team at the start and had almost 60% possession. But, despite those advantages, there was nothing to show for their dominance except for Gameiro's great chance.

On the other hand, Betis had a bumpy beginning. Sevilla's defenders, especially Tremoulinas, made it very hard for the hosts to get a chance in the opening stages. The initial frustration brought more aggression into this derby and there were a lot of fouls, which referee Carlos Clos Gómez made sure to punish; Molinero, Westermann and Krychowiak were all booked.

It was a night of frustration for both sides.
It was a night of frustration for both sides. (Image credit: Getty Images)

After the turmoil in the 35th minute, when Konoplyanka pushed Dani Ceballos to the ground, referee Clos Gómez was unlucky in that moment; he didn't see the incident and was able to give the Ukrainian a card. Unai Emery had a discussion with the fourth official but, shortly after, it was finished and the match continued. The match trickled away and until the half-time whistle nothing special happened; a fairly accurate summary of the entire half.

Spirited beginning into the second half disappeared quickly

Another great chance fell for Kevin Gameiro after Vitolo passed the ball to striker at the perfect moment, but it was Adán who stood in front of the Frenchman once again and the 28-year-old goalkeeper saved with another great reflex stop.

The second half started very strongly and Betis' goalkeeper held his team in the match after the break. It was apparent that  Pepe Mel gave his players some words of encouragement at half-time, because they made a strong impression afterwards and were beginning to get forward more. But, after a short phase from Betis where they pressurised the guests, the spirited beginning went as quickly as it came. The rest of the game went by with little more than yellow cards; overall, a disappointing game.

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About the author
Pascal Martin
VAVEL author since June 2015. Sportswriter-to-be. Twitter: @pascalmrt87