There was a sense of disappointment surrounding Sevilla after their 2-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester City last week, amid an air of despondency with questions of ‘what if’ had the Andalucians had taken their chances to kill the game off when it was very much there for the taking. 

This feeling has been becoming all too familiar for Unai Emery’s side this season. After consecutive fifth-place finishes in La Liga and Europa League trophies, there is a desire for Sevilla to progress further, to be able to push on for a place in the top four. Yet, it took them five games to claim their first League win against Rayo Vallecano, and even after an impressive victory over Barcelona at Sanchez Pizjuan, a draw at Eibar and the aforementioned loss at the Etihad Stadium followed, demonstrating the inconsistencies in their play that Emery has been trying to eradicate.

The Coach is certainly an optimist, however, and spoke with buoyancy after their defeat in Manchester.

“We must analyse the match, and I’m sure we’ll find things which will make us a better team,” he said. “We wanted to win from the first minute to the 90th. I’m looking forward and remaining confident that my team will improve. We were small details away from perfection. Without being happy, I was pleased with many aspects.”

The key word here is ‘analyse.’ Emery is a perfectionist, a meticulous man who dissects videos upon videos of both his team and opponents. The 43-year-old leaves nothing to chance; he believes in the ‘small details’ of games and their impact on the result, dedicating hours of his time to video analysis in order to find solutions to his team’s problems. Joaquin Sanchez, who played for Emery whilst at Valencia and now plies his trade for Sevilla’s cross-city rivals Real Betis, spoke of his former Coach after their encounter in last season’s Europa League semi-final between Sevilla and Fiorentina.

“Emery put on so many videos that I ran out of popcorn,” he joked. “He’s obsessed by football, it’s practically an illness. He’s one of the best managers I’ve had. I worked with him for three years … I couldn’t handle a fourth.”

As a result of this meticulousness, there was never any real doubt in Emery’s ability to turn things around for Los Nervionenses, and they appear to be heading in the right direction now after an emphatic 5-0 win over Getafe at the weekend. Fran Escriba’s side had not conceded for three straight games prior to their mauling in Seville, but they simply could not cope with the relentlessness of Sevilla’s play, who seemed to attack at every possible opportunity.

Additionally, the game was significant for the fact that Sevilla are finally starting to look like a unit, a team in which the players understand each other’s needs and preferences. A major factor in their slow start to the campaign has been the abundance of new signings coming into the squad, with as many as 12 new players coming in. The process in which a player integrates into a group takes time, and this has impacted upon the team’s form immensely. A case in point for this particular problem has been Yevhen Konoplyanka, and Emery discussed the Ukrainian after the Getafe game. 

“The idea was to familiarise him with our concepts, requirements and players,” he said. “Now he’s developing an understanding with [Benoit] Tremoulinas down the left and is showing more aggression defensively.”

The ‘understanding’ that Emery discusses is crucial to any team, but if Sevilla can foster these relationships on the pitch and utilise the squad depth at their disposal, you can expect them to be right up there at the end of this term. They currently lie six points off fourth place in La Liga, a gap which can be easily be overcome over the course of a season. Their next four fixtures, however, will see them face Villarreal, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad and Valencia, games that will provide evidence as to whether or not this squad is capable of taking the club to the next level.  

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