Successful return. After three months without football, La Liga celebrated its comeback with great fanfare Thursday evening in a Pizjuan stadium behind closed doors, between masks and gloves, where Sevilla FC won 2-0 in the Andalusian derby against Betis for the big comeback from the Spanish Championship.
The hero of the evening was the ex-Marseillais Lucas Ocampos, scorer on penalty (55th) then author of a superb decisive heel for the goal of the head of Fernando (61st) who sealed the victory of Seville FC, then that all the spotlight on the world of football was shining on this derby of the 28th day, the first Liga match since the end of competitions in Spain on March 12.
[📺 VIDEO SUMMARY] 🇪🇸 #LaLiga
🌟 FC Sevilla wins the derby for the resumption of the championship
🔥 An Ocampos of the big evenings takes the Blanquirrojos to victory
📊 Sevilla FC (3rd) temporarily returns to 6 pts from Real Madridhttps: //t.co/ynUF0nrXtl
"Without supporters, but with hope!" "Like the cry of the heart of this sixty-year-old supporter, Sevilla FC jersey on his back in front of the Pizjuan stadium before kick-off, the whole of Spain took the pulse of the return of professional football in the country, one of the most affected in the world by the new coronavirus pandemic.
"Weird", "special"
After the successful resumption of the championships in Germany (May 16) and Portugal (June 3), the world of football witnessed this Thursday the awakening of a "bizarre", "special" Liga, in a context of high vigilance sanitary. The players took off their masks in the corridor, entered the lawn of an empty Pizjuan stadium to the sound of the anthem of Seville FC, and after the minute of silence in tribute to the victims of the pandemic planned in all stadiums d 'Spain this weekend, the kick-off was whistled by referee Mateu Lahoz. At exactly 10:04 p.m., La Liga restarted.
"It's very weird, it's different. We live with sadness (because of the camera), but other than that, it's still just as intense, "said Laura Marin, a young supporter of Seville FC, present near the stadium before the start of the match. At the start of the evening, to welcome the buses of the two teams, around 200 masked supporters gathered around the stadium, in the center of Seville… despite the large security system deployed: 600 members of the police force , blocked streets, barriers erected around the stadium.
"The football we love so much"
José Luis Meana, a supporter who also came to encourage the players on their arrival, followed the match on the radio. He told AFP that despite the ban on access to the stadium, he lived this derby "with great passion, because the football we love so much is back". The teammates of French defender Jules Koundé took better advantage of the remote support of their team, who sang the club's anthem in unison on the giant screen before kick-off, and returned it to them: all The team went to celebrate this 2-0 near the usual turn of the Sevillian kop, in tribute to the absent supporters.
This victory allowed them to establish their third place in the ranking behind the giants Barça and Real, while Betis by Nabil Fekir skated in 12th place. “Lucas (Ocampos) was cutting edge, but I would like to congratulate the whole team and dedicate this victory to our supporters. In these times when joy is scarce, this victory is for them, "said coach Julen Lopetegui at a post-match press conference.
The full-scale crash test that this derby, usually boiling, represented in a world showcase was a success for LaLiga and its health standards, and a first step towards a return to normalcy, in a country which deplored 242,707 cases and 27,136 coronavirus deaths, according to the latest reports, Thursday.
Gloves, masks and disinfectant
While the debate is already launched in Spain for a possible return of some of the supporters in the stadiums by the end of June, the recovery was well done in a stadium closed to the public, where the players entered gloved and masked .
A system of flights and hotels exclusively reserved for teams has been put in place. Trips to the stadium will be made in two separate buses for members of the same team, or players will be asked to come in their individual vehicle, and they will have to undergo tests for detection of coronavirus before entering the disinfected changing rooms.
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