Ocampos does the star turn as Sevilla win El Gran derby in La Liga return

Add as a preferred source on Google

Bengaluru, June 12: Lucas Ocampos did the star turn for Sevilla as the top flight of Spanish football returned after a three-month break due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, with the hosts defeating Real Betis 2-0 in the El Gran Derbi, which was marred by a controversial penalty decision.

The Argentinian winger struck the post in the first half for his 11th goal of the season before giving Sevilla a deserved lead from the spot in the 56th minute after Real Betis' Marc Bartra was harshly judged to have fouled Luuk de Jong.

Ocampos produced an outrageous backheel assist for midfielder Fernando to head home six minutes later to seal a win which consolidated Sevilla's push for a UEFA Champions League place.

Julen Lopetegui's side are in third place in the standings with 50 points after 28 games while Real Betis were left languishing 12th on the table with 33.

Results | Points Table | Fixtures

Sevilla dominated the derby in an empty and eerily quiet Sanchez Pizjuan which would usually be teeming with colour and noise for the occasion, but the red seats were left bare as fans were barred from attending for safety reasons.

Television broadcasts sought to re-create the experience of a normal match with fans by using simulated crowd noise and images, while Ocampos still saluted the stand behind the goal after breaking the deadlock from the penalty spot.

"I had never played a derby here before and even though the fans are not here I still wanted to honour them and make it feel like they were and show that we're working hard for them," the 25-year-old said.

Sevilla had been outplaying their neighbours before Bartra was penalised for his challenge on De Jong although the former Barcelona defender was still furious with the decision.

"The penalty was incredible, I was in a position to out-jump De Jong and he jumped into my arms, the Sevilla players weren't even expecting a penalty," Bartra said.

"If football is a contact sport you can't give a penalty for that."

Betis coach Rubi added, "The way we conceded the first goal was difficult to swallow but in general they were better than us."

Champions Barcelona resume their La Liga campaign with an away game against Mallorca on Sunday (June 14).

(With inputs from Agencies)