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On Sunday, in the 18th round match, the Spanish championship leaders "Sevilla" unexpectedly suffered a defeat at home to "Mallorca", who were leading 1-0 but later conceded two goals and lost 1-2. Madrid's "Real" successfully took advantage of this failure, reducing the gap from the leaders to just two points.
1 - 2
22` [1 - 0] Frederic Kanoute (pen.)
48` [1 - 1] Nunes
62` [1 - 2] Maxi Lopez
The pitch in Seville saw a fierce and equal battle: "Sevilla" had a slight territorial advantage, but the shot statistics were completely even. Both teams exchanged dangerous attacks at the start of the match, and in the 20th minute, in the penalty area, "Mallorca" goalkeeper Miguel Moya brought down Jesus Navas resulting in a questionable penalty kick.
Although the away team players actively protested to the referee, Frederic Kanoute scored his 15th goal this season with a precise shot.
However, in the second half, "Sevilla" goalkeeper Andres Palop had to work harder - according to them, the incorrectly awarded penalty kick woke up the visitors who increasingly threatened the "Sevilla" goal and A. Palop had to repel Fernando Varela's shot with an impressive dive.
"Mallorca's" efforts paid off in the second half - less than five minutes after a corner kick in the Sevilla penalty area, confusion arose and the ball ended up at the feet of defender Nunes. The Portuguese did not make a mistake and equalized the score.
Midway through the second half, "Mallorca" pushed forward - after a great play by Adriano Correia, Maxi Lopez found himself alone against the goalkeeper, and he only had to send the ball into the net.
Although "Sevilla" coach Juande Ramos made three substitutions in desperation, they did not change the course of the match and "Sevilla" did not even create a real opportunity to equalize the score until the final whistle.
This year, "Sevilla" has not won a single game - they lost their first La Liga match and played a draw in the Kings Cup match on Wednesday.
