“Two late first-half bookings, Quadri Liameed for dissent and Adrián Embarba for a foul, capped an ill-tempered opening period with five yellow cards shown.”
“After a series of corners and a flagged offside, Gioacchini finally breaks the deadlock, converting a chance assisted by Ton Ripoll to put Sabadell 1-0 up.”
Pivotal
Sabadell
Almería
Sabadell edged this one despite being outpassed and out-possessed by an Almería side that controlled 55% of the ball and completed far more passes. The hosts made their limited chances count, with Nicholas Gioacchini at the heart of the story - first seeing a header disallowed by VAR in the opening quarter-hour, then converting from a corner-kick scramble in the 53rd minute after Ton Ripoll's assist. The first half was littered with cards, five bookings inside 45 minutes, as tempers frayed and both sides struggled to find rhythm amid the fouling. Sabadell's clinical edge in front of goal, four shots on target from 14 attempts compared to Almería's two from ten, alongside a stronger defensive workrate (17 fouls, 15 tackles), proved enough to hold out for a first win that will lift spirits given their mid-table standing and modest recent form heading into the new season.
How entertaining was this match?
Miquel Codina receives a yellow card.
Juan Carlos Lazaro Cervera comes on for Ton Ripoll.
Corner awarded.
Marcos Luna attempts a header but misses the shot.
On comes Alex Sola, and off goes Daijiro Chirino.
Marcos Luna comes on for Mikel Vesga.
Quadri Liameed takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Eneko Aguilar Elizalde comes on for Arthur Bonaldo.
Yanis Rahmani comes on for Pere Pons Riera.
Shot from Leonardo Carrilho Baptistao with a header, but it's blocked.
Gaston Valles takes a shot, but it's saved.
Albert OrriolsYellow CardYellow card issued to Albert Orriols Cerarols.
Gonzalo Avila Gordon is on, and Catala is off.
Gaston Valles replaces Nicholas Gioacchini.
Stefan Džodić takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Brian Cipenga takes a right-footed shot, but it's blocked.
Substitution: Leonardo Carrilho Baptistao comes on for Nicolas Melamed Ribaudo.
On comes Quim Junyent Casanova, off goes Jon Morcillo.
Brian Cipenga replaces Adrian Embarba.
Pere Pons Riera takes a shot with his right foot, but it is saved.
Pere Pons Riera takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Ton Ripoll takes a shot with his right foot, but it hits the post.
Nicholas GioacchiniShot on goal! Nicholas Gioacchini takes a left-footed shot.
Ton Ripoll takes a right-footed shot, but it misses the target.
assist: Ton Ripoll
Goal! Nicholas Gioacchini scores to make it 1-0, assisted by Ton Ripoll.
Offside.
Corner kick awarded.
Corner awarded.
Miquel Codina takes a left-footed shot, but it is blocked.
The first half ends with a score of 0-0.
Adrian Embarba receives a yellow card.
Quadri LiameedYellow CardYellow card shown to Quadri Liameed.
Shot by Oscar Sanz with his right foot misses the target.
Joel Priego takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Miguel De la Fuente takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Nicholas GioacchiniYellow CardNicholas Gioacchini receives a yellow card.
Ton Ripoll takes a shot with his right foot, but it's saved.
Offside.
Nicolas Melamed Ribaudo receives a yellow card.
Corner awarded.
Adrian Embarba takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Adrian Embarba takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Offside.
Offside.
Miquel Codina takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Arthur BonaldoYellow CardYellow card shown to Arthur Bonaldo.
Goal! Nicholas Gioacchini scores to make it 1-0.
VAR decision results in a disallowed goal due to a foul by Nicholas Gioacchini.
Nicholas GioacchiniShot by Nicholas Gioacchini with a header results in a goal.
Arthur Bonaldo takes a shot with his head, but it's blocked.
Goal! Nicholas Gioacchini scores to make it 1-0.
Corner awarded.
Joel Priego takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Pere Pons Riera attempts a header but misses the shot.
Corner awarded.
Nicolas Melamed Ribaudo takes a shot with his head, but it's saved.
Kick-off! The referee is Manuel Perez.
