Sevilla defeated Espanyol with Lukebakio’s brace (0-2).

Sevilla returned to victory on the road thanks to a brace from the inspired Dodi Lukebakio, who crushed Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium in the 20th and 45th minutes to take the score to 0-2, keeping them safe in the restart.

The Belgian striker’s efficiency overshadowed the work of the blue and white, who passed in many areas and failed in shots, which ultimately marked the difference. The closest the hosts came to a goal was in the 80th minute after a possible penalty ruled out by VAR.

The host started confidently and sharply, but Lukebakio broke his good work in the 20th minute after a counter-attack. A left-foot kick from the edge of the corner, right into the top corner, powerful and accurate, brought the score 0:1 to the scoreboard. Goalkeeper Joan García had no chance of intercepting his genius.

The Catalans were close to quickly reacting to a corner, but Kralj narrowly missed the target. The advantage gave Sevilla even more pause, but they did not give up on extending their advantage. In fact, he came close in the final stretch of the first half thanks to double chances from Juanlu and Isaac Romero.

When it seemed that everything would end with this fright, Lukebakio again monopolized everyone’s attention. He made it 2-0 with a low cross in the 45th minute and sent the RCDE stadium into a frenzy as it watched his side crash into a Sevilla side who were on their way to their first away win.

The 0-2 score created a difficult scenario for the Catalans in the second half. After the break, Espanyol, as expected, put the pressure on Sevilla to get back into the game. In addition, Manolo Gonzalez refreshed the attack and replaced Cheddira with Velis.

The Andalusians were not harmed. The only setback came due to an injury to goalkeeper Niland, who fell heavily after catching the ball: Alvaro Fernandez entered. Pushing and controlling the ball on the part of the blue and white team at times did not lead to success against a calm opponent, whose victory was practically in his pocket.

In the 71st minute, Veliz came close to scoring when he headed in a corner. The ball flew centimeters from the base of the right post. The VAR itself did not unite with the parrots, who demanded a penalty in the 80th minute, but the referee ruled it out. The meeting was decided a long time ago.