A second-string side does the job
Sevilla opened their Copa del Rey campaign with a 3-0 win at Sporting de Hortaleza, and they did it with a side built around rotation rather than the regular league group. According to [1], the goals came from Robbie Ure, Peque and Rubén Vargas, and coach Luis García Plaza praised the attitude of the younger players.
The approach was telegraphed in advance. Before kick-off, [2] reported that García Plaza had to rotate heavily because anyone used in the cup on Thursday could not play the league match at Getafe on Sunday. That turned the tie into a straightforward trade-off: field a reserve unit, protect the first team, and still get through the round.
The same report named Peque, Alfonso González (Alfon), Julio Díaz, Aroune Sangante and José Ángel Carmona among those expected to get minutes. A clean three-goal margin against lower-division opposition is what a club in this position needs from a depth game, and the coach described the performance as serious and forceful.
Fran González and the academy debuts
The individual story of the night was in goal. Fran González started for Sevilla, with Odysseas Vlachodimos not selected after García Plaza said the other goalkeeper would be the cup option, as [3] confirmed. It was his first official start for the club.
Another [1] piece says it was his first appearance in the competition and may also have been his professional debut. For a goalkeeper, a shutout on that kind of occasion is a useful early line on a record.
He was not the only newcomer. Academy players Manuel Ángel, Iker Muñoz and Ibra were included in the 24-man list, which [4] identified as the main change from the last league squad, and all three made their debuts in the win. For a coach who needs to rest his core, a cup tie like this lets young players take on real minutes, and the early signs from the match were positive.
Who was missing
The squad list showed how deliberate the selection was. Kike Salas, who had played heavy minutes this season, was left out. So were Gabriel Suazo and Lucien Agoumé. Lucas Stassin did not travel either, despite recently returning from injury, according to [4].
The report gives no injury details for any of the four, so it would be wrong to assume anything beyond the selection decision. The most natural reading, consistent with García Plaza’s comments about the Getafe game, is that these were players being kept fresh or managed rather than players ruled out for long periods.
That matters for Sunday. With the cup minutes handed to others, the established players are available for a league match that carries far more weight in the table. The cup win also puts the squad in a better mood for that trip. The coach said the team must perform at full intensity at Getafe to repeat the form shown against Hortaleza.
What it means
In La Liga, Sevilla are sixth with 17 points from 10 matches (W5 D2 L3, 16 goals for and 16 against). The goal difference is level, which says the side has been inconsistent at both ends despite a healthy points total.
The form guide tells a mixed story. A 2-0 home win over Osasuna on 26 October followed a 4-1 defeat at Real Madrid on 18 October and a 3-3 draw at Levante on 12 October. Before that came a 3-1 home loss to Barcelona on 19 September and a 1-0 win at Deportivo La Coruña on 16 September. Two wins and three results of a different kind from five, with a lot of goals conceded against the stronger sides, is why the table looks better than the underlying margins.
The next fixture asks a simple question: can the first-choice group turn the cup momentum into a result at Getafe on 1 November? A win would build on the Osasuna result and keep Sevilla in the upper part of the table. The site’s forecast for that match locks 24 hours before kick-off, so it will be published and graded in the usual way.
Sources
- Marca: Luis García Plaza: "La actitud de los chicos ha sido ejemplar" marca.com ↩
- Marca: El Sevilla se encomienda a la segunda unidad para su estreno en la Copa del Rey marca.com ↩
- Marca: Fran González, el portero de la Copa marca.com ↩
- Marca: Lista de 24 jugadores para el debut copero ante el Sporting de Hortaleza marca.com ↩
