A red card in 11 minutes: how Sevilla countered Bilbao to death

Athletic Bilbao 1-3 Sevilla was decided by a sending-off inside 11 minutes. Yuri Berchiche’s red card left Bilbao a man down for almost the entire game — and, counter-intuitively, chasing it. The hosts ended with 65% of the ball and 18 shots; they also ended beaten, because possession without a plan against a compact block is a trap.

With the extra man, Sevilla did the disciplined thing: they defended their box in numbers and hit on the break. Oso struck on 15, Chidera Ejuke on 50 and Isaac Romero on 57 — three goals from just 0.41 xG, the reward for taking clean, high-value chances while Bilbao poured forward. Their keeper’s six saves did the rest.

Ten-man Bilbao dominated the ball and even out-shot Sevilla, but 1.25 xG from all that territory tells the familiar story: lots of the ball, not enough of it dangerous. Aitor Paredes’ 70th-minute goal was too little, too late against a side happy to trade possession for chances.

This was a masterclass in playing with a man advantage by refusing to chase the game — Sevilla let Bilbao have the ball and punished them on the counter. Bilbao, reduced early, learned the hard way that with ten men, controlling possession is not the same as controlling the match.