Sevilla's New Year's Resolution: Calm Down on the Cards, Lads
Almeyda's aggressive Sevilla top the La Liga yellow card charts with a whopping 55 bookings at the winter break - more than any club in Europe's top five leagues.
Sevilla’s New Year’s Resolution: Calm Down on the Cards, Lads
Matías Almeyda’s high-intensity Sevilla side might be compensating for squad limitations with their aggressive pressing style, but they’ve earned themselves an unwanted title at the Christmas break - La Liga’s most-carded team.
Card Crazy in Nervión
The numbers are proper eye-watering. Sevilla have accumulated a staggering 55 yellow cards already this season (plus a straight red for Isaac in the derby), putting them miles ahead of their nearest competitor Rayo Vallecano, who’ve seen 44 yellows and three reds.
To put that in perspective, no other club across Europe’s top five leagues has received more than 42 yellows at this stage of the season. Bit of a ‘mare, that.
The dubious honor extends to individual players too:
- Lucien Agoumé became the first player in La Liga this season to be suspended for accumulating too many bookings
- Both Agoumé and José Ángel Carmona are joint top of Sevilla’s naughty list with seven yellows each
- Their most recent match against Real Madrid saw them pick up seven more bookings in one game
Almeyda’s Defence
The Argentine gaffer isn’t having any of the “dirty team” chat, mind you. He’s been adamant that Sevilla’s aggression is purely footballing - more about tactical fouls and shirt pulls than anything malicious.
“Many other teams hit more than us, even if they see fewer yellows,” Almeyda has previously argued, suggesting his team competes for every ball like it’s their last but without nasty intent.
But the situation reached boiling point at the Bernabéu, where Almeyda himself got his marching orders. The manager has now collected three yellow cards in December alone for protesting refereeing decisions.
With injuries already limiting his options, the constant suspensions are giving Almeyda a right headache when planning for matches. It’s becoming clear that if Sevilla want to maintain their high-intensity approach without constantly playing with depleted squads, they’ll need to find a way to stay on the referee’s good side when the season resumes.
For a team whose tactical identity relies on pressure and intensity, finding that balance between aggression and discipline might be their biggest challenge in the new year.