Déjà vu is a French expression meaning 'already seen'. UD Almería suffered their second consecutive defeat after a match remarkably similar to their previous away fixture. Not only because of the 1–0 scoreline, but also because of the manner in which the team lost: their late reaction fell short, and Miguel’s best chance crashed against the crossbar.

The Almería side never really found their rhythm and were overwhelmed by the intensity of CE Sabadell FC, who made life extremely difficult for the visitors. Once again, there was a lack of fluency and control in their play, and ultimately it was the home side who proved more clinical.

First half 

The home side, driven on by a Nova Creu Alta stadium crowd delighted to see their team back in professional football twelve years later, dominated Almería during the first half. VAR also played a prominent role, with two incidents reviewed inside the Almería penalty area shortly after kick-off. Fortunately for the visitors, both came to nothing: a possible handball by Chirino and, more significantly, a Sabadell goal by Gioacchini that was disallowed after Bonaldo had caught Álex Muñoz with his elbow in the build-up. The full-back would spend the rest of the match playing with two nasal plugs.

With CE Sabadell FC pressing aggressively and urged on by their supporters, almost everything was happening close to Andrés Fernández’s goal.

García Pimienta kept the same starting line-up from Tenerife, with the only change coming on the left wing, where Jon Morcillo started. His team found neither the ball nor, consequently, the initiative. Without anyone pulling the strings, everything had to rely on individual moments, but even individual quality could not solve the team’s problems. The condition of the pitch, which caused the ball to bounce unpredictably, did not help either.

Without much sparkle but showing determination, Almería managed to contain the Catalan side and keep them under control, at least defending solidly when out of possession. That was not the plan, simply defending, but it was enough to keep them in the game. That appeared to be the case around the 25th minute, when the two sides began to cancel each other out.

There were challenges everywhere, the ball constantly changing hands, and plenty of battles beneath the surface. The first half ended with as many as five yellow cards and tempers running high. Their defensive work allowed Almería to go into the dressing room with the score still level at 0–0.

Second half 

A chain of unfortunate events broke the deadlock early in the second half in Sabadell’s favour. A harmless looping ball was kept in play by Joel Priego just before it crossed the touchline, and after he delivered it to the far post, Ripoll, despite not connecting cleanly, managed to set up Gio, who only had to tap the ball home to make it 1–0.

Football constantly demonstrates the importance of competing for every ball, because—as in this case—even a seemingly insignificant challenge can lead to the goal that opens, and ultimately wins, a match.

With UD Almería looking shaken and Sabadell now firmly in control, fortune smiled on the visitors when Toni Ripoll’s effort struck the post of the Almería goal, much to the delight of the home crowd. Only seconds had passed since the restart following the goal.

That was when García Pimienta shook things up, making three attacking substitutions in search of a reaction. The entire supporting cast behind Miguel de la Fuente was replaced, with Baptistao, Cipenga and Quim coming on.

Two consecutive attacking moves produced the visitors’ first clean effort on goal, a long-range strike from Vesga, and a dangerous run by Cipenga that failed to produce a final shot.

The Congolese player was undoubtedly the main spark, bringing determination and boldness, but without reward. The Catalan side defended well and had luck on their side during one of Almería’s final attacks. Miguel struck a powerful volley from near the penalty spot, only to see it crash against Fuoli’s crossbar rather than hit the back of the net.

Just as in Tenerife, UD Almería hit the woodwork instead of finding the equaliser.