New Delhi: Both sides had a man sent off, but neither could find the vital goal, as Osasuna and Sevilla earned a draw that is unlikely to help either of them.
There was no shortage of incident in Pamplona, but there were no goals either, as both sides came away with a point.
Osasuna lined up largely as expected, with Walter Pandiani and Masoud Shojaei leading the line.
Manolo Jimenez sprung something of a surprise by leaving Jesus Navas on the bench, leaving Adriano as the only genuine winger in the starting line-up.
First Half
There was not a single free seat at the Estadio Reyno de Navarra, as the crowd anticipated a win that would help them break free of the relegation zone. Osasuna had lost four of their last five though, and the omens were not great in the opening minutes, as Sevilla enjoyed plenty of space going forward, with Adriano in particular proving dangerous.
On 18 minutes, Osasuna suffered a setback when Juanfran had to be withdrawn after damaging his ankle, with Kike Sola replacing him. The home side were getting more involved though, with Jaroslav Plasil on the left in particular causing Abdoulay Konko plenty of problems. Just before the half hour, Pandiani should have put the home side in front, but he skied Plasil's cross over, sliding on to it from six yards out.
Osasuna had suddenly taken complete control, and on 30 minutes they had two great chances to score in the space of a few seconds. First, Javier Flano's ambitious cross/shot from the left wing rattled the crossbar, before Pandiani headed over from the incoming cross. 'El Rifle' was getting ever closer, and Palop had to pull off a smart save from his left footed strike from outside the box.
The momentum was clearly with the hosts, but they failed to capitalize in the closing stages of the half, as the match once again turned into a scrappy affair. Thus both sides went into the break level, desperately seeking some inspiration.
Second Half
It only took three minutes of the second half for the best chance of the match to occur, as Javad Nekounam sent a vicious free kick hurtling towards the top right hand corner, only for Palop to claw it away. From the resulting corner, Plasil headed across the face of goal, when a simple touch from any of his team-mates would surely have resulted in the opener.
With five minutes of the second period gone, Frederic Kanoute, who had clearly been struggling, was withdrawn for Jesus Navas. The match was certainly heating up, and Masoud should arguably have done better when he sliced through the Sevilla defence on the right, but he lost his footing at the vital moment. There was some suggestion of a penalty, but replays indicated that Fernando Navarro got the ball.
Sevilla had done absolutely nothing in an attacking sense, and Manolo Jimenez threw Diego Capel on for Adriano, who has arguably been their best player. Osasuna were still doing all the attacking though, and again Pandiani came close, shooting just wide of the near post on the turn.
As the match wore on, Sevilla started to press for the first time, leading to fears among the crowd that they could lose a game they should have won easily, With around ten minutes left, Luis Fabiano broke and had two players wide open to his left in the box, but he chose to shoot instead, only to see it deflected wide.
As Sevilla continued to threaten on the counter, the game reached a flashpoint with ten minutes left, as Romaric was sent off for picking up his second yellow. It was certainly a harsh decision, as there seemed to be no intent at all from the midfielder. Still, Sevilla almost had the last laugh, with Navas shooting just wide from range.
If Sevilla considered themselves unlucky for being a man down, Osasuna had plenty of cause for complaint when Sergio was given a straight red in stoppage time, for a poor challenge on Diego Capel that should have been a yellow at best. From the resulting free-kick, Luis Fabiano volleyed wide, as the final whistle blew.
A draw is not a great result for either side, as Osasuna are still far from safe at the bottom of the table, while Sevilla are yet to seal third place.
Osasuna 0-0 Sevilla
Osasuna: Ricardo - Azpilicueta, Cruchaga, Sergio, Javier Flano - Juanfran (Kike Sola 18), Punal, Nekounam, Plasil - Masoud, Pandiani (Portillo 88)
Sevilla: Palop - Konko, Squillaci, Escude, Navarro - Adriano (Capel 64), Duscher, Renato, Romaric - Luis Fabiano, Kanoute (Jesus Navas 51)
Yellow Cards: Romaric 28, Duscher 46, Plasil 61
Red Cards: Romaric 81, Sergio 92
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