Football
ESPN staff 7y

Jorge Sampaoli: Sevilla can achieve 'dream' of topping La Liga

Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli says his club have "the chance to realise our dream" of topping La Liga with a win on Saturday.

Should Sevilla earn three points from the derby at Real Betis, they will move top of the Spanish league for the first time this season, ahead of Real Madrid on the head-to-head tiebreaker after the current leaders suffered a surprise 2-1 loss to Valencia on Wednesday.

And though Madrid would still have two games in hand, Sampaoli urged his side to take advantage of the opportunity to make some headlines.

"We have mentally prepared to go for the win and that will lift us up to the top of the table," he said in a news conference. "If we win such a difficult match at this stage of the season, we will have achieved our objective, one that would allow us to dream.

"We didn't have the week to prepare for the most important game of the year. We played a very good game in the Champions League and we are trying to put Sevilla up amongst the top eight teams in the world.

"We are also aware of happened to Real Madrid in Valencia, and now today we have the possibility, the chance to realise our dream.

"This week is fundamental. We have dreams just like everyone else in football and of course we dream about going top, but we go into this game knowing it's going to be a difficult one and we face a very complex scenario because Real Betis are very strong at home, they raise their game against teams there and especially against us.

"But this is a unique chance to win and keep the dream alive. Our moment is now."

Sevilla is coming off of a 2-1 home win over Leicester City in the Champions League, though their opponents will have a new manager in the second leg after Claudio Ranieri was sensationally sacked just nine months after winning the Premier League title.

And Sampaoli said he was saddened by what he felt was Leicester's short-term decision.

"Looking at this situation from a distance, it makes me feel very sad," he said. "That someone who achieved the unthinkable like Ranieri is dismissed the following year. Personally it bothers me, Claudio deserves respect, but I can't comment on something I don't know all the details about.

"Unfortunately, we play every week and nobody can remember what happened a week ago."

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