Sevilla’s impressive form in El Gran Derbi continued on Sunday, as they secured a 1-0 victory over arch rivals Real Betis at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan. Dode Lukebakio got the winner, but he is not the one to receive all of the accolades for the success – those go to Jesus Navas, who was making his final appearance in the fixture.
Navas will retire from football in December, so it was a perfect way for him to end his experience in Sevilla-Betis fixtures. He revealed his emotions when speaking to the media post-match, as per Marca.
“It has been tremendous. What you see in training, how we give it our all. This morning they played me a video saying that they were going to give everything for me, that they would give their best, that they would strive until the end. That’s how it has been and I’m very proud of them and of these fans.
“There are emotions every day. It’s amazing. I get emotional in every training session. Playing here, giving them joy… We have won again, and we give them that satisfaction. It’s complicated, you already know the hip issue, but trying to be with them and help as much as I can in these minutes when it was important to keep the ball and come out when we could. We were left with one less but the team has tried its best.”
Navas also took the opportunity to pay tribute to Sevilla’s supporters.
“Thank you, I will always thank you for all the affection. I would thank them one by one, I wish it could be like that. I love them very much and may they continue to enjoy their Sevilla.”