The Moroccan goalkeeper is on cloud nine after scoring a last-gasp effort that rescued a dramatic draw against the White and Violets
Yassine Bounou claimed he finds it ‘difficult to describe’ his feeling after rescuing Sevilla from defeat against Real Valladolid in Saturday’s LaLiga showdown.
The 29-year-old goalkeeper was Los Nervionenses’ hero as his last-gasp effort eclipsed Fabian Orellana’s goal in the thrilling 1-1 draw at Jose Zorrilla.
In his post-match assessment, the former Girona and Wydad Casablanca shot stopper revelled in his man-of-the-match outing, while attributing the result to his team’s persistence.
“It has been a complicated match for the context, but we played well, and the penalty sank us a little. In the second half, we insisted until the reward came,” Bounou told the club’s website.
“The sensation is difficult to describe because I do not know how to celebrate it. It’s very strange, but well, my teammates are happy because we deserved more.
“Two years ago, I scored a goal here against Girona and I turned to that memory so that I could go up for the corner with the permission of the manager. The goal fell to me and I’m grateful.”
Despite Sevilla’s dominance in the cagey affair, it was the hosts who went into the half-time break with a slim lead. The Whites and Violets were awarded a penalty after VAR adjudged that goal-bound Shon Weissman had been fouled by Karim Rekik and Ivan Rakitic in the box.
Chilean winger Orellana stepped up to take the resulting kick by sending Bounou the wrong way.
Sergio Gonzalez’s men put up a solid defensive showing in the last 45 minutes and when it appeared like they would be cruising home with all points at stake, the Morocco international goalkeeper had another idea.
Connecting to Jules Kounde’s pass during a goalmouth scramble, Bounou fired past goalkeeper Roberto Jimenez to ensure that the game ended also squared.
With that, he has now scored his maiden goal for club and country. He also became the first goalkeeper ever to score for Sevilla in a Spanish topflight fixture.
Unbeaten in their last four games in all competitions, Sevilla welcome league leaders Atletico Madrid to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuán Stadium in their next outing on April 4.
After 28 rounds of matches, they occupy the fourth spot in the Spanish elite division table with 55 points.
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