Watford were unable to end their pre-season campaign with a morale-boosting victory over the Europa League winners after they suffered a 1-0 defeat against Sevilla at Vicarage Road.

The Hornets can take heart from the fact they matched a team which finished fifth in La Liga for large parts of the contest but they were ultimately undone by a low drive from Vitolo with 20 minutes remaining.

Prior to that, Quique Sanchez Flores’ men had been enjoying their best spell of the game, building a number of promising attacks around the Spanish side’s penalty area but without being able to produce the requisite cutting edge to beat keeper Beto.

The opening period had seen the attacking exchanges ebb and flow more, with both sides hitting the post, although the evening had already been marred by an early serious-looking injury to Ciro Immobile; the Italian striker taken to a waiting ambulance on a stretcher after being accidentally taken out by Heurelho Gomes.

While there were encouraging aspects to Watford's play, their attacking nplay did lack fluency at times and more incisiveness will be needed in front of goal once their Premier League campaign gets underway a week tomorrow at Goodison Park.

The Hornets head coach made three changes to the starting XI that suffered a first pre-season defeat at Cardiff City on Tuesday for Watford’s final friendly ahead of the start of the new season at Everton.

There was a first start for the Hornets’ tenth summer arrival, Steven Berghuis, while Miguel Layun was pitched back into the fray following his Gold Cup triumph with Mexico. Ikechi Anya also started, but Almen Abdi and Jose Manuel Jurado both missed out as a precaution with slight injury problems.

Perhaps the best known of the Sevilla starting XI were Ukranian winger Yevhen Konoplyanka and Italian striker Immobile, who has joined the Europa League winners on loan from Borussia Dortmund. Of those who have played in England, summer addition Steven N’Zonzi from Stoke City started, as did ex-Manchester City midfielder Denis Suarez, while former Arsenal striker Jose Antonio Reyes and ex-Chelsea youngster Gael Kakuta were among the substitutes.

The match got off to a sedate start but there were worrying scenes in the sixth minute when Konoplyanka clipped a free-kick into the box, Gomes came to punch but didn’t get to the ball and instead cleaned out Immobile. Both sets of players immediately called for medical assistance for the Italian striker, who was clearly in trouble as help arrived.

A delay of around minutes then followed before, Immobile, with his neck in a brace and wearing an oxygen mask, was lifted off the pitch and onto another stretcher waiting at the side of the pitch to be taken to a waiting ambulance to the sound of loud applause from the Rookery.

When play did resume after Juan Munoz had replaced Immobile, it was the visitors who had the first attempt of the evening when Gomes had to help a rising angled left-footed drive from Benoit Tremoulinas over the crossbar.

The Hornets had a promising opportunity in the 21st minute when Berghuis and Odion Ighalo exchanged passes neatly in the Sevilla box before the former AZ Alkmaar man’s shot was blocked behind for a corner.

Tremoulinas achieved that rather unwanted feat of being booked in a friendly three minutes later, although he couldn’t really complain following his late lunge on Valon Behrami.

But Watford were almost undone in the 28th minute when Konoplyanka found space on the left side of the penalty area and his low centre went across the six-yard box to rampaging right-back Coke, who struck a first time shot that cannoned back of Gomes’ near post.

Within moments though, the woodwork roles had been reversed as Berghuis set Allan Nyom away down the right and he dug out a cross which Ighalo headed towards Beto’s left-hand upright; the attempt beating the dive of the keeper only for the ball to again strike the frame of the goal.

Konoplyanka headed a delivery from the right back across goal and wide before Behrami picked up his latest yellow card of pre-season for a foul on Suarez.

Both Anya and Layun had got some joy down the Sevilla right at various stages of the first half and it was the Mexican who was to have Watford’s next attempt, cutting back onto his right foot before striking a low drive which Beto was forced to push behind.

Having forced Gomes to back pedal and tip over one effort earlier in the half, Tremoulinas repeated the trick again from further out as the game entered the last five minutes of normal time at the end of the first period but again the Hornets keeper was equal to it.

The attacking exchanges continued to ebb and flow with Berghuis having time to weigh up a left-footed strike from 25 yards. But he didn’t really get hold of it as he would have wished and Beto was able to save comfortably.

After Layun had struck a 30-yard-plus free-kick a couple of yards wide, referee Kevin Friend decided to limit the stoppage time to a minimum of just two minutes as a goalless but very watchable opening period came to a close.

Flores made one change at the start of the second half, with Juan Carlos Paredes coming on for Berghuis.

Watford had the first effort after the break in the 50th minute when Nyom’s low centre from the right was helped on by Ighalo and Layun, from the centre of the D on the edge of the six-yard box, span before hitting an acrobatic half-volley over the top.

A productive night’s work from Layun in the advanced left-sided role was ended four minutes later when he made way for Jose Holebas. Prior to that though, the Hornets almost had another opportunity when Troy Deeney headed down a ball into the box but Ighalo’s efforts to get a shot away were blocked off.

Ighalo fired an enterprising effort from 25 yards on the run a yard over the top soon after as the Hornets continued their promising start to the second half.

After potential danger had been seen off when Craig Cathcart was caught in possession, Deeney forced Beto into a smart stop from a well-struck shot after more good work from the right involving Nyom and Ighalo.

That was to be the Nigerian’s last involvement as he was replaced by Matej Vydra after 64 minutes, while Sevilla made a double change at the same time as Reyes and Mariano Ferreira came on for Konoplyanka and Coke respectively.

The Czech Republic international was soon to have his first chance, striking a right foot half-volley over the top after a Paredes ball in from the right had broken for him.

But having been on the back foot for much of the second half, it was Sevilla who broke the deadlock with 20 minutes remaining.

There didn’t appear to be too much on when Vitolo received the ball on the left side of the penalty area but he decided to chance his arm and struck a right-footed shot which appeared to take a deflection as it beat the drive of Gomes to make it 1-0.

The match had been simmering nicely but it threatened to boil over moments later when Deeney was sent sliding towards the perimeter hoardings by Grzegorz Krychowiak. Visibly angry, the Hornets skipper squared up to the Pole and both raised their arms before being separated and subsequently booked.

Following a triple change by the visitors, Flores made his fourth with ten minutes remaining as Ben Watson replaced Behrami. Gabriele Angella then came on for Cathcart for the closing stages before Etienne Capoue tried to catch Beto out with a back-heeled flick from a Holebas delivery, but the keeper was able to claim comfortably.

A better chance for the Hornets followed soon after as Paredes ended a good run down the right with a useful cross which Deeney met well with his head but Beto plucked the effort out of the air with a theatrical diving save.

Watford: Gomes; Nyom, Prodl, Cathcart (Angella 87), Anya; Capoue, Behrami (Watson 80); Berghuis (Paredes 46), Ighalo (Vydra 64), Layun (Holebas 54); Deeney. Subs not used: Arlauskis, Gilmartin, Dyer, Forestieri, Hoban, Murray, Pudil, Smith.

Sevilla: Coke (Ferreira 64), Luismi (Rami 77), Kolo, Tremoulinas; Krychowiak; N’Zonzi, Suarez (Kakuta 77); Vitolo (Krohn-Delhi 77), Konoplyanka (Reyes 64); Immobile (Munoz 15). Subs not used: Rico, Soria, Carmona, Cotan, Matos.

Bookings: Tremoulinas (24); Behrami (36); Deeney (73); Krychowiak (73).

Referee: Kevin Friend.