Sevilla back on track for last 16

SEVILLA put themselves back in pole position to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League as goals either side of halftime from Clement Lenglet and Ever Banega secured a nervy 2-1 win over Spartak Moscow yesterday.

Victory moves Sevilla back above the Russians in Group E on seven points to Spartak’s five with Liverpool in top spot on eight points after their 3-0 win over Maribor at Anfield.

However, the Spaniards were made to sweat in the final stages after Ze Luis pulled a goal back for Spartak 12 minutes from time.

“We played 75 great minutes against a difficult opponent and we deserved to end the game a lot calmer than we did,” Sevilla boss Eduardo Berizzo told BeIN Sports Spain.

Smarting from a 5-1 thrashing in Moscow two weeks ago, Sevilla needed to win to keep their Champions League fate in their own hands.

Berizzo’s side needed a set-piece to break the Russian’s resistance on the half hour mark as Lenglet rose highest to power home Banega’s corner despite Selikhov getting a hand to his header.

“We have two games left to qualify but this is an important step,” said Lenglet.

“We could have scored a third goal and after we conceded it is much more difficult to defend when the opponent is looking to get the second to equalise, but for 70 minutes we played at a very high level.” – AFP