Champions League: Sevilla sack Lopetegui after Bellingham’s brilliance
Borussia Dortmund struck three times in the first half to beat their hosts Sevilla 4-1 in Champions League Group G on Wednesday and stay firmly on course for the last 16. Sevilla’s manager, Julen Lopetegui, was later sacked with reports in Spain saying the Argentinian Jorge Sampaoli could be his replacement.
Raphaël Guerreiro put the German side in front with a powerful strike before the 19-year-old Jude Bellingham angled a shot into the far corner after a superb run into the box, to become the youngest captain to score in a Champions League match. The England international is also the first teenage midfielder to score in three consecutive Champions League games.
Karim Adeyemi made it 3-0 on the rebound two minutes from half-time although Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri cut the deficit six minutes after the restart before Julian Brandt’s glancing header made sure of the points 15 minutes from time.
As Dortmund players celebrated their win, Lopetegui left the pitch waving to fans who were chanting his name.
Dortmund, who host Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga on Saturday, are second in the group on six points, three behind the leaders Manchester City.
The defending champions, Real Madrid, were forced to ride their luck to extend their 100% start at the top of Group F with a 2-1 win against Shakhtar Donetsk at the Santiago Bernabéu.
The hosts looked poised to coast to victory after Rodrygo fired a long-range opener then Vinícius Junior doubled their advantage with less than half an hour on the clock. But Shakhtar replied through a thunderous volley from Oleksandr Zubkov before the break and the visitors continued to threaten to snatch an equaliser on the counter-attack.
A brilliant strike from Lionel Messi was not enough for Paris Saint-Germain to preserve their perfect start in Group H as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Benfica. Messi curled a 22nd-minute opener past the home goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos but his effort was cancelled out by a 41st-minute own goal by Danilo Pereira which keeps the hosts level at the top of the group.
Two goals from Adrien Rabiot got Juventus up and running at the third time of asking as they swept to a 3-1 win against Maccabi Haifa in Turin.
Starting pointless after their first two games, Rabiot grabbed a 35thminute opener before Dusan Vlahovic doubled Juve’s lead early in the second half. Dean David set up a nervy finish for the hosts when he reduced the deficit in the 75th minute but Rabiot’s second seven minutes from time wrapped up an overdue victory.
A second-half penalty from Noah Okafor proved enough for Salzburg to beat Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 and take over at the top of the Group E with five points from their first three games.