Sevilla beats Wolfsburg to stay alive in Champions League

Tue, Nov 23, 2021
Soccer News (AP)

SEVILLE, Spain (AP) - Sevilla kept alive its chance of advancing in the Champions League with a 2-0 win over Wolfsburg on Tuesday.

Joan Jordan scored early in the first half and Rafa Mir late in the second to give the Spanish club its first win in five matches in the tight Group G. It moved from last to third place with six points, one behind second-place Salzburg and two behind leader Lille.

Salzburg lost 1-0 at Lille in the other group match. Wolfsburg stayed on five points and is still in contention ahead of the final round, when it will host Lille while Sevilla visits Salzburg.

Sevilla was coming off a home loss to Lille after opening with three straight draws. It needed at least another draw at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium to avoid elimination after reaching the round of 16 last season.

Wolfsburg could not go through or be eliminated on Tuesday in what is its third group stage appearance, and first since 2015-16, when it reached the quarterfinals.

It was an even match from the start but the hosts opened the scoring through Jordan's close-range header after a cross by Ivan Rakitic in the 12th minute.

Wolfsburg nearly equalized about 10 minutes later when Lukas Nmecha's shot from outside the area hit the crossbar after being partially saved by Sevilla goalkeeper Bono.

Mir sealed the victory from inside the box seven minutes into stoppage time.

Sevilla has only failed to score in one of its last 22 home matches in the group stage of the Champions League.

After eight games without a win across all competitions, Wolfsburg had won three in a row under new coach Florian Kohfeldt before a 2-2 draw at Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday, when it came from two goals down.

Wolfsburg was without goalkeeper Koen Casteels after he tested positive for the coronavirus, while Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui was missing Erik Lamela and Suso because of injuries.

Team captain Maximilian Arnold became the record appearance-maker in the Champions League for Wolfsburg with 15. He became the club's record-holder in the Bundesliga earlier this season.

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