Dabbur fights for the ball against Qarabag

Match reports

2-0: BRYAN AND DABBUR GIVE SEVILLA THEIR FIFTH STRAIGHT WIN IN THE UEL

28/11/2019

It took a lot of hard work for Sevilla to open the scoring against a defensive Qarabag side, but our home-grown Bryan got his first European goal and Dabbur sealed the victory in the last minute

All has been decided before the last match of Group A in the UEFA Europa League. Sevilla FC, once again won in Europe and have now accumulated 15 points from 15 on a cold night at home. Qarabag came with the intention of being hard to break down, but Bryan's strike along with Dabbur's effort later one, left the team from Azerbaijan with no points. APOEL mathematically secured their passage to the next round also after their second win in five games tonight.

Changes were expected, and they came. With all the work done, Lopetegui gave starts to those who haven't played as much. Carriço returned after his injury and a lot of the players who are expected to play at home to Leganés on Sunday were left out of the squad. Coming in after 4 wins out of 4, they knew that the work was done but that didn't mean that they would be taking their foot of the pedal. As for Qarabag, they set up defensively with a backline of 5 who proved difficult to break down.

It was a first half where nothing much happened

In fact, it took Sevilla 42 minutes to have their first attempt on Begovic's goal, who turned Munir's free-kick out for a corner. Up until that point, Sevilla had dominated the ball but had nothing to show for their possession. That being said, the visitors didn't have any chances themselves, with their only shot in the first half coming from a long-range strike which Bono dealt with comfortably.

Julen Lopetegui wanted to add some life to the game and therefore, introduced Bryan early in the second half. He didn't take long to make his impact with his goal which opened the scoring. His shot, from outside the area, took a deflection on the way through and wrong footed Begovic in the Qarabag goal. Immediately after the goal, Franco Vázquez came on to the field in what turned out to be his 150th appearance for Sevilla FC. This turned out to be the best part of the game for Sevilla FC as they played their best football. Youngster, Pepe Mena, an academy graduate, came on as the final substitution.

At this stage, Qarabag were mathematically eliminated and therefore went for broke. They troubled Bono a couple of times in the closing stages as they sought out the equaliser. However, their goal didn't come and Sevilla FC rounded off the scoring through a sensational solo effort from Munas Dabbur. Sevilla continue their 100% record in the UEL Group A this season, with only the final match in Cyprus left to be played against an APOEL who are themselves already qualified. At noon on Sunday, at home, La Liga returns with CD Leganés the visitors.

MATCH STATISTICS

2. SEVILLA FC: Bono, Pozo, Carriço, Sergi Gómez, Escudero, Gudelj, Óliver Torres (Mena, 68'), Rony Lopes (Bryan Gil, 55'), Munir, Dabbur and Chicharito (Franco Vázquez, 62').

0. QARABAG FK: Begovic, Medvedev, Mammadov, B. Hüseynov, Ailton, A. Hüseynov (Abdullayev, 69'), Garayev, Richard Almeida, Míchel (Dani Quintana, 84'), Zoubir and Jaime Romero (Emreli, 70').

GOALS: 1-0, 61': Bryan Gil; 2-0, 90+2': Dabbur.

REFEREE: Mohammed Al Hakim, from Sweden. No yellow cards.