Match reports

1-0: SEVILLA FC LOSE IN LIÈGE LEAVING QUALIFICATION UP IN THE AIR

29/11/2018

Sevilla could not even get a point in Liège, who went down to Djenepo's goal and also had Sarabia sent off in the second-half. Franco Vázquez' shot against the crossbar in the first half was the closest they went to scoring

Sevilla FC will have to wait until the last group stage match against Krasnodar to seal qualification to the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League. The defeat against Standard Liège leaves Machín's men level with the Belgian team on 9 points and they will need to beat the Russian side to qualify. A draw tonight would have been enough but in cold conditions, Sevilla looked off-colour and the home side got the only result that was good enough for them by securing the three points.

Standard came out with high intensity, aware of the fact that they needed to win to keep themselves alive in the group, and they pushed to get into the Sevilla area from the beginning. In fact, the first clear chance arrived on the 8-minute mark with Emond having a shot at the near post off a cross from the right wing. A quarter of an hour in, Carcela had a shot following a counter-attack after Sevilla had lost possession in midfield.

Franco Vázquez nearly put Sevilla in front with a powerful strike in the first-half that struck the bar

Having overcome these scares, Sevilla began to settle down in the cold condition of the Maurice Dufrasne, controlling more of the possession. Machín's men began to get into the opposition area and Ben Yedder had the first sight of goal, firing over after a good cross from Arana on the left wing. During this period came the best chance of the first 45 minutes, with Ben Yedder controlling the ball well and feeding the ball to Franco Vázquez on the edge of the area, and the Argentine struck a powerful shot against the crossbar.

The second-half could have got off to a very bad start if Emond had have managed to control the ball after breaking the offside trap. He pushed the ball too far ahead of him and Vaclík was able to rush out and smother it. But Standard were clear in that they had were becoming more and more likely to win and they upped the rhythm and intensity. And it didn't take long for them to get their just deserts. A one-two between Carcela and Djenepo released Djenepo one-on-one with Vaclík who could do nothing to prevent the goal.

Djenepo changed the face of the game, scoring the winning goal and leading to Sarabia's sending off.

The bad news for Sevilla didn't stop there, as Sarabia, who had only come on minutes before to replace Aleix Vidal, was sent off for two bookings, leaving Sevilla a goal and a man down. But, despite Machín's offensive substitutions, they could not manage to threaten Ochoa's goal. The game was up for grabs right until the end as Djenepo incomprehensibly missed a shot from yards out and failed to convert a chance following a mix-up between Kjaer and Vaclík

Sevilla, therefore, have it all to play for on the last matchday against Krasnodar to stay in the Europa League, as they must beat the Russians to ensure they don't depend on what Standard do against Akhisarspor.

GAME SUMMARY

1. STANDARD LIÈGE: Ochoa, Fai, Luyindama, Vanheusden, Laifis, Bastien, Cimirot, Poku (Marin, 43'), Djenepo, Emond (Orlando Sá, 65') and Carcela (Lestienne, 85').

0. SEVILLA FC: Vaclík, Carriço, Kjaer, Mercado, Aleix Vidal (Sarabia, 50'), Arana (Muriel, 85'), Roque Mesa, Banega, Franco Vázquez (André Silva, 76'), Promes and Ben Yedder.

GOALS: 1-0 Djenepo, 60'.

REFEREE: Daniel Siebert, German. Yellows for Banega, Roque Mesa, Luyindama, Franco Vázquez, Djenepo, Sarabia (sent off for a double booking) and Orlando Sá.