There were reservations about tonight's match against Qarabag after their previous results against Spanish sides. They were all warned about the Azerbaijani side, who did indeed resist Sevilla's dominance for more than an hour. A much-changed Sevilla side were unable to take a deserved lead until Chicharito's stunning free kick. As Qarabag opened up, trying to equalise, Munir and Óliver Torres rounded off the win, as the five-time winners left nobody in any doubt about their standing in the group, even at this early stage.
Sevilla dominated the first half without opening the scoring. Those who know the Azerbaijani side well asked for Lopetegui's side to play at a high tempo, which they duly did. Both Diego Carlos and Chicharito had very early chances, but were unable to beat Begovic. Richard took advantage of some slack defending by Sevilla and fashioned a chance, but his shot was wide of the mark. The match had started frantically but, even as the game slowed down, the chances continued to flow. Abbas Hüsyenov went close from the right-hand side, but his vicious effort fortunately went wide.
Sevilla had opportunities to score in the first half, but the goal was not forthcoming
Pozo was Sevilla's best outlet in the first half, but Qarabag defended well despite Sevilla's strikers creating a number of chances. After half an hour, Qarabag had their best chance of the game, with a shot from Jaime Romero from the wing grazing the crossbar, although Vaclík appeared to have it covered. Munir had another chance before the break, after a lovely back-heel and cross from Pozo, but he could not open the scoring. Sevilla had dominated the first half, but were unable to convert that dominance into a lead.