SEVILLE, Spain (AP) - Sevilla beat Spartak Moscow 2-1 to avenge its demoralizing loss to the Russian club two weeks ago and move to second place in Group E of the Champions League on Wednesday.
After being thrashed 5-1 by Spartak in Moscow, Sevilla rebounded with a solid performance at home, winning comfortably with goals by Clement Lenglet in the first half and Ever Banega in the second. Ze Luis scored late for Spartak.
“This wasn’t about revenge, this was about the three points,” Banega said. “We tried to control the game at all moments, but what was most impressive about our performance is that it demonstrated the personality of the squad. We never lost our cool and we reacted well.”
The result left the Spanish side with seven points from four matches, one point behind leader Liverpool and two in front of Spartak.
Maribor, which lost 3-0 to Liverpool in England in the other group match, stayed with one point.
“We still have two games left but it was an important step toward guaranteeing a spot in the next round,” said Lenglet, who scored his first Champions League goal. “We played at a very good level for most of the game.”
Sevilla controlled the match from the start and opened the scoring with Lenglet’s close-range header in the 30th. Banega added to the lead with a well-placed left-foot shot into the top corner in the 59th.
Ze Luis pulled a goal back for Spartak in the 78th.
The result extended Sevilla’s unbeaten streak at home to 24 matches in all competitions, with 17 wins and seven draws. Sevilla hasn’t lost at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium since going down 3-1 to Juventus in the Champions League almost a year ago.
Spartak was on a 13-match unbeaten streak in all competitions.
Sevilla next hosts Liverpool, while Spartak welcomes Maribor.
Spartak was not allowed to sell away tickets to its fans because of a flare thrown near the referee in the game at Maribor.
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