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Sevilla beat Copenhagen, keeps Champions League hopes alive

Football

By Associated Press | Oct 25, 2022

Copenhagen's Christian Sorensen, right, challenges for the ball with Sevilla's Isco during the Champions League soccer match between Sevilla and Copenhagen at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Seville, Spain, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

Sevilla defeated Copenhagen 3-0 to earn its first Champions League win of the season and keep alive its slim hope of advancing to the knockout stage.

The Spanish club now needs Borussia Dortmund to lose to Manchester City at home later Tuesday to remain in contention. If the German club picks up at least a draw, Sevilla will be eliminated for a second consecutive season.

Copenhagen was eliminated and will finish last in Group G regardless of the last-round results. The Danish side twice hit the woodwork against Sevilla but remained the only team yet to score after five matches. It hasn't scored in its last nine Champions League games.

Youssef En-Nesyri, Isco Alarcon and Gonzalo Montiel scored second-half goals for Sevilla, which has at least secured third place and a berth in the Europa League, the second-tier European competition that it won six times.

En-Nesyri opened the scoring in the 61st, Isco added to the lead with a curling shot from outside the area in the 88th and Montiel sealed the victory from close range two minutes into stoppage time.

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Copenhagen defender David Khocholava was sent off for a hard foul late in stoppage time.

Sevilla was winless in seven games at home in all competitions this season and had lost five of its last seven Champions League games at its Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium.

Last season, Sevilla didn't get through a relatively easy group that included RB Salzburg, Wolfsburg and Lille. It reached the round of 16 in 2020-21, being eliminated by Dortmund.

Sevilla and Copenhagen entered the match tied on two points each. Dortmund has seven points ahead of its match against Man City, which has 10 points.

The Spanish club had won only one of its last nine matches in all competitions. It replaced coach Julen Lopetegui with Jorge Sampaoli after the team's 4-0 home loss to Dortmund earlier this month. It had won only once in five matches in all competitions since then, at Mallorca in the Spanish league.

Copenhagen, which came into the Sevilla game depleted by injuries, also got a new coach - Jacob Neestrup - since its scoreless draw against the Spanish club at home more than 40 days ago.

This is Sevilla's eighth Champions League campaign and third in a row. It reached the quarterfinals in 2017-18, being eliminated by Bayern Munich.