Vitolo scores a wonder goal as Sevilla go through in style

Sevilla lived life on the edge in Borussia Park, right up until the 70 minute when Xhaka received his marching orders. Before that point, the score was tied at 2-2 and the defending champions were making heavy work of being in the draw for the last 16 on Friday. In the end Sevilla went though in style in front of 54,000 fans and a decent side finally beaten by a sprinkling of Vitolo magic, a player primed for the big occasion. The man from the Canary Islands scored an unforgettable goal to make in 1-2, showing balance, poise and power, before putting the game to bed by scoring his side's third.

This was by no means an easy encounter for Sevilla, and Gladbach went hell for leather in the first half, playing with width and in between the spaces. Xhaka, in particular, stood out for the home side, moving the ball at will and finding his partner in crime Hazard. But Emery was a man with a plan and in the final third his side were a constant threat. Instead of the creative spark provided by Reyes, he went for Banega, Aleix Vidal and Vitolo and it worked – Banega bagged the first and Aleix was in the thick of it. Nevertheless, Sevilla suffered in defence, playing two deep and lacking any kind of real rhythm. As a result they let the home side back into the match on two occasions, with Xhaka and Hazard the grateful recipients.

For Borussia it was make or break time in the second half as they looked to expose the cracks appearing in the Sevilla defence. The tie was finely poised until the 70^th minute when Xhaka was dismissed. Yet that still doesn’t take anything away from the performance of Emery’s men, who had played with character and sent out a message to the rest of the Europa League hopefuls even before Vitolo slid the ball home to round off qualification.

from Últimas noticias | Diario AS http://ift.tt/1C0YD9l

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