SEVILLE, SPAIN: Substitute Youssef En-Nesyri scored a pair of goals three minutes apart in the second half as 10-man Sevilla rallied from two goals down to defeat Krasnodar 3-2 in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The win left Sevilla tied with Chelsea at the top of Group E. Both teams have seven points each, but Chelsea was ahead on goal difference after a 3-0 win over Rennes. Krasnodar and Rennes stayed at the bottom with one point each.
Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri, right, scores his side’s third goal during the Champions League group E soccer match between Sevilla FC and FC Krasnodar, at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Seville, Spain, on Wednesday, November 4, 2020. Photo: AP
Sevilla played the entire second half a man down as captain Jesús Navas was shown a red card for a foul to stop Krasnodar’s counterattack just before the break.
“We knew at halftime that we could come back,” Ivan Rakitic said. “We dug deep inside to find the strength to do it despite playing with 10 men. The team deserved this win.”
The visitors had opened the scoring with a free kick taken by Magomed Suleymanov from the edge of the area in the 17th minute, and Marcus Berg added to the lead by converting a penalty that was given after a video review in the 21st.
Sevilla started its comeback with a header by Rakitic in the 42nd, and En-Nesyri scored his goals after coming off the bench early in the second half.
His first came after Krasnodar defender Kaio lost control of the ball while being pressured near the area in the 69th, and the second was a shot from inside the box after Rakitic’s cross from the left hit the post in the 72nd.
“He has the gift to score these goals, he has a lot of confidence,” Rakitic said about En-Nesyri. “I’m happy for him. I’m happy for the whole team.”
Rakitic had hit the crossbar with a shot from inside the area in the 62nd.
“We are devastated,” Suleymanov said. “We were two goals up, Sevilla had a man sent off. I don’t know how to explain what happened after. Maybe we were too tired in the second half, or maybe it was something else. We should have controlled the game but instead we lost it.”
Sevilla was yet to concede, having drawn 0-0 with Chelsea and defeating Rennes 1-0 at home. Krasnodar drew 1-1 at Rennes and lost 4-0 to Chelsea at home.
The Spanish club plays at Krasnodar on Nov. 24.
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