Leganes dent Sevilla's Champions League dream

Leganes thumped Sevilla 3-0 to assure themselves of a third successive season in La Liga while clouding the hosts' prospects for a top-four finish and the accompanying berth in the Champions League.

Friday's victory brings ninth place Leganes to 45 points from 36 matches, 10 points above the drop zone. The clubs below them in the table have a maximum of nine points available from their remaining games, Efe news reported.

Sevilla remain in the fifth spot, level on points with fourth-place Getafe, who have a game in hand.

The home side were without playmaker Ever Banega, who was serving a suspension, and injured defender Daniel Carrico.

Leganes were the superior team from the start, dominating every facet of the game against an opponent who seemed lost and disoriented in front of nearly 33,000 spectators at Seville's Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium.

A giveaway by Sevilla midfielder Quincy Promes as he tried to play out from his own end led to the first goal, a Youssef En-Nesyri strike in the eighth minute.

Sevilla remained in disarray after conceding. The second goal came in the 20th minute as Martin Braithwaite brought the ball down with his chest after a throw-in and prevailed in the 1v1 with keeper Tomas Vaclik.

The hosts continued to struggle and didn't manage a shot on target until Pablo Sarabia's effort in first-half stoppage time.

While Sevilla showed some improvement following the break, they remained unable to rattle the disciplined, well-organised Leganes team, and Vaclik had to make a stop against Juanfran just seconds after the re-start.

Sarabia had another shot and forced Leganes keeper Cuellar to come off his line and cut off a potentially dangerous pass on a subsequent sequence.

Sevilla's best chance was a strike from close range by sub Bryan Gil that skipped over the cross-bar before Oscar Rodriguez sealed the win for Leganes with a goal in the 82nd minute.
IANS