0-4: GIROUD DECIDES THE GROUP, WITH SEVILLA FINISHING IN SECOND PLACE

02/12/2020

A tough defeat for Sevilla against a Giroud-inspired Chelsea, with the Frenchman scoring all four goals. Lopetegui's men will travel to Rennes with a second-placed finish already secured

A bitter end to European home matches in 2020 for a Sevilla side who will always remember this year of contrasts. The Blanquirrojos, in a match where both managers made sweeping changes to the line-ups they had used in their league matches last weekend, were roundly beaten by a Chelsea side in which one player starred. Olivier Giroud scored all four goals for the Londoners, which secured a first-placed finish for them in the groups, with a match to spare. Sevilla will join them in the Round of 16, after qualifying with last week's win in Russia, and will be in the runners-up pot.

After the surprise last-minute team news, with the youngster Alfonso starting instead of Vaclík in goal, the match began with Chelsea looking to open the scoring as early as possible. After two early efforts were well-saved by the Cordoban keeper, he was unable to deny Giroud after eight minutes, with the Frenchman firing into the far corner. An early blow from Lampard's team, who took a step back after the goal, pressing Sevilla less as they looked to strike on the counter.

Chelsea pressed high up early on, with Giroud breaking the deadlock

There were two penalty appeals for the hosts in the first half, with both coming from free kicks: the first following a free-kick from Óscar before Rakitic's on the stroke of half time. The Portuguese referee André Soares, after consulting the VAR in Nyon, did not change his mind. Chelsea also came close twice after around half an hour of play. Pulisic tested Alfonso with a low effort, but he was able to deny the American with his feet. From the resulting corner, Franco Vázquez cleared Rudiger's header off the line

As the match progressed, Sevilla gradually made the match more even, but without truly testing Mendy. En-Nesyri tried to beat the Senegalese keeper from the halfway line, but his ambitious strike veered wide. Sevilla fired an early warning shot in the second half, but it was the visitors who struck. Gudelj had the best opportunity to level the match after a lovely piece of play from Jesús Navas, but, just afterwards, a team move from the West London side saw Kovacic feed in Giroud, who waited for Alfonso to come down low before lifting his effort over the debutant.

Numerous substitutions did not change the tie, and Giroud scored three more in the second half

The changes came after an hour. Lopetegui made three of them at once, with Koundé, Ocampos and Jordán replacing Navas, Óscar and Idrissi. Chelsea also gave minutes to some of their key players, such as Kanté, Ziyech and Mount, which made the match seem more like a pre-season clash than a European tie. Mount went clean through on goal but was denied by Alfonso, who got a hand to his low shot. However, Giroud's night just got better and better, heading home a Ziyech cross to complete a perfect hattrick. There was even time for him to get a fourth, converting a penalty which he had won after he was brought down by Sergi Gómez.

A painful defeat for Sevilla against a strong Chelsea side in a special match, as the Nervionenses played in their 100th European home match. The scoreline, alongside the 1-0 win for Krasnodar against Rennes, means that there is nothing in play in the final match of the groups. The Russians will travel to West London with their third-place finish and Europa League spot in the bag, while Sevilla will travel to France to face Stade Rennais, who are already out. However, before Tuesday's match, Real Madrid will visit Nervión for an important league match.

MATCH SUMMARY

0. SEVILLA FC: Alfonso, Jesús Navas (Koundé, 59'), Sergi Gómez, Diego Carlos, Rekik, Gudelj, Rakitic (Óliver Torres, 74'), Óscar Rodríguez (Joan Jordán, 60'), Franco Vázquez (Munir, 66'), Idrissi (Ocampos, 59') and En-Nesyri.

4. CHELSEA FC: Mendy, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger, Emerson, Kovacic (Ziyech, 67'), Jorginho (Gilmour, 85'), Hudson-Odoi, Havertz (Mount, 67'), Pulisic (Kanté, 67') and Giroud (Werner, 84').

GOALS: 0-1, 7': Giroud; 0-2, 54': Giroud; 0-3, 74': Giroud; 0-4, 83': Giroud.

REFEREE: André Soares, from Portugal. Yellows for Gudelj, Idrissi, Sergi Gómez, Kovacic and Pulisic.