Arsenal cruises to 2-0 win against Sevilla
Successive defeats in the League Cup and Premier League had halted Arsenal’s momentum but goals by Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka cemented their place as leaders of Group B.
LONDON: Arsenal returned to winning ways with a routine 2-0 defeat of Sevilla to take a big step towards qualification for the Champions League knockout rounds on Wednesday.
Successive defeats in the League Cup and Premier League had halted Arsenal’s momentum but goals by Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka cemented their place as leaders of Group B.
Trossard tapped home in the 29th minute to put Mikel Arteta’s side in front and Saka underlined Arsenal’s superiority with a superb effort midway through the second half.
Europa League champions Sevilla were desperately disappointing and managed only one shot on target, with the last kick of the game, as their last-16 hopes receded.
The only blemish on an otherwise stress-free night for Arsenal was the sight of Saka, who set up Trossard’s goal, hobbling off late on after falling awkwardly.
Arsenal strengthened its position at the top of Group B with nine points from four games and would have qualified had Lens beaten PSV Eindhoven but the French club lost 1-0. Lens and PSV have five points while winless Sevilla are bottom with two points.
Madrid qualifies for R-16
Brahim Diaz, Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo scored as Real Madrid cruised into the last 16 of the Champions League with two group games remaining after a 3-0 victory over Portuguese side Braga on Wednesday.
Real manager Carlo Ancelotti rested several regular starters, including top scorer Jude Bellingham with a shoulder injury, but the 14-times champions maintained their 100% record to lead Group C with 12 points from four games.
They could secure top spot with a point at home in their next game against Napoli. The Italian champions are second on seven points, four clear of Braga in third. Union Berlin is at the bottom on one point after a 1-1 draw against Napoli earlier on Wednesday.
Real got an early scare when Lucas Vazquez held Braga defender Cristian Borja inside the box to concede a penalty in the fourth minute.
However, goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, who was a last-minute addition to Real’s starting eleven due to an injury suffered by Kepa Arrizabalaga in the warm-up, palmed away a weak effort by Alvaro Djalo from the spot.
Three minutes later, Vinicius started a counter-attack and played in his compatriot Rodrygo, who netted a brilliant chip over the goalkeeper to secure the result.
The other two goals for Madrid were scored by Brahim Diaz and Vinicius Junior.
“We have a lot of quality in our squad that is so deep. If we have a good day, it’s difficult to prevent us from scoring. Today went very well and we hope it continueslike this for the next games.” Rodrygo concluded.
