Spartak ease to Sevilla victory

Moscow (AFP) – Russian champions Spartak Moscow chalked up their first win of the Champions League campaign in style on Tuesday with a 5-1 drubbing of Sevilla  at Moscow’s Otkrytie Arena.

Quincy Promes netted a brace, while Lorenzo Melgarejo, Denis Glushakov and Luiz Adriano added one apiece to set Spartak on course for a well-deserved win.

Full back Simon Kjaer meanwhile was on target for Sevilla.

The win put Spartak level on points in Group E with Liverpool, who thrashed Maribor 7-0.

Spartak, spurred on by a capacity 44,000 home crowd, took an 18th minute lead when Dutchman Promes headed the ball into the net from 10 yards off a right-wing cross by Andrei Eschenko following a rapid couter-attack.

Sevilla replied positively  and their Danish back Kjaer pulled them level just before the half-hour mark sending home a rebound after a well-served corner by Ever Banega. 

As the interval approached Spartak ‘keeper Alexander Selikhov performed a remarkable save as he parried a shot which Sevilla’s Danish midfielder Michael Krohn-Dehli curled into the top right-handed corner.

After the restart Sevilla created a host of chances forcing Selikhov to produce a series of impressive saves to deny dangerous attempts by Wissam Ben Yedder and Krohn-Dehli.

Spartak soon regained the initiative when their Paraguayan first-half substitute midfielder Melgarejo restored the Muscovites’ lead in the 58th minute beating Sevilla keeper Sergio Rico with a low shot from the edge of the area.

Skipper Glushakov and Brazilian Adriano then added a goal apiece before Promes rounded off the scoring in the last minute of regulation time.

The two teams will meet again in Sevilla in a fortnight.