Sevilla secure top spot

Sevilla secured top spot in Group H ahead of Arsenal with a hard-fought 3-0 win over Slavia Prague.

Sevilla's second-half show sees off Slavia

Sevilla secured top spot in Group H ahead of Arsenal with a hard-fought 3-0 win over Slavia Prague. Second-half goals from Luis Fabiano, Fredi Kanoute and Daniel Alves gave the Spanish side all three points. The win means Sevilla will play one of the sides that finished second in their group in the last 16. Sevilla created the first opportunity of the game on eight minutes when Kanoute rose highest to meet Diego Capel's cross, but he nodded his effort wide of the target. The visitors had a goal disallowed on 16 minutes when Alves's deflected shot found the bottom corner, but the effort was ruled out as Kanoute was standing in an offside position. Slavia really should have broken the deadlock on 34 minutes when Milan Ivana left four Sevilla defenders in his wake with a fine run only to knock his shot against the post with only keeper Morgan De Sanctis to beat. The home side continued to take the game to Sevilla and Matej Krajcik had a sight of goal two minutes before the break, but his effort flew harmlessly over the crossbar. Sevilla fashioned the final chance of the first half right on the stroke of half-time when Capel stood up a cross from the left and Renato powered his header just over the top.

Pressure

The Spanish side stepped up the pressure in the second half as they looked to ensure top spot in the group. Arouna Kone glanced a header just wide on 52 minutes after Capel and Kanoute had worked a short corner between them. Slavia keeper Martin Vaniak denied Sevilla the opener on 56 minutes with a superb double save to keep out Kanoute. The ball dropped invitingly to Kanoute inside the box who saw his initial effort well saved from Vaniak and from the rebound the keeper produced another brilliant save to keep out Kanoute. Sevilla brought on Fabiano just before the hour mark and he had the desired effect as he broke the deadlock on 67 minutes. Fabiano combined with fellow substitute Enzo Maresca to move clear on goal and the Brazilian clinically dispatched his shot past Vaniak. Two minutes later Sevilla doubled their lead when Fabiano turned creator as he fed Kanoute inside the box with a perfectly weighted pass and the Mali international slotted the ball into the net. Alves went close to scoring on 73 minutes when he curled his free-kick into the side-netting. Alves did get his name on the scoresheet three minutes from time when Duda led a lightning counter attack and played the ball to Alves who coolly lifted his shot over Vaniak and into the net.

Slavia Prague	Team Statistics	Sevilla
0	Goals	3
0	1st Half Goals	0
0	Shots on Target	10
2	Shots off Target	5
4	Blocked Shots	3
3	Corners	4
18	Fouls	3
0	Offsides	4
1	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
76.9	Passing Success	81.8
19	Tackles	29
63.2	Tackles Success	79.3
45.7	Possession	54.3
51.2	Territorial Advantage	48.8