Luis Fabiano and Renato found the net as Sevilla ruled over Unirea at the Sanchez Pizjuan.
Spanish go top with first Group win
Sevilla secured their first win in Group G, beating minnows Unirea 2-0 at the Sanchez Pizjuan.
The Spanish side made hard work of it against the Romanian champions who defended stoutly throughout the game.
Luis Fabiano broke the deadlock near the end of a frustrating first half having been left in acres of space to pick up on a timely Renato cross.
Renato then doubled the scoreline with 20 minutes to play with a cool header from close range.
Unirea created little in the way of chances, instead opting to defend deep against Sevilla's attack.
The win takes Joaquin Caparros' side top of Group G ahead of a tough second fixture at Rangers.
Close
Sevilla came close to taking the lead inside the first few minutes of the match when Frederic Kanoute sent keeper Giedrius Arlauskis the wrong way - his deflected shot drifting narrowly wide of the far post.
Fabiano then had a great chance to break the deadlock with a curling free-kick which was parried wide by the Lithuanian shot-stopper just before the half-hour mark.
Sevilla then started to pile on the pressure, with Fabiano and Kanoute forming a solid partnership, lumping pressure on the Romanian champions who, throughout the early part of the game, defended stoutly to keep the Spanish attack at bay.
They continued to do so until just before the stroke of half-time when Renato, with a powerful run down the left, threaded a timely ball through to Fabiano. The Brazilian striker was left in acres of space to unleash an unstoppable left-foot strike past a dumbfounded Arlauskis.
It was a similar story in the second half with Unirea defending deep against a determined Sevilla attack.
Diego Capel came close to doubling the scoreline before the hour mark with a long-range effort over the crossbar - the result of some delightful one-touch football between the two Sevilla strikers who continued to menace the Romanian back-four.
Arlauskis, again, kept Sevilla at bay when getting just enough on second-half substitute Alvaro Negredo's low shot, preventing the Spanish striker from having an immediate impact.
Sevilla's attack, though, showed true with 20 minutes left on the clock when Renato reacted quickest in the six-yard box to head home from an out-swinging corner.
His performance warranted a second goal, which almost came with minutes to go when he struck a powerful low shot off the inside of the far post.
With no real shots on target after that, Sevilla saw out the remainder of the game to continue their superb run at the Sanchez Pizjuan, having suffered just one defeat in 43 games on home soil.
| Sevilla |
Team Statistics |
Unirea Urziceni |
| 2 |
Goals |
0 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 6 |
Shots on Target |
0 |
| 5 |
Shots off Target |
5 |
| 6 |
Blocked Shots |
2 |
| 6 |
Corners |
1 |
| 17 |
Fouls |
16 |
| 0 |
Offsides |
0 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
4 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 86.1 |
Passing Success |
66.3 |
| 12 |
Tackles |
18 |
| 91.7 |
Tackles Success |
88.9 |
| 64.6 |
Possession |
35.4 |
| 60.2 |
Territorial Advantage |
39.8 |
|
