Berlin, Nov 26 (IANS) Borussia Monchengladbach overcame a resilient Sevilla 4-2 in the fifth round of Champions League’s group stage.
The German side ended Sevilla’s hopes of advancing to the knockout stages as Lars Stindl’s brace helped the hosts in moving past the Spanish side following a see-saw encounter in front of 47,177 spectators at the Borussia Park on Wednesday, reports Xinhua.
The hosts took the reins from the kick off but lacked in accuracy in the opening period. Nevertheless, Monchengladbach’s pressure paid off at the half-hour mark as Stindl broke the deadlock.
The midfielder capitalised on Granit Xhaka’s low shot to tape home at the far post corner from very close range.
Monchengladbach remained in control after the restart but had to wait until the 68th minute when Fabian Johnson made use of Julian Korb’s through ball to curl the ball past Sevilla goalkeeper Sergio Rico.
They gained momentum and tripled the lead only 10 minutes later through Raffael, who finished a pass into path with a low shot from inside the box.
However, Sevilla remained dangerous and reduced the arrears following a fine finish by Vitolo, whose lob left Monchengladbach’s custodian Yann Sommer helpless in the 82nd minute.
Stindl restored the three-goal lead only moments later with a hammering low shot into the bottom left corner.
Sevilla weren’t done with the scoring as Ever Banega slotted home a foul play penalty to make it 4-2 after Xhaka floored Grzegorz Krychowiak inside the penalty area in the dying minutes of the game.