24 November 2006, by Tom Kundert

Sevilla bring Braga back down to earth

Sevilla 2-0 Braga

New Braga boss Rogerio Goncalves was unable to follow up his terrific debut match victory over Benfica with another win as La Liga side Sevilla comfortably beat his team 2-0 with a goal in each half.

Former Porto striker Luis Fabiano scored five minutes before the break and substitute Chevanton sealed the win fifteen minutes from time.

An impressive Sevilla showed why they are the UEFA Cup holders and currently riding high in the Spanish league with a strong all-round display that left Braga with little chance of causing a surprise.

The home team were close to scoring on several occasions in the first 25 minutes as Puerta, Renato, David and Adriano all kept Braga goalkeeper Paulo Santos busy.

Braga found it difficult to make an impact at the other end of the pitch, although Cesinha had the ball in the net early on but the referee had already blown for offside.

Just when it seemed that Braga would survive until the break, Sevilla took the lead through Luis Fabiano after some fantastic play by winger Adriano.

The second half was a more even affair, and on 64 minutes Cesinha was a whisker away from finding an equaliser but his effort skimmed the outside of the post. One minute later Braga sent on Castanheira and Wender to boost their attack but still struggled to make an impact against the team lying second in La Liga.

In the 75th minute Sevilla killed the game when Chevanton hit the second goal, despite the heroic efforts of keeper Paulo Santos. The Portugal international made a fantastic save from a powerful Renato shot, and reacted well to block Chevanton’s initial follow-up effort, but he was powerless to prevent the third successive strike from finding the net.

Despite the defeat, Braga still have an excellent chance of making progress should they beat Swiss outfit Grasshoppers at home in their final group match.

Rogerio Goncalves, Braga coach:

“Sevilla were too strong for us. We started the game well but defensively we committed some errors. We knew that it was important to contain their attack and we were waiting for the break to make the corrections that were necessary, but our opponents scored a goal three minutes from half time. That hurt us greatly.”

“In the second half we started better, and had some control of the game, but afterwards we made a defensive error that resulted in the loss. We did not start the game well and that was decisive.”

Wender, Braga forward:

“We had conditions to win because a team that beat Benfica the way we did has to come here believing we can win this game too. Unfortunately, this did not happen. But we still have excellent possibilities to advance in the UEFA Cup.”

Juande Ramos, Sevilla coach:

“We are satisfied because we managed a victory. We played a good game and the goalkeeper for Braga was excellent throughout the first half, and avoided that we went into the break with a bigger advantage.”

“In the second half we scored the second goal and the game was resolved at that instant. The victory was necessary and essential in order to avoid a dangerous situation. Now we can play our next games calmly.”

Sevilla:
Palop, Daniel Alves, Javi Navarro, David, Adriano (Alfaro, 78), Poulsen, Escude, Renato, Puerta, Luis Fabiano (Chevanton, 66), Kanoute (Kepa, 79)
Yellow Cards: Palop (87)

Braga:
Paulo Santos, Luis Filipe, Paulo Jorge, Nem (Castanheira, 70), Carlos Fernandes (Joao Pinto, 82), Vandinho, Frechaut, Ricardo Chaves, Maciel, Ze Carlos (Wender, 70), Cesinha
Yellow Cards: Cesinha (73)

Goals:
[1-0] Fabiano, 40
[2-0] Chevanton, 76