Kanouté targets first-place finish

Frédéric Kanouté has his eye on top spot in Group H after Sevilla FC's rousing 4-2 victory against SK Slavia Praha put them back on course for a knockout phase place.

Team player
Kanouté's clever finish for his eighth-minute opening goal was both audacious and extremely difficult, but as a team player he actually valued still more the clever back-heel flick which he used to set up Luis Fabiano for the crucial second which re-established Sevilla's lead. "I play for the team," he said. "I need to score but I get great satisfaction from creating an assist for a team-mate because that way you are a more valuable player for your club and your coach.

'We can finish first'
"Now that we have steadied ourselves in this group it is 100 per cent my aim to try and win it. We lost the first match but it is still mathematically possible that we can finish first and that is my goal now. If we end up in second position then that's no disaster but I think this club needs to have the highest aims and that is mine."

Positive attitude
Kanouté's first-half goal and two excellent assists meant that, individually, there was no better performer on the pitch but the Mali striker's thoughts were with the team and the fans. "The background to this game was that we'd lost three or four matches in a row and while I would never call that a crisis it was a nervous atmosphere in which to approach such an important game," Kanouté said.

'Added motivation'
"I think we had added motivation to go out and do something special for the fans because in recent weeks we have not been ourselves. At the end of the day you can say that we won without too many problems, but I'm happy with the attitude which we showed after Slavia scored such a quick equaliser to my goal in the first half," he added.