Kanouté is 'Top Gun' as Sevilla cruise

The one thing that would have completed Sevilla FC's Group G domination was scoring as many goals as the quality of their play merited.

Growing confidence
However, even if their Matchday 6 hero and uefa.com Player Rater winner Frédéric Kanouté accepts that they could have made their 1-0 victory over Rangers FC more emphatic, he has no doubts that it is the rest of Europe who should be shuddering at the prospect of facing Manuel Jiménez's side rather than vice versa. "Really we are not afraid of any team we have to play now – we know that in the Champions League you must face the best and beat them if you want to win the trophy," he told uefa.com. "I don't think it is possible to draw an easy team but perhaps we can come up against a lesser side who have finished second in their group. Most importantly, we know that the second leg of our next tie will be at home."

More goals
That is a key factor for the Spanish team who, in eight UEFA Champions League home matches including qualifying, have earned seven wins and a draw. Against the champions of Scotland it was a hard-fought victory. There was no quarter given by a Rangers side determined to bow out of the UEFA club competitions with dignity – and possibly eager to impress the watching Tom Cruise, who is currently filming in Andalusia. Only the early spot-kick which the Malian international converted with sang-froid separated the teams. "It is not easy to score a penalty like that," said the 32-year-old. "But like all good things in football, it comes with practice. I think we probably played well enough to merit more goals and we did make things a bit difficult for ourselves, but our sole objective was to win the tie and top the group. Nothing else matters".

Dark horses
If Kanouté's words reflected the growing confidence at a club that won consecutive UEFA Cups in 2006 and 2007, then newcomer Didier Zokora emphasised the belief. "Like Freddie, I would say we are not scared of anyone in Europe now," the midfielder said. "People can talk about Chelsea or Manchester United but we can beat anyone, especially if we work hard. I cannot remember the year, but I do remember that not so long ago Porto won the Champions League. If they can do it then why can't Sevilla?"