Sevilla leave Lille hopes in ruins

Sevilla FC overturned a one-goal first-leg deficit against LOSC Lille Métropole to book a place in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals with a 2-0 win at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán in a game both sides ended with ten men.

Bodmer blow
Lille travelled to Spain with a precarious advantage, and were always up against it once midfielder Mathieu Bodmer was dismissed midway through the first half. The home team wasted little time in capitalising as Frédéric Kanouté converted Daniel's assured cutback before the half-hour, and Luis Fabiano then completed the comeback with a crisp finish on the stroke of half-time. Lille never found their rhythm and even the 70th-minute sending-off of Jesús Navas failed to revive them as the Andalusian side prevailed.

Early initiative
Sevilla had missed a hatful of chances in the first leg in France and began in determined mood as Luis Fabiano's goal-bound header was blocked by Efstathios Tavlaridis early on. Adriano Correia and Renato then whistled shots narrowly past the upright before Kanouté saw a superb long-range drive cannon back off the woodwork during a blistering start. Lille, welcoming back a host of players who were rested at the weekend, offered little in return and their prospects worsened on 26 minutes when Bodmer saw red for an elbow on Javi Navarro.

Lille risk
Kanouté soon capitalised with a clinical finish from the edge of the area before the Mali striker turned provider by heading the ball into the path of Luis Fabiano, who scored from close range. It gave Sevilla the aggregate lead for the first time, and although Lille coach Claude Puel introduced Peter Odemwingie and Kader Keita early in the second half, the Primera División team never looked like relinquishing control. Their joy was tempered when Navas received his marching orders with 20 minutes remaining for retaliating following a challenge by Grégory Tafforeau.