Sevilla were made to work hard by Red Bull Salzburg to claim a healthy lead, going into the second leg of their UEFA Cup First Round tie. The Andalucians mucked in a solid performance though the scoreline was a little harsh of Salzburg - they did not deserve to lose by a 2-0 scoreline. Sevilla’s win came courtesy of a very early goal and a very late goal: Diego Capel netted neatly after just five minutes, with his replacement, Adriano, grabbing the hosts’ second, in stoppage time.

This was a game in which Sevilla were easily expected to triumph in; they were at home, near full-strength and playing in a competition in which they have enjoyed huge success, in recent years. On the injury front, the Spaniards were missing Arouna Kone, Julien Escude and Renato, whilst Aldo Duscher was banned. The visitors, meanwhile, were at full strength and raring to go. They did not have the best of starts though, going down as early as the fifth minute to a Capel goal - Luis Fabiano and Jesus Navas did the hard work, allowing Capel to tap home. The visitors did fight back though. Alexander Zickler looked dangerous and forced an early stop from Andreas Palop, though Sevilla went into the break with a half-time lead.

The second period saw Sevilla dominate possession, though they rarely created any solid chances. Navas and Capel were running the show when the Andalucian club did gallop forward, though their threatening play struggle to convert itself into goal rewards. Salzburg were happy defending well - a 1-0 defeat would not have been so bad. However they almost equalised when they hit the home side on the break - Robin Nelisse should have beaten Palop. However Sevilla boss Manolo Jimene pulled off a tactical masterstroke, with his two substitutes - Adriano and Javier Chevanton - combining nicely, with the former hitting home in injury time to seal the win.

Sevilla manager Manolo Jiménez has described this match against Salzburg as a stepping stone for his side’s UEFA Cup chase, with everything going to plan thus far. It was a deserved win for Sevilla, though Red Bull’s resilience perhaps deserved a fairer scoreline. Despite the result, however, the Austrians will no doubt return home with the belief that they can still cause a shock - they do have the advantage of an artificial playing surface, something which Sevilla will not be used to.