A Federico Fazio header and a brace from Alvaro Negredo helped Sevilla cruise to a comfortable 3-0 win over Real Zaragoza in a one-sided encounter this evening.
The home side suffered a scare early on when goalkeeper Andres Palop was poleaxed by David Mateos. Sevilla's shotstopper looked to be in a bad way, but it wasn't long before he was back on his feet.
It was Zaragoza that took a battering for the rest of the half as Sevilla came at them with full force. They edged their noses in front after just eight minutes when Fazio rose above the Zaragoza defence to head home from close range.
One-way traffic towards the away side's goal ensued, and Manolo Jimenez's team doubled their lead just before the half-hour mark. Manu's inviting pass was turned into the back of the net by Negredo.
Zaragoza barely had a chance to speak of in the first half, but they were handed an opportunity to get back into the game after sloppy play from the home side. Apono was gifted a one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but dragged his shot wide of Palop's post.
Sevilla punished their opponents for their wastefulness just before the half time whistle when Negredo helped himself to his second of the evening. Jesus Navas provided an inviting cross, and the striker latched onto the rebound after his initial shot was saved.
The home side started the second half in the same fashion, with Negredo almost completing his hat-track just after the break. Zaragoza keeper Gago was forced into a save from point-blank range to deny the forward.
Zaragoza created more in the final third than they did in the first half, and should have pulled on back just after the hour when Helder Postiga found space in the area, only to shoot wide from close range.
Sevilla held tight for the remainder of the game, and dominated possession to ensure the clean sheet.
The win lifts Jimenez's side up to seventh, and leaves Zaragoza firmly in the drop zone.
Mark Langshaw
