Levante see off woeful Sevilla to ease La Liga relegation fears

Levante's Roger Marti celebrates after scoring a goal in his team's win against Sevilla.
Levante's Roger Marti celebrates after scoring a goal in his team's win against Sevilla.
EPA

Levante all but ensured they will be playing La Liga football next season with a 2-1 win over stricken Sevilla.

Goals from Roger and captain Jose Luis Morales either side of Carlos Fernandez's equaliser earned Levante their fourth win in five games.

It also moves them 12 points clear of third-bottom Deportivo La Coruna, who have four games left -- the first of which is against champions-elect Barcelona on Sunday.

Sevilla, on the other hand, have little to celebrate at present.

They have now failed to win in nine matches, during which they have dropped down to seventh in La Liga, been knocked out of the Champions League and, last weekend, lost 5-0 to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final.

Sevilla's already-fragile confidence, therefore, could have done without the ease at which Levante ran through them to open the scoring after just 10 minutes on Friday night.

A move that started inside the Levante penalty area saw the home side progress virtually unchallenged all the way to the Sevilla six-yard box, where Roger tapped home from Morales' pass.

Fortunately for the visitors, they were behind for just five minutes before Fernandez levelled things up with a superb strike.

The 21-year-old striker picked up Ever Banega's pass on the edge of the area before turning and finding the top corner with an unstoppable left-footed thunderbolt.

It was Levante who would end up with the points, however, with Morales slotting home a 74th-minute winner with a shot through David Soria's legs.