Sevilla in tough mission against Haaland’s Dortmund in Champions League

Berlin/Seville, Mar 8 (efe-epa).- Sevilla have the tough task of trying to turn around their 2-3 deficit against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last-16 second-leg Tuesday, while Norwegian forward Erling Haaland will hope to build up on his stellar first-leg performance.

The first-leg defeat did not only end the Spanish team’s nine match winning streak, but also sowed fresh doubts among Julen Lopetegui’s men, who went on to lose three of their four consecutive matches, including a calamitous Copa del Rey semi-final in which they blew a 2-0 first-leg lead by conceding three at the Camp Nou.

The Andalusian side must build on the two goals it secured against the Bundesliga men in the first-leg in the hope of booking a quarterfinal spot for the third time in Sevilla’s history.

The German club has had its own ups and downs. The team saw their four-match winning streak that began in Seville halted in dramatic fashion against Bayern Munich a couple of days ago. Haaland had put Dortmund 2-0 up only for the team to sink to 4-2 down by the final whistle.

They will have to do without English midfielder Jadon Sancho, who sustained a muscle injury during their 1-0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach, joining Belgian forward Axel Witsel on the sidelines, while Portuguese defender Raphael Guerreiro is expected to miss the game.

Haaland, who was substituted in the Bayern defeat after being hit in the heel, maybe able to take part in Tuesday’s game according to coach Edin Terzic. He will be hoping to have yet another chance to showcase his case as a rising Europe sensation.

Elsewhere, Juventus will seek to rally from a 1-2 first-leg deficit when they take on Porto to avoid yet another early exist, having been knocked out from the Champions League quarterfinals and last-16 round by Ajax and Lyon respectively.

The Italian team’s hopes will mainly fall on the shoulders of Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, who only played in the final stretch of their 3-1 Serie A win over Lazio.EFE-EPA

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