Sevilla Sack Coach After Europa League Elimination

Sevilla have sacked coach Pablo Machin, the La Liga side said on Friday, a day after the team were knocked out of the UEFA Europa League by Slavia Prague, Reuters reports.

The club have placed their director of football, Joaquin Caparros, in charge until the end of the season.

Machin, who was hired last June on the back of his steady success with Girona, got off to a flying start with the Andalusian side.

He took them to the top of the table in November.

But results had declined in 2019, not helped by a congested fixtures list which had seen them play 50 games in all competitions.

This was due to their having to play six UEFA Europa League qualifiers at the start of the campaign.

“Sevilla FC have made the decision this Friday to part company with first team coach Pablo Machin, following a string of poor results in past weeks,” the club said in a statement on their website.

Sevilla, who have one of the best home records in La Liga but had failed to win away from home since September, are sixth in the standings on 40 points.

They are also five points behind fourth-placed Getafe who occupy the final UEFA Champions League spot.

They were beaten 3-4 by Slavia Prague after extra time on Thursday for a 6-5 aggregate defeat, conceding the decisive goal in the 119th minute of play.

Sevilla exited the Copa del Rey at the quarter-finals stage, being thrashed 6-3 on aggregate by FC Barcelona in spite of winning the first leg 2-0.