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Champions League: Europa League kings Sevilla need to transfer that form into the Champions League

It still feels a little bit odd to see Sevilla’s name in the Champions League. Last month, against Italian giants Juventus, the Spaniards had the chance to secure safe passage to the knockout stages of Europe’s premier club competition. When Nico Pareja scored a beauty after nine minutes and the home side subsequently dominated the first half, it seemed the hoodoo had been removed. Sevilla were marching on in the Champion’s League at last.

Then disaster struck.

Franco “Mudo” Vazquez saw red for two bookings in less than five minutes. Panic set in. Then the referee, England’s own Mark Clattenburg, awarded Juventus a dubious penalty on the stroke of half-time which Claudio Marchisio duly converted. Panic turned to anger which turned to worry. They went from topping the group to hanging on desperately in the second half.

As we all know now, they didn’t hang on. Two goals in the last ten minutes meant not only had they lost top spot in the group but it opened up the possibility of dropping down into the Europa League - again.

And how little has been made of Sevilla’s feat of winning three consecutive Europa League titles? Imagine if the fourth or fifth best team in England, say a Liverpool or a Tottenham, had won three European titles back-to-back. The fanfare, the adulation, the respect would’ve been ten-fold.

No one has ever won consecutive Champions League titles but we politely clap when people mention Sevilla’s achievements. We’ll probably never see another side match that run in our lifetimes. It’s an incredible record to hold.

So while Sevilla some fans might admittedly be happy to enter a competition they’ve won three years in a row, the players and staff are only dreaming on continuing their Champions League adventure.

“We want to reach the quarter finals [of the Champions League],” is what Samir Nasri told UEFA’s official website. “It would be a prestigious achievement to be one of the top eight sides in Europe.” That new drive, that new enthusiasm, is what the club hopes will make them step up from Europa League winners to Champions League contenders.

Sevilla face Champions League and the ‘small’ matter of Lyon. If you remember last season, it was Lyon who gave Gary Neville a rude awakening as Valencia boss. Los Che went into the match in the hope that victory at home would give them a chance of qualifying for the latter stages but the French outfit ran out comfortable 2-0 winners. Essentially they’re not adverse to breaking Spanish side’s dreams.

You can be rest assured that Jorge Sampaoli won’t be underestimating them either and he shouldn’t. It’s taken Lyon a while to get back to a decent level on the European stage and victory tonight in front of their own fans would see them make the Round of 32 for the first time since 2012. Lyon must win by two clear goals, so they’ll be going for the throat immediately to try and settle the obvious nerves.

For Sevilla it’s a sort of European crossroads. While it’s true they’ve received far less credit than they deserve for their achievements, they don’t want to spend another season in the Europa League. Their fans are tired of the jokes about Sevilla trying to do everything in their power to drop down into the second tier competition. The progression in the league has made fans both domestically and abroad take them more seriously but going out of the Champions League at this stage would hurt - a lot.

The success the side has enjoyed up to this point has attracted interest in their players from the richer sides. Steven N’Zonzi is being tracked by both Barcelona and various clubs from England. Samir Nasri, only at Sevilla on loan, is gaining plenty of admirers after putting his injuries and poor form behind him. It won’t be long before clubs start to enquire about Sergio Rico too, yet another outstanding goalkeeper Spain has produced. It’s important they continue progressing in order to keep ahold of these players.

Amongst fans and players there’s a debate as to which is better: going far in the Champions League but ultimately coming up short, or winning the Europa League against lesser sides or ones who’ve had poor campaigns.

I’d personally always take the latter because I believe winning a trophy is what the game is about. However for a lot of players, and now fans, the desire to pit yourself against the best in the world - although not being quite good enough to beat them - is seen as greater progression.

For clubs it’s a hard balancing act. Take a look at Arsenal. They’re a recognised and respected name throughout Europe but they’ve lost their best players in recent years because they haven’t won a Premier League or Champions League title. For other clubs continuously being in the competition would be praise enough but eventually coming up short doesn’t quite cut it. Yet if Arsenal dropped into the Europa League and won, would their fans be satisfied? Would their players be? Football isn’t quite so black and white any more.

Over in England whenever someone implodes from a near impossible position, the term ‘Spursy’ is used. And if Sevilla were to drop down following defeat to Lyon then there might have to be a Spanish equivalent formed over here.

It feels more of a mental hurdle than to one to do with having the required quality. To go to the Juventus stadium and defend like heroes to come away with a clean sheet and a draw is commendable, a sign of their European pedigree.

If they were to lose by a two-goal margin tonight then it’d show the emotional, psychological scars still remain. It’s as much about beating themselves as it is beating Lyon. On paper Sevilla are the favourites but, as is the case with their fluctuating form away from home in Spain, it’s important they don’t buy into the hysteria surrounding themselves and instead focus on getting the job done and putting demons to rest.

“Sevilla are characterised by how they fight, how they grow in the important games and this is one of them. We can’t wait for the match to start.”  Those are the words of the goalkeeper Sergio Rico, who has kept a clean sheet in four out of the five matches so far. If he keeps another clean sheet then Sevilla will go through.

Sevilla are a team good enough to compete in the latter stages of the Champions League - now it’s time for them to prove it.