Soccer-Sevilla not giving up on Europa League, coach says

SEVILLE, Spain, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Sevilla are extremely disappointed to be out of the Champions League but remain hopeful of finishing third in Group D to keep alive their chances of a third consecutive Europa League triumph, coach Unai Emery said on Monday. Sevilla need to beat section leaders Juventus at their Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Seville on Tuesday and hope Borussia Moenchengladbach fail to win at Manchester City to have any chance of a berth in Europe's second-tier club competition. With one match remaining, Juve and City have qualified for the last 16 and are in first and second respectively, while Gladbach are third, two points ahead of Sevilla. Emery said he wanted to see the kind of performance against the Italian champions, who beat Sevilla 2-0 in Turin in September, that helped the Andalusian club to surprise wins against Barcelona and Real Madrid in La Liga this season. Despite those impressive victories, both at the Sanchez Pizjuan, the side have been too inconsistent and Sunday's 1-1 draw at Deportivo La Coruna left them mired in 10th place in Spain's top flight. "Tomorrow our motivation will be at a very high level," Emery told a news conference. "We have to offer the version we offered against Madrid and Barcelona and find some consistency," he added. "We do not have our fate in our own hands to continue in Europe but we can put on a good performance and prepare to face a very challenging opponent." Sevilla have been struggling for goals this term, with only 19 in La Liga and seven in their five outings in Europe. Emery will be hoping former Spain forward Fernando Llorente, who joined from Juve in the close season, can score against his old club if he features on Tuesday, as his presence at Monday's news conference suggested he would. "I hope that is the case, I have a lot of desire to help Sevilla and become more important for the team," Llorente said. "Hopefully I can score a lot of goals," added the 30-year-old. "I have had some physical problems and I am finding it tough to get to the level of previous years but I think it's just a matter of finding some form and I am on track." In winning their fourth Europa League/UEFA Cup in May, Sevilla overtook Juve's three and became the club with most titles in the competition. (Writing by Iain Rogers, editing by Clare Fallon)