Sevilla beat River Plate 3-1 in friendly

IANS

Orlando (Florida), July 17 (IANS) Spanish football club Sevilla beat Argentine outfit River Plate 3-1 in a friendly match ahead of the new season.

The start of the match on Sunday at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista was delayed more than two hours due to a severe thunderstorm that rolled through central Florida, reports Efe.

Kevin Gameiro, Yevhen Konoplyanka and Steven N'Zonzi scored for Sevilla, which was playing its first match under Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli.

Europa League champions Sevilla got off to a fast start, with Gameiro scoring the match's first goal in the third minute.

Konoplyanka scored in the 59th minute and N'Zonzi added a goal for insurance in the 65th minute.

River Plate never really got rolling in the match and avoided a shutout thanks to Giovanni Simeone, who scored the team's lone goal in the 73rd minute on a header off a pass from Mayada.

Sampaoli used a three-man defence and put pressure on River Plate, employing two strategies that he uses with all of his teams.

--IANS

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