Coaches Lopetegui and Seoane get the axe

MADRID - Two coaches have paid the price for poor starts to the season, including in the Champions League.

Julen Lopetegui said he felt "sadness and pain" after being sacked as Sevilla boss, following a 4-1 home thrashing by Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday - a result that left the La Liga side facing an uphill task to qualify from Group G. They have only a point after three games and are five behind second-placed Dortmund, with leaders Manchester City comfortably in front on nine.

Some fans applauded Lopetegui at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium and directed their anger at the board, with Sevilla also suffering a dire run of form in La Liga, sinking to 17th place.

Seeking to cut costs, the club's hierarchy opted to sell their defensive core in the summer, with Jules Kounde moving to Barcelona and Aston Villa buying Diego Carlos, while winger Lucas Ocampos also made a switch to Ajax Amsterdam on loan.

Jorge Sampaoli, who coached Sevilla in the 2016-17 season, has agreed to take over the reins, according to reports in Spain.

But Lopetegui admitted he was upset after leading the team to the 2020 Europa League title.

"I am grateful to the whole of Sevilla, their fans, the players who have given me three marvellous seasons," he said.

"(I feel) sadness and pain for leaving a team that I love very much and which will, without a doubt, stay in my heart."

After three consecutive fourth-placed finishes under Lopetegui, Sevilla have now won just once in 10 games in all competitions.

However, Lopetegui's firing does mean struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers, who are 18th in the English Premier League, have a clear path to his appointment.

The former Spain coach is understood to be Wolves' preferred candidate for their vacant managerial position, after ending Bruno Lage's 15-month spell in charge last Sunday.

Meanwhile, Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen also sacked their coach Gerardo Seoane on Wednesday.

They handed former Spain and Liverpool star Xabi Alonso his first official job in the dugout.

The 40-year-old, who has signed a deal until June 2024, takes over a team second from bottom after eight matches of the German season and third in Group B of their Champions League group.

But Alonso, who spent the final three years of his playing career with Bayern Munich, is confident of sparking a turnaround.

"I know Leverkusen as an excellent club from my time in Germany. Bayer has always had great players, I also see a lot of quality in the current squad. This task excites me a lot," he said.

In Wednesday's other Champions League games, Real Madrid made it three wins from as many Group F games after beating Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 at home.

In Portugal, a Lionel Messi strike was cancelled out by Danilo Pereira's own goal as Paris Saint-Germain and Benfica maintained their unbeaten records in Group H with a 1-1 draw.

AFP, REUTERS