Spartak stun Sevilla 5-1 with four-goal second-half blast

Soccer Football - Champions League - Spartak Moscow vs Sevilla - Otkrytiye Arena, Moscow, Russia - October 17, 2017 Spartak Moscow's Quincy Promes, Dmitriy Kombarov, Luiz Adriano and team mates celebrate in front of the fans at the end of the match REUTERS/Grigory Dukor

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Spartak Moscow stunned Sevilla by scoring four second-half goals to secure an emphatic 5-1 win in their Champions League Group E match on Tuesday.

Lorenzo Melgarejo, who replaced injured midfielder Aleksandr Samedov in the first half, put Spartak 2-1 ahead when he buried the ball in the far right corner in the 58th minute, before captain Denis Glushakov, Luiz Adriano and Quincy Promes each found the net before the final whistle.

Soccer Football - Champions League - Spartak Moscow vs Sevilla - Otkrytiye Arena, Moscow, Russia - October 17, 2017 Sevilla’s Nolito in action with Spartak Moscow's Lorenzo Melgarejo REUTERS/Grigory Dukor

Spartak's win was their first of this Champions League campaign and they are now level on five points with Liverpool at the top of the group. Sevilla are third with four points.

Sevilla had fallen behind in the 18th minute when Promes headed the ball over visiting goalkeeper Sergio Rico, but defender Simon Kjaer levelled minutes later with another header.

The Spanish side struggled with the pace of the Spartak midfield, but had a good chance in the dying minutes of the first half when a menacing curling shot by Michael Krohn-Dehli was tipped over the bar by back-up goalkeeper Aleksandr Selikhov.

Soccer Football - Champions League - Spartak Moscow vs Sevilla - Otkrytiye Arena, Moscow, Russia - October 17, 2017 Sevilla coach Eduardo Berizzo (R) and Spartak Moscow coach Massimo Carrera (L) react REUTERS/Grigory Dukor

The Spartak defence stood firm in the 55th minute as Selikhov made a smart save before defender Dmitry Kombarov cleared the ball off the line.

The win came at a cost for the Russian champions, as Samedov was taken off the pitch in the first half, grimacing in pain after sustaining a leg injury.

Soccer Football - Champions League - Spartak Moscow vs Sevilla - Otkrytiye Arena, Moscow, Russia - October 17, 2017 Spartak Moscow's Lorenzo Melgarejo (not pictured) scores their second goal past Sevilla’s Sergio Rico REUTERS/Grigory Dukor

(Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Toby Davis)

Soccer Football - Champions League - Spartak Moscow vs Sevilla - Otkrytiye Arena, Moscow, Russia - October 17, 2017 Spartak Moscow's Lorenzo Melgarejo celebrates scoring their second goal with team mates REUTERS/Grigory Dukor

Soccer Football - Champions League - Spartak Moscow vs Sevilla - Otkrytiye Arena, Moscow, Russia - October 17, 2017 Spartak Moscow's Aleksandr Selikhov in action with Sevilla’s Michael Krohn-Dehli REUTERS/Grigory Dukor

Soccer Football - Champions League - Spartak Moscow vs Sevilla - Otkrytiye Arena, Moscow, Russia - October 17, 2017 Spartak Moscow's Aleksandr Samedov is carted off the pitch after sustaining an injury REUTERS/Grigory Dukor