Dein erstes Forum » Its been difficult to score.

MADRID -- Several clubs and national teams were after Jorge Sampaoli when Sevilla made the surprise announcement in June that it was hiring the Argentine-born coach.He arrived amid high expectations and promised to keep Sevilla a contender in Spain and Europe. After an up-and-down start, Sampaoli is on his way to fulfilling his words.The team from Spains southern Andalusia region is in a good position to advance to the knockout stages of the Champions League. It can take the Spanish league lead on Sunday with a home win against Atletico Madrid, combined with a draw or loss by Real Madrid against Athletic Bilbao.We are doing very well, Sampaoli said. We are in a strong position in both competitions. This motivates us for whats ahead.Sampaoli, who led Chile to its first Copa America title in 2015, signed with Sevilla this season after contemplating offers from across the world. Those offers kept coming even after accepting the Sevilla job, including one from Argentinas national team about a month after Sampaoli had replaced Unai Emery. The 56-year-old Sampaoli decided to stay in Spain because it would be irresponsible to leave after such short period in charge.Sampaoli failed in the first two chances he had to succeed with Sevilla, losing the Spanish Super Cup to Barcelona and the UEFA Super Cup to Real Madrid.But things improved, and while Barcelona, Madrid and Atletico continued to attract most of the headlines with big victories, Sevilla quietly began winning important games.It has won three of its last four games in the Spanish league and sits third in the standings after eight rounds, one point behind leaders Atletico and Madrid.In the Champions League, Sevilla is tied with Juventus atop Group H with seven points from three matches. It drew against the Italian champions in the opener and picked up consecutive wins against Lyon and at Dinamo Zagreb.We have to maintain this winning mentality, Sevilla defender Sergio Escudero said. We have a good dynamic going and we have to maintain it. Its important to keep winning.In addition to facing Atletico this weekend at Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium, Sevilla will also host Barcelona in two weeks, as well as Juventus in the Champions League in November.Expectations are high at Sevilla, which defeated Liverpool to win its third straight Europa League title last season, but Sampaoli warned there is still a lot to improve before Sevilla can get closer to the top three teams in Spain.We will have difficulties competing against the bigger teams unless we improve when we have chances to score, he said. Its been difficult to score. If we are not decisive, we will struggle against the better teams.---Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/tales-azzoni James Hurst Jersey .35 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. Plouffe batted .254 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs in 477 at-bats last season, his second as a regular in the lineup. Ben Powers Jersey . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. http://www.customravensjersey.com/custom-willie-snead-iv-jersey-large-1713d.html .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. Terrell Suggs Jersey . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. Earl Thomas III Jersey . -- Running backs Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings were back at practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday despite being hampered by hamstring injuries. For more on Ashwins love for Chennai and how he transformed himself into a match-winning bowler, read our December Cricket Monthly cover story here ' ' '