Dein erstes Forum » essed optimism that he wouldnt be sidelined

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. 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LANDOVER, Md. -- Washington Redskins running back Matt Jones suffered a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder Friday night, but coach Jay Gruden expressed optimism that he wouldnt be sidelined long, calling it a slight separation.Jones hurt his shoulder in the first quarter of Washingtons 22-18 win over the New York Jets when a defender rolled over him. Jones immediately went to the bench and eventually headed to the locker room for X-rays. Hell undergo more tests Saturday to determine the severity.Its a little upsetting, but I think he is going to be OK, Gruden said. I dont think its going to be a long injury.The Redskins couldnt afford for Jones to miss a lot of time. Theyre thin at running back. Chris Thompson?is the thirdd-down back but durability issues prevent him from taking on a heavy load.dddddddddddd They also have rookie seventh-round pick Keith Marshall and undrafted free agent Rob Kelley.Jones will be the primary back this season. On Friday, he rushed seven times for 30 yards before the injury. He struggled a little to get a shirt on after showering.When I went down, on a scale of one to 10, [the pain] was a seven, and then it went up and then it settled down, Jones said. I still have flexibility now, so its not as bad as it was. Im moving well now. The only thing I cant do is raise my hand. Thats about it. ' ' '