Madrid (Spain), Oct 6 (IANS): Spanish football club Sevilla sacked coach Julen Lopetegui on Wednesday night, less than an hour after their 4-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.

The news came after several weeks of speculation over the former Real Madrid and Spain coach's future, after a poor start to the season.

Sevilla have won just one of their seven games in La Liga with just five points from 21 in the competition, while they have lost two and drawn one of their three matches in the Champions League.

Lopetegui joined Sevilla in 2019 and was in charge of 170 matches with 89 wins, 45 draws and 36 defeats, and led the club to a record 77 points in La Liga in the 2020-21 season, reports Xinhua.

Last season saw Sevilla appear to be the main challengers to Real Madrid for the league title, but they ended up in fourth place in La Liga after a loss of form at the end of the campaign.

Former Sevilla coaches Marcelino Garcia Toral and Jorge Sampaoli have both been linked with a return to the club, while Lopetegui is favourite to be named as the replacement for Bruno Lage at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the near future.