The UEFA Europa League gets short shrift from a lot of soccer fans who only have eyes for the Champions League.
But UEFA’s secondary club competition routinely offers up entertaining and memorable action throughout the group stage and knockout rounds before being capped off by a memorable final. This season was no exception.
Here’s what happened during Wednesday’s final between AS Roma and Sevilla FC at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest, in case you missed it…
GAME RECAP IN A SENTENCE
After going down in the first half, Sevilla fought back to equalize in the 55th minute and then chipped away at Roma before beating the Italian club 4-1 in a penalty shootout to win the Europa League for a record-extending seventh time.
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Seventh heaven for Sevilla
Nunca te rindas.
Those three words – Never give up – have become a mantra for Sevilla FC over the years, one that has served the Spanish outfit very well.
To say Sevilla has an affinity for this tournament would be a massive understatement. It is the unquestioned master of it, winning the Europa League (and its predecessor, the UEFA Cup) a record seven times since first lifting the trophy in 2006.
Seven finals, seven wins. Pure perfection.
Three times, Sevilla held its nerve and bested its opponent in the penalty shootout. Twice more, they won by a single goal. Never give up is much more than a motto for the Spaniards – it’s a way of life. They simply don’t know any other way to go about things.
So, when AS Roma took the lead after 35 minutes through Paulo Dybala on Wednesday, you just knew that Sevilla would battle back and eventually emerge victorious. It wasn’t easy, though.
Roma was flying high after Dybala’s goal and continued to pour on the pressure for the rest of the first half with the Argentine effectively leading the attack. Sevilla held steady, never lost faith and eventually tied things up in the 55th minute via an own-goal. While there was a bit of good fortune to the equalizer, Sevilla deserved it as they came out strong to start the second half.
Their dominance continued in the face of Roma manager Jose Mourinho’s dour and pragmatic tactics, but try as they might, Sevilla couldn’t find a way to unlock the Italian club’s bend-but-don’t-break back line through the rest of regulation and 30 minutes of extra time.
Credit to Roma for pushing Sevilla to the brink, but the Europa League specialists converted all four of their attempts in the penalty shootout to finally kill off the Italians and lift the trophy for a seventh time.
Sevilla’s latest European triumph would have been impossible to imagine back on March 21 when the club fired noted Argentine manager Jorge Sampaoli and replaced him with the unheralded José Luis Mendilibar. At the time, los rojiblancos were faltering near the bottom of the La Liga table and flirting with relegation. Since the managerial change, Sevilla have climbed to safety in 11th place, and dispatched European giants Manchester United and Juventus before dispatching Roma to win the Europa League.
Never give up.
GOAL OF THE GAME
After a fairly lacklustre opening half hour, the game came to life at the 34-minute mark with a brilliant goal scored by AS Roma in a moment of transition. Roma midfielder Nemanja Matić stripped Sevilla’s Ivan Rakitić of possession in the centre circle, and Gianluca Mancini played a lovely through ball for Paulo Dybala. The Argentine’s first touch was sublime as he burst into the box, and then he hit a low shot past Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou and into the bottom-right corner to give the Italians the lead.
BEST MOMENT OF THE GAME
While his players celebrated, AS Roma manager Jose Mourinho was cool as a cucumber on the sidelines after his team scored the game’s opening goal:
SIX PACK OF STATS
• Sevilla has now won seven European titles, with each one coming in the UEFA Cup/Europa League. Only five clubs have more major European trophies: Real Madrid (16), Barcelona (12), AC Milan (9), Liverpool (9) and Bayern Munich (8).
• Paulo Dybala is only the second foreign player to score for AS Roma in a major European final, after fellow Argentine Pedro Manfredini (a brace in the 1961 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup vs. Birmingham). Joya.
• Dybala is the first Argentine to score in a UEFA competition final since Lionel Messi (for FC Barcelona) in the 2010-11 Champions League. He is also the first Argentine to score in a Europa League/UEFA Cup final since Hernan Crespo (for Parma) in 1999.
• Sevilla’s Jesús Navas (37 years and 191 days) is the oldest outfield player to start a UEFA Cup/Europa League final since David Weir for Rangers in 2008 (38 years and four days).
• In each of Jose Mourinho’s five previous European club finals, his team took a 1-0 lead into halftime and ended up winning the game: FC Porto (2003 and 2004), Inter Milan (2010), Manchester United (2017) and AS Roma (2022).
• Roma have lost both of its finals decided by a penalty shootout in European competitions (previously vs. Liverpool in the 1984 European Cup).
– Stats courtesy of Opta
THREE STARS
1) Ivan Rakitić (Sevilla FC): Yes, he was caught in possession in the buildup to Roma’s opening goal. But the veteran rebounded after that to put in a masterful performance in central midfield on both sides of the ball. The Croatian played all 120 minutes, converted his penalty in the shootout and completed more passes than all but one player on his team.
2) Gonzolo Montiel (Sevilla FC): The veteran fullback scored the winner for Argentina in its shootout victory over France at the 2023 World Cup final, and stuck in the final dagger again vs. Roma. He also helped to marshal a Sevilla back line that gave away very little against the Serie A side.
3) Paulo Dybala (AS Roma): La Joya – The Jewel – lived up to his nickname with a sparkling display that saw him score the opening goal and run himself ragged in attack for the Italians before being subbed out after 68 minutes. The Argentine’s display was all the more impressive considering he was coming off a lengthy injury layoff.
from Sportsnet.ca https://ift.tt/s4vkpjK
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