Europa League Sevilla Again

Death, taxes, and Sevilla winning the Europa League. There are some constants in the universe and since the inception of the Europa League seeing the Rojiblancos in the final is just a given. This season was no different as the Spanish side claimed their seventh Europa League title, holding off Roma 1-1 in regulation to earn the 4-1 result in penalties. 

Although this Europa League title was Manager Jose Luis Mendilibar’s first with the side, he followed the Sevilla playbook to winning a title: dominate possession, don’t take too many chances, and play a tight, defensive style. Despite the 1-1 scoreline, Sevilla maintained possession for long portions of the match (64-36) while forcing Roma to chase down passes (574-237 for passes completed).

Sevilla’s dominance on the ball was certainly on display, but they spent a large portion of the match trying to find a goal. Despite their attacking prowess, it was Roma that struck first with Paulo Dybala hammering home the opening goal in the 35th minute of the match. Roma’s talisman goalscorer scored seven goals during the tournament.

Despite going down a goal early, Sevilla showed remarkable calm and did not deviate from their gameplan. Although there may have been a few nervous supporters at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, their patience paid off in the 55th minute a cross into the box finds Roma defender Gianluca Mancini, going into the back of his net for an own goal.  The two sides traded attacking chances for the final half hour and through extra time with neither side able to break the stalemate. In penalties, Sevilla pulled ahead thanks to goals from Lucas Ocampos, Erik Lamela, Ivan Rakitic, and Gonzalo Montiel to earn the 4-1 result. 

Despite going down a goal early and facing Roma manager Jose Mourinho, whose sides have not given up a goal in a UEFA final since 2003, Sevilla stuck to their tried-and-true style and it paid off. 

“It’s a special tournament for us,” said midfielder Fernando, who was also part of the 2019-2020 winning side. “When we get to the quarter-finals and then the semi-finals, we know something special will happen. Even when Roma scored a goal, we were confident. We knew we could turn it around at any moment. That’s what we did.”

With the victory, Sevilla not only secured their seventh Europa league title but also a spot in next year’s UEFA Champions League.