Sevilla claimed a record seventh Europa League title in Budapest on Wednesday night after beating Roma 4-1 on penalties at the end of the tense and hard-fought final.
Paulo Dybala and a Gianluca Mancini own goal had left the scores level at full-time and through extra-time, with Gonzalo Montiel scoring the decisive spot-kick at the second attempt – already this season he had netted the winner in Argentina’s World Cup final shootout.
Centre-backs Mancini and Roger Ibanez missed for Roma in the shootout courtesy of Sevilla goalkeeper Bono and the post respectively. Montiel’s kick was initially saved by Rui Patricio, who was penalised by VAR for encroaching – when it was retaken, the full-back made no mistake and consigned Jose Mourinho to his first ever defeat in a major European final in his sixth one.
It wasn’t exactly a vintage final in terms of the quality on show, with fouls high and clear chances low. But the dedicated sh*thousery that was absolutely fitting of a big game involving Mourinho provided its own form of entertainment - at least for a while.
At times, there was as much action in the dugouts as there was on the pitch.
The first real opportunity went to Roma when Leonardo Spinazzola came on to a ball with his right foot, requiring a smart parry from Bono. It was 35 minutes in when Dybala’s clinical left-footed finish put the Giallorossi ahead, latching onto a defence-splitting pass from Mancini.
Roma were edging it on balance and tried to double their lead before half-time. But that resulted in Lorenzo Pellegrini getting cautioned for simulation after throwing himself to the ground in search of a penalty. There was also still time before the interval for Sevilla veteran Fernando to miss the target with a header and Ivan Rakitic to strike the inside of the post from distance.
Sevilla’s early second half pressure paid off when Mancini turned the ball into his own net under pressure from Lucas Ocampos trying to get on the end of an inviting cross from Jesus Navas.
Bono later made a point blank save from Tammy Abraham, followed by a goalmouth scramble and a great chance scuffed well wide by Ibanez as the ball fell at his feet.
Ibanez was involved in another flashpoint as the final entered the final 15 minutes, taking a swing at Ocampos in the penalty area that initially saw referee Anthony Taylor point to the spot. But VAR prompted another look and the theatrical nature of the fall saw the English official change his mind.
Fernando survived a penalty shout the other way when the ball struck his arm, much to the displeasure of the Roma bench, with every decision increasingly contested by both teams.
Without a winner in 90 minutes, extra-time – perhaps unsurprisingly – ensued. But given that neither side wanted to lose over trying to win, that was a bit of a non-event until Chris Smalling floated a looping header onto the top of the bar in the 131st(!) minute…and so it was then penalties in the Europa League final for the third straight season.
Penalty shootout - Sevilla win 4-1
Sevilla: Ocampos (scored), Lamela (scored), Rakitic (scored), Montiel (scored)
Roma: Cristante (scored), Mancini (missed), Ibanez (missed)
Sevilla player ratings (4-2-3-1)
GK: Bono (8); RB: Navas (8), CB: Bade (7), CB: Gudelj (7), LB: Telles (7); CM: Fernando (6), CM: Rakitic (6); RM: Ocampos (7), AM: Torres (5), LM: Gil (5); ST: En-Nesyri (6)
Subs: Lamela (6), Suso (8), Rekik (6), Montiel (6), Jordan (n/a), Marcao (n/a)
Subs not used: Dmitrovic, Flores, Nianzou, Bueno, Mir
Roma player ratings (3-4-2-1)
GK: Patricio (7); CB: Mancini (6), CB: Smalling (7), CB: Ibanez (7); RM: Celik (6), CM: Cristante (6), CM: Matic (6), LM: Spinazzola (6); AM: Dybala (7), AM: Pellegrini (6); ST: Abraham (6)
Subs: Wijnaldum (5), Belotti (6), Zalewski (6), Llorente (5), El Shaarawy (6), Bove (n/a)
Subs not used: Boer, Svilar, Karsdorp, Camara, Volpato, Tahirovic
Player of the match - Bono (Sevilla)
This article was originally published on 90min as Sevilla 1-1 Roma (4-1 on penalties): Player ratings as Sevilla win Europa League again.
