Budapest, June 1 (BNA): Sevilla succeeded in achieving its magic again in the European League, defeating Roma 4-1 on penalties on Wednesday and lifting the trophy for a record seventh time, defeating Roma coach Jose Mourinho for the first time in six matches. European finals.
Reuters reports that after an impressive match ended 1-1 after extra time, Sevilla punished the Italian side harshly in a penalty shootout, with Gonzalo Montiel hitting the winning penalty, just as they did for Argentina in the World Cup final against France.
The defender had missed his first attempt but was awarded a reprieve when Roma goalkeeper Rui Patricio was ruled off the line too early and made no foul on his second attempt, sparking jubilant celebrations.
Sevilla goalkeeper Yacine Bounou was their hero in the penalty shootout, saving spot kicks from Gianluca Mancini and Roger Ibáñez, while the Spaniards were flawless in their execution, scoring their first four goals.
Sevilla, the undisputed kings of the Europa League, have now won all seven finals they have contested in the competition, and are well aware of the drama on this occasion, having seen their opponents score first in their last four finals.
The relationship was tense and ill-tempered from the start on Wednesday, with Roma defending deep with a five-man defense against Sevilla, who had almost 65% possession but were mostly kept out of the Italian penalty area.
The match was tight with referee Anthony Taylor issuing 14 yellow cards, the most ever in a Europa League match, and playing nearly 30 minutes of injury time.
Paulo Dybala gave Roma the lead from a counterattack in the 35th minute, but Sevilla then took control of the match and found the equalizer thanks to a goal from Mancini in the 55th minute.
Sevilla dominated the match after that, but Roma had better chances from counter-attacks and set-pieces, including Chris Smalling’s header hitting the crossbar in the 10th minute of extra time.
ZHB