Sevilla beat Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma on penalties to win UEFA Europa League title, see

Budapest: Five months after scoring the winning penalty in the World Cup final, Gonzalo Montiel converted the clinching spot kick for Sevilla to beat Jose Mourinho’s Roma in the Europa League final on Wednesday. This earned Sevilla their seventh title in the competition.

The Argentina international sent Roma goalkeeper Rui Patricio the wrong way to seal a 4-1 shootout win after the match finished 1-1 after extra time in Budapest, where Mourinho maintained his record of never losing We were aiming to keep A finalist in European competitions. “I’ve won five finals and I lost this one, but I’m coming back home again with pride,” Mourinho told Sky Sport Italy. “The boys gave everything.”

Gianluca Mancini and Roger Ibanez failed to convert Roma from the spot against Sevilla goalkeeper Yassin Bounou. Montiel missed his first attempt but had another after Patricio decided to come off his line. Sevilla has still never lost a contested final in the Europa League or its predecessor, the UEFA Cup – the team also won the competition in 2006, ’07, ’14, ’15, ’16 and ’20 – and secured a spot the following season. in the Champions League.

See Sevilla’s team celebrates winning the UEFA Europa League title…

,#UELfinal pic.twitter.com/1YCniaGxmw– UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) May 31, 2023

At one stage close to the relegation zone in the Spanish league and already out of the Champions League, it was looking like a season to forget for Sevilla. But clearly it was not over yet.

A new coach, José Luis Mendilibar, came in and things changed quickly. Mendilibar said, “I’m happy to be here and win for the club, when we got here it was going to be difficult.” “We have done something good that can have an effect for the good of the club.”

Prior to the final, Mourinho actually had more European title wins than Mandelibar, in total games managed in the same competitions. The 62-year-old Mandilibar’s career has been on the upswing since joining Sevilla just two months ago. As Sevilla’s players celebrated on the field, Mourinho remained calm and congratulated the Spanish club on their victory.

“We lost a game but not the dignity. I have never been at home better than today,” said Mourinho. “Great match, great final. Intense, alive.”

After receiving his runner-up medal, Mourinho took it off and gave it to a young fan. Paulo Dybala put Roma ahead in the 35th minute at the Puskas Arena in the Hungarian capital. Mancini sent a through ball for Dybala, who sent Bouno into the net with a low left-footed shot. The Argentina forward had recovered from an ankle injury before being declared fit for the final.

It was Dybala’s fifth goal in the Europa League and 17th overall this season. Sevilla were only slowly entering the match, but Ivan Rakitic came close to equalizing in first-half stoppage time with a drive less than 20 meters (yards) away that bounced off the post.

Mendilibar sent on midfielder Suso and former Roma player Erik Lamela as a substitute at the start of the second half to revitalize their team. Sevilla equalized 10 minutes into the second half through an own goal from Mancini, when he was under pressure from Youssef En-Nesri. Captain Jesus Navas set up the goal with a cross from the right.

“The 37-year-old veteran Navas was in the team that won Sevilla’s first Europa League title in 2006,” Mendilibar said. The equalizer came quickly in the second half and gave us the strength to continue fighting to win the game.”

Substitute Andrea Belotti failed to beat Bauno in a one-on-one encounter after Lorenzo Pellegrini’s free kick seven minutes from time. Suso had a long-range shot that was saved by Patricio in the dying seconds. Sevilla had the upper hand in extra time, but were unable to create a clear chance to score and eventually Roma defender Chris Smalling headed the ball over the crossbar.

Mendilibar became Sevilla’s third coach this season, replacing former Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli in March, with the team just two points off the La Liga relegation zone. His lineup has lost only two league games in 11 since then and is now one point away from seventh place in the final round this weekend.