Sevilla FC is once again in the final of the Europa League. With a bit of luck, the Spaniards prevailed against Manchester United. A former Bundesliga professional scored the decisive goal.
Cologne (dpa) - The Europa League experts from Sevilla FC have not let themselves be stopped by Manchester United's star ensemble and thanks to a late goal by Joker Luuk de Jong they reached the final at the final tournament in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The team of the former Spanish national soccer coach Julen Lopetegui defeated the Red Devils in Cologne somewhat happily with 2: 1 (1: 1). In a thrilling game, the former Mönchengladbacher de Jong scored the decisive goal in the 78th minute and let the Spaniards cheer exuberantly.
In the final at the same place on Friday, Seville will face Inter Milan or Shakhtar Donetsk and will be the first club to win the Europa League for the fourth time. For United it was the third semifinal out of the season after failing in the English FA Cup and the League Cup. Bruno Fernandes gave Manchester an early lead with a penalty kick (9th). However, Suso (26th) equalized and started the turnaround.
The encounter had just started when Anthony Martial played Marcus Rashford brilliantly free. The English international striker failed against Seville goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, but was then fouled by Diego Carlos, who had already given a penalty early in the quarter-finals. Bounou had parried against Wolverhampton Wanderers and had no chance against Bruno Fernandes. The Portuguese midfielder once again proved his qualities from eleven meters after the winning goal against Copenhagen in the round of eight.
Sevilla didn't look shocked, however. The Andalusians fought their way back in a varied game that was getting more and more hectic. Felix Brych, who was the first German referee to lead a European Cup game in Germany, had a lot to do to reassure players and those responsible after tough duels. 17 minutes after the first goal, he then pointed again to the kick-off point: Sergio Reguilón prepared strongly on the left, passed flat in the middle, where Suso pushed the ball over the line.
Neither team allowed themselves any breaks in front of 2014 world champion Lukas Podolski, who had himself photographed with the trophy in the stadium. However, because Bounou was careful with two powerful shots from distance and Sevilla lacked precision on the offensive in the last pass, no further goals were scored initially.
48 seconds after the restart, United youngster Mason Greenwood had a great chance to change that. However, the 18-year-old couldn't get past Bounou any more than Rashford four minutes later and shortly afterwards Martial twice (53rd). Sevilla were able to thank their strong goalkeeper that United didn't pull away at the start of the second half.
The three-time Europa League and two-time UEFA Cup winners showed how to play efficiently in front of goal in the closing stages. Jesús Navas crossed from the right into the center and de Jong scored from nowhere to win.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 200816-99-190957 / 3
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