Sevilla makes history to record a fourth UEFA Europa League title with a 3-2 victory over Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in a delightful final Wednesday night in Warsaw, Poland.
Dnipro started the game very well taking unexpected early lead through Nikola Kalinic’s header after seven minutes into the game.
This hit Sevilla by surprise and needed a quick response against the Ukrainian side.
The Spanish side reacted first with two goals in the space of three minutes from Grzegorz Krychowiak in the 28th minute and Carlos Bacca in the 31st minute. Ruslan Rotan expertly netted a fine free-kick just before half-time to leave the hearts of the fans racing going into the break with the game level at a 2-2 score line
The second half resumed with both sides playing a more cautious game with each looking to win on counter attacks.
Dnipro sat back and absorbed the pressure from Sevilla with a hope of getting a winning goal through a counter-attack.
Sevilla on the other hand kept on pressing up field and creating chances to kill off the game.
Sevilla manager Unai Emery substituted Former Arsenal player Jose Antonio Reyes for Andujar Moreno to have more openings in the game.
As the clock was ticking down, it was Colombian striker,Carlos Bacca who beat Boyko Denys to score again in the 73rd minute handing his side the win.
Sevilla manager Unai Emery stressed how important it was for his Team to win the Trophy,he said;
“Reaching the final was the most important thing and once we did we had to enjoy it. I’m very happy here. We wanted this competition a lot, all Sevilla did. There have been a lot of finals, this the latest, against a very physical, strong team. The joy makes the work worthwhile.
We have always competed with many difficulties. We had to continue working whether the game was in our favour or against us. At half-time we talked and said we had to be calm because we were required to compete in attack and defence. This group deserves it.”
Dnipro coach Myron Markevych was disappointed with the nature His Team allowed Sevilla to win the game, “We gave them the third goal,” he told UEFA.com. “We should have cleared the ball but didn’t.”
Sevilla become the first Team to retain the Europa League trophy since it was rebranded in 2009, and they now hold a record of four Europa titles having won the Uefa Cup in 2007 and 2008.
The result means Spain will have five teams in the Champions League next season, with Sevilla joining Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid in the group stages and Valencia to negotiate a play-off tie.
Sevilla are also the first Team to benefit from the new rules which were set up by UEFA of having the Europa League winners earning a place in the Champions League having finished fifth in La Liga.
Read more on UEFA.COM
