![]() ![]() Paris Saint-Germain will probably need a new manager he is still said to be in the favour of Florentino Perez at Real Madrid.īut defeat would at least allow him to fall back onto his burning sense of personal injustice, the idea that the world is somehow out to sabotage Jose Mourinho. It’s not quite that the result here didn’t matter to Mourinho: as a man very aware of his own legacy, another European trophy may not only have burnished his legend but could potentially be parlayed into a gig back at the very top table. Sevilla have done it again, but they more than met their match.Īlmost to the detriment of what is happening on the pitch, TV footage follows his every move: the cajoling, the complaining, the wailing, the wild celebrating, the pure distillation of Mourinho, 60 years old now and showing no signs of moderation. In the end, a draw was probably the fairest result, but penalties were the cruellest way to have to settle the score. Roma in their stubborn mid-block, springing into life if their opponents dared to drive through their core Sevilla scrapping for the second balls and swinging the ball into the box - particularly from their dangerous right-hand side - at almost every opportunity they could. ![]() What followed, predictably, was an absorbing, attritional battle. Leading the Italian side to the inaugural UEFA Conference League crown last year, Mourinho had a flawless record of his own to protect.Ī coach with five continental cup-final wins five faced a team with six from six. Roma, on the other hand, had only ever won one European trophy before this final, but their illustrious manager had five. Every time they had reached the semi-finals of their favourite competition before tonight, they had gone on to win it, unbeaten in their last 28 Europa League games at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan. The Spaniards have endured a wobbly domestic campaign, but a trip to Budapest for another European final seemed the most certain way for it to end. Jose Mourinho’s Roma versus six-time winners Sevilla was the Europa League final that was almost too inevitable to be true, but it meant that one modern-day magic spell had to be broken, at last. Irresistible force meets immovable object. Seb Stafford-Bloor, Nick Miller and Thom Harris analyse the key talking points. Sevilla emerged victorious after some last-kick drama when Gonzalo Montiel was given the chance to retake his penalty after Rui Patricio came off his line too early. No team was able to add the winning goal so penalties it was. Sevilla had a penalty decision overturned by VAR, but ultimately no side could break the deadlock in the 90 minutes of normal time.Įxtra time was perhaps most notable for a further slew of yellow cards, taking the total on the night up to 13. ![]()
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