Jose Mourinho suffered his defeat in a European final after his AS Roma side lost on penalties to Sevilla in the UEFA Europa League final.
UEFA Europa League Final
Result: Sevilla 1-1 AS Roma (Sevilla won 4-1 on penalties)
Date: 31 May 2023
Venue: Puskas Arena
Argentine Paulo Dybala recovered in the nick of time and was afforded a start up top by Roma, with full-back Marcos Acuna a key absentee for Sevilla following his dismissal in the last four.
Dybala was heavily involved after kick-off after a clever move from Leonardo Spinazzola prompted the latter to bring a save out of Sevilla shot-stopper Yassine Bounou.
On-loan Manchester United fullback Alex Telles became vital for Sevilla in their forward momentum and a short build-up involving Fernando had Jose Mourinho’s men right on the edge.
Roma did though break the deadlock courtesy of a clinical finish from Dybala following a ball in by Gianluca Mancini around the final ten minutes to halftime.
The LaLiga side were very close to pull a leveller on the cusp of halftime when a rasping shot from way out by Ivan Rakitic struck the post.
Former Tottenham Hotspur man Erik Lamela came on for Bryan Gil following the break and Carlos Suso stepped in for Oliver in Sevilla’s double changes.
Those introductions livened up the LaLiga outfit and within ten minutes from the resumption they were level when Mancini angled a cross from Mancini into his own net.
Mourinho’s charges could’ve regained the lead midway through the second half from a clever attempt by Tammy Abraham around the area, but Bounou made a stern save.
Sevilla were given a penalty on 76 minutes from a foul by Mancini on Ocampos, but it was overturned after the referee saw on the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) monitor that Mancini first got the ball.
The Italian side wasted another chance seven minutes later when Andrea Belotti volleyed a quickly taken free-kick wide of target with the goal at his mercy.
However, it became tense for the Serie A outfit in the dying minutes as Patricio struggled to hold onto Suso’s low shot before Fernando send the follow-up wide and directed the match to extra-time.
Even with the introduction of Stefan El Shaarawy and Diego Llorente for the Italian outfit, clear-cut chances were hard come by for both sides in extra-time, other than a late Chris Smalling header the hit the crossbar, and penalties were needed to settle the tie.
The Spaniards held their nerve to convert all of their spot-kicks after after Mancini was denied by Bounou while Roger Ibanez struck the upright, as Sevilla won their seventh Europa League title.
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