Europa League final: Sevilla conquers the Europa League for the sixth time

Sevilla have made the Europa League competition theirs for a record-setting sixth time after beating Inter Milan 3-2 in a very exciting and thrilling final in Cologne.

The action didn’t take very long to start as Romelu Lukaku won and converted a 5th-minute penalty after he was hacked down by Diego Carlos in the penalty area.

Luuk de Jong quickly brought Sevilla back into the game within seven minutes with a bullet header, and the Dutchman went ahead to double his tally with a second headed effort on 33 minutes, which put Sevilla in front after going down earlier.

Inter wasn’t having it as well and hit back immediately through Diego Godin as a pulsating first half took another fascinating twist, four goals inside the half and three of them were headers.

But there was no redemption for Antonio Conte’s side when Diego Carlos’ stunning bicycle kick deflected off Lukaku into his own net with 16 minutes left to play.

Sevilla triumphed yet again in second-tier European competition to hand Julen Lopetegui the first trophy of his managerial career as the Europa League reached a memorable conclusion in Germany.

Related:

• Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez both score twice each in Shakhtar’s Europa League destruction
• Sevilla wrecks Manchester United’s Europa League title hopes

Luuk De Jong shines as Sevilla continue Europa domination

Sevilla continued their excellent record of never losing a Uefa Cup or Europa League final after six finals and six victories.

But Lopetegui’s Sevilla team was a new one with barely anybody left since their three wins in a row from 2014 to 2016.

The Sevilla manager took over last summer building a new-look team with nine of the starting XI in Cologne only in their first season at the club.

The club also gave two of their 25 tickets for officials to two supporters with membership numbers 2108 and 2020 (to markethe date of this game) and cheer them on.

Luuk De Jong was the man of the match as two goals from him quickly put Sevilla in front after Lukaku’s penalty early on. The Dutchman’s latest exemplary attacking display would leave Newcastle fans scratching their heads.

Fresh from sending Manchester United packing from the semis, De Jong turned the game on its head with two first-half headers of the finest order.

The Dutchman, who looked unlikely to score especially after his barren spell in the Premier League, showcased his credentials as a top European marksman, ensuring his first season at Sevilla ended with silverware.

His first header was a diving one from a Navas cross and his second was a wonderful looping effort into the top corner from Banega’s free-kick.

Diego Carlos who seemed like the villain of the match redeemed himself after conceding a penalty early on (his third consecutive penalty in the competition) when his audacious effort led to Lukaku’s own goal.

Stats and facts from the match (Backed by Opta)

• Sevilla have won the UEFA Cup/Europa League six times, more than any other team in the history of the competition.
• Inter lost in a major UEFA European final for the first time since the 1997 UEFA Cup, when they lost on penalties to FC Schalke 04 after a 1-1 draw on aggregate over two legs.
• Since 2009/10, the Europa League has been won by a Spanish manager in six of the 11 finals (Unai Emery x3, Quique Sanchez Flores, Rafael Benitez, Julen Lopetegui).
• Sevilla have either progressed to the next round or won the competition in 21 of their last 22 Europa League knockout ties.
• Romelu Lukaku scored 34 goals in all competitions for Inter in 2019/20, the most by an Inter player in their debut season since Ronaldo scored 34 in 1997/98.
• Inter defender Diego Godin became the sixth player to have scored in a European Cup/Champions League and UEFA Cup/Europa League final, after Steven Gerrard, Hernan Crespo, Dmitri Alenichev, Allan Simonsen and Pedro.
• Romelu Lukaku’s goal in the fifth minute for Inter was the earliest in a UEFA Cup/Europa League final since 2001, when Liverpool’s Markus Babbel scored in the third minute against Alaves.
• Sevilla’s Diego Carlos conceded three penalties in the 2019/20 Europa League, the first player to concede that many in a single campaign since César Azpilicueta in 2012/13 for Chelsea.