Sevilla win Europa League final as Jose Mourinho’s Roma beaten on penalties

Jose Mourinho interrupted by Roma stars celebrating Conference win

Jose Mourinho left the Puskas Arena with his tail between his legs on Wednesday night after his Roma side were beaten in the Europa League final. Despite dominating the opening stages and going ahead in the first half, the Italian side lost to Sevilla on penalties in a drab encounter.

Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou was the hero on the night, saving Gianluca Mancini’s penalty before diving to his right to watch Roger Ibanez’s penalty strike the post. The La Liga side, in contrast, scored all four of their efforts, with Gonzalo Montiel netting the decisive penalty at the second time of asking after VAR ruled that Rui Patricio was off his line when saving his initial effort.

Roma can have few complaints with the result though given that they went ahead in the 35th minute when Paulo Dybala latched onto a pass from defender Mancini before tucking a neat effort into the far corner with his left foot. Sevilla were unhappy with the goal being allowed to stand though, complaining that former Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic fouled Ivan Rakitic in the build-up.

Sevilla then hit back in the 55th minute when Mancini failed to deal with a cross from former Manchester City defender Jesus Navas and bundled the ball into his own net. 

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However, Mourinho’s side’s continuous desire to appeal every decision and protest that the officials were making the wrong calls – with VAR overruling Anthony Taylor’s decision to award Lucas Ocampos a penalty only fuelling the fire given the minimal contact – slowed the tie down and allowed Sevilla to recharge.

In what was a very scrappy affair, good performances were hard to come by given that individuals attempting to show their talents were often brought down. Reported Manchester United target Tammy Abraham did show why he would be of interest to Erik ten Hag’s side – who were handed a blow after it emerged Tottenham did not intend on selling Harry Kane this summer.

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The England international had the thankless task of leading the line for Roma, being forced to try and hold up long balls to help his side push forward. Abraham did so commendably, and his link up with Dybala also caught the eye given that non-English clubs can acquire his services this summer for £10.6million thanks to a release clause in his contract.

Tottenham loanee Bryan Gil failed to truly make an impact for Sevilla over the course of the tie, being substituted at half-time after Jose Luis Mendilibar opted to shake up his attack and bring on more direct options in the final third.

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