Europa giants

Cologne, August 23

Not even the coronavirus could stop Sevilla’s love affair with the Europa League. Never mind that the final was three months late and without fans, the Spanish club secured a record sixth title in the competition on Friday, beating Inter Milan 3-2.

It’s a competition made to measure for Sevilla. The club are big enough to have qualified for Europe for the last seven seasons. However, they have not come close in that time to breaking Real Madrid and Barcelona’s hold on La Liga, let alone challenging for the Champions League.

“It’s incredible. We had such tough games, I think, the whole tournament but we played so well as a team, and you could see it during the tournament. We were really a team, like a family,” said Sevilla forward Luuk de Jong, who scored with two headers in the final.

Defeating Inter made it six titles from six finals for Sevilla, who have won every time they have reached the last-eight. The opponents they have beaten in the finals along the way range from storied European clubs like Liverpool, Inter and Benfica to the more obscure likes of Middlesbrough and Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.

Sevilla love the Europa League “more than anyone else,” sporting director Ramon “Monchi” Rodriguez said ahead of the final. That was underlined throughout the game as club staff and officials sang and cheered from the upper tier, creating the semblance of a crowd in an almost empty stadium.

“I’m very pleased as coach,” Sevilla’s Julen Lopetegui said. “We’ve been working hard all season to achieve our targets.”

Sevilla will not be in next season’s Europa League, at least not at first. Their fourth-place finish in La Liga was good enough to qualify for a Champions League group-stage place, even without the spot on offer for the Europa League winner.

Fortune favours Lopetegui

Lopetegui enjoyed sweet redemption as he won his first major trophy.

A highly-rated coach in Spain’s youth set-up, Lopetegui landed a first job in elite club coaching when he took over at Portuguese giants Porto in 2014 but was sacked 18 months later after failing to win a trophy.

He was named Spain coach and led his nation to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in style but his stay in Russia ended in surreal circumstances when he was sacked a day before the tournament kicked off when news leaked out that he had negotiated a move to Real Madrid. He then had a nightmare stay in the Spanish capital, losing the UEFA Super Cup to Atletico Madrid and then saw his side thrashed 5-1 by Barcelona. He was sacked the next day, only three months into the job.

Lopetegui had been reduced to tears following those abrupt departures but he shed tears of joy after Sevilla won the title . “You have to know how to cope with difficult moments and overcome them. This is a feeling of immense happiness,” Lopetegui said. — Agencies

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Lukaku’s goals

The longest Europa League season came down to a defender’s spectacular shot and a striker trying to keep it out. Instead of blocking Diego Carlos’ overhead kick — which was going wide — Romelu Lukaku deflected it into his own net. That handed Sevilla a 3-2 win in the final and a record sixth Europa League title. And it gave Lukaku the distinction of scoring for both teams. The Belgium striker had given Inter a perfect start with an early goal after winning his first duel with Diego Carlos, who could easily have been sent off in the process. The Brazilian defender was the last defender when he fouled Lukaku on a counterattack in the third minute but was only given a yellow card. Lukaku scored the spot-kick, but Sevilla fought their way back into the game with two headers from Luuk de Jong, setting the stage for Diego Carlos to hit his game-winning kick in the 74th. “If you win the penalty and it’s a red card, if indeed it was a red card, then ultimately the match would have been a lot less tough,” Inter coach Antonio Conte said. “The referee made a decision in the end. …there’s also VAR, but we know VAR is used differently in every different country.”

Conte’s future

Conte has hinted that his future at Inter remains uncertain. Conte said he needed time to reflect after the loss. Inter had finished runner-up in Serie A as well, finishing a point behind Juventus. “It’s only right that I start to reflect and to think about things. I also have a private life and I need to understand what’s going on,” he said. Agencies

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6th Europa league title for Sevilla. They have won the event in four of the last seven seasons

10 years — Inter’s wait for a European trophy. They last won a European trophy when Jose Mourinho led the club to the Champions League title in 2010

34 Goals for Romelu Lukaku. He equalled former Brazil striker Ronaldo’s club record of 34 goals for Inter in a season in all competitions