Sevilla were crowned Europa League champions for a record-extending sixth time after a thrilling 3-2 victory over Inter Milan in Cologne. Sevilla’s love affair with the Europa League lived on as defender, Diego Carlos, 74th minute overhead kick which took a huge deflection off Inter forward Romelu Lukaku to hand Sevilla the victory.
In a breathless conclusion to Europe’s second-tier competition, Romelu Lukaku won and converted a fifth-minute penalty as Inter struck first at the RheinEnergieStadion. Referee Danny Makkelie, officiating his first European final, pointed straight to the spot but issued only a yellow card to the Sevilla defender, Diego Carlos.
Luuk de Jong’s bullet header got Sevilla level within seven minutes, and the Dutchman doubled his tally with a second headed effort on 33 minutes.
Inter hit back immediately through Diego Godin as a pulsating first half took another fascinating twist, but there was no way back for Antonio Conte’s side when Diego Carlos’ stunning bicycle kick deflected off Lukaku into his own net with 16 minutes remaining.
Inter Milan were convinced Carlos should have been sent off when he fouled Lukaku for the spot-kick as the appeared to be no attempt to play the ball, but Carlos survived and ultimately turned the game in Sevilla’s favour.
Sevilla saw out yet another European triumph to hand Julen Lopetegui the first trophy of his managerial career as the Europa League reached a memorable conclusion in Germany.
Sevilla head coach Julen Lopetegui was delighted with his team that “never surrenders, never;””
“You have to know how to cope with difficult moments and overcome them. This is a feeling of immense happiness. I’m so grateful to our players for how hard they worked. Our anthem says we never give up and tonight we proved that again,” he said.
Lopetegui added that, “This is a magnificent club. I hope all the fans can celebrate it but with caution. This squad are great. They believe in it, what they work on and what they transmit. Even if we hadn’t won, I’d still love these guys, but today we take home the prize. We always believed.”
Sevilla saw of Roma, Wolves, Manchester United and now Inter in the past few weeks as they punched well above their weight, playing with unity in defence and flair in attack.
“We had such tough games all tournament but we played so well as a team,” said De Jong. “We were like a family, we worked together. It did not matter who played.”
Inter Milan head coach Antonio Conte saw this season as a learning curve and stepping stone for his team;
He said, “I don’t have many regrets now; my players gave really everything they had against a team used to playing these kinds of games.
“Many young players earned a great dose of valuable experience this season. They can continue on this path with great confidence.”
Sevilla have won the UEFA Cup/Europa League six times, more than any other team in the history of the competition
