Two headers from Dutchman De Jong and a perfect bike from Diego Carlos gave the Andalusian side the sixth Europa League. A tremendous and heroic game by the men of Julen Lopetegui who made history by winning his first title for a club as a coach.

An unprecedented final of the Europa League could only promise a game of high intensity and strong emotions that ended with the champagne launched by Spaniards. Sevilla won the sixth final of the Europa League, all they played, by beating Internazionale Milano 3-2, after starting to lose and having to ‘turn around’ the result.

In a match that culminated in an unprecedented, and probably unrepeatable as UEFA has already made a point of underlining, final eight played in Germany with one-handed knockouts, due to the pandemic of COVID-19, and without any audience in the stadiums the Belgian Lukaku advanced Inter, in the five minutes, by converting a well-marked penalty, before the Dutchman Luuk de Jong ‘double’, in the 12 and 33.

Uruguayan defender Godín equalized again, in the 36th minute, but the Spanish team finally resolved the final with a bicycle kick executed perfectly by ex-FC Porto and Estoril-Praia Diego Carlos, in the 74th minute, who clashed with Belgian Lukaku before going into the bottom of Handanovic’s nets, which ‘condemned’ the Milanese to maintain the European title ‘fast’ that has lasted since the 2010 Champions League, with José Mourinho at the helm.

As in 2015, with Dnipro, and in 2016, with Liverpool, Sevilla started to lose the match, but ended up going around the text and continuing the ‘reign’ in the second most important club competition in Europe: six wins in six finals, a perfect record, with titles, won in 2006, 2007, 2014, against Benfica, 2015, 2016 and now 2020.

Game notes:

Figure: Julen Lopetegui bet on the ownership of the experienced Luuk de Jong. The Dutchman had already scored in the semi-final against Bruno Fernandes’ Manchester United, the goal that allowed the Spaniards to secure a place in this final. The 29-year-old striker went back to making his own in the final played in Cologne and with two clear headers he was one of the workers of the victory against Internazionale. He was even elected by UEFA as the best player in the final.

Surprise: Jesús Navas shows that he is still there for the curves at 34 years old with an excellent performance at the meeting. It was a headache for the right side of the Italian defense with several dangerous progressions and tricky crosses, one of which led to Luuk de Jong’s first goal.

Disappointment: Lautaro Martínez almost did not appear at the meeting. They form a formidable duo with the Belgian Romelu Lukaku, but in this meeting in colony the Argentine who has been seen in the Italian league games has not been seen. Very low, the Argentine’s only highlight was a play that he led from midfield, but which ended without a problem due to an excellent opposition from Jesús Navas.

Coaches:

Julen Lopetegui: He saw his team start losing early, but that’s not why the Andalusian players threw their towels on the floor. They drew almost immediately, and the equalizer brought the Sevillians back to the game, who, without being dazzled, managed to dominate one of the biggest Italian clubs and take home the sixth Europa League. It is true that the team had some luck in the victory, but as the saying goes, luck is won and this Sevilla team did everything to win the final. Credit to the Spanish coach, who was highly discredited in the neighboring country after his unsuccessful move to Real Madrid, which, to a greater or lesser extent, put the Andalusians to play football with their own identity and which allowed them to reach the sixth title.

Antonio Conte: After a first half in which Sevilla was slightly better than the Milan team, even though the tie was justified at the end of the initial stage by the opportunities produced by the two teams, Conte, who may have done so, was expected his last meeting at the technical command of the Nerazzurri, he could move the meeting early and be able to resolve the meeting once and for all. The truth is that the transalpine helmsman made the changes very late and launched Alexis Sanchéz and Moses just after 78 minutes after Sevilla jumped ahead of the marker. The Italian team woke up in the game in the final minutes, but too late to take the game to extra time and avoid Sevilla’s victory.

Arbitration:

Nice performance from Mr. Danny Makkelie. He did well not to expel Diego Carlos in the penalty shoot converted by Lukaku, but he stains the display with a very doubtful move that involved the former FC Porto Fernando inside the area. The Brazilian midfielder touched the ball with his arm, and another penalty could have been awarded to the Italians. VAR could also have intervened in this bid.