Sevilla was crowned Europa League champion after defeating Roma in a penalty shootout.
Here are 5 highlights after the competition in Budapest…
1. Jose Mourinho’s First Time
The match between AS Roma and Sevilla took more than 130 minutes, 8 penalties, at least a dozen penalty cards and a lot of words of war between the two teams’ benches to determine victory or defeat.
In the end, Sevilla did what they always do, which is winning the Europa League. If Sevilla maintain a respectable record in the Europa League with 7th win in 7 finals, today is the first time Mourinho has lost in a final in Europe.
2. Genius Montiel
Gonzalo Montiel scored the winning goal for Sevilla, just as he did for Argentina in last year’s World Cup final.
Montiel was lucky when his first shot in the penalty shootout was saved, but was replayed when Rui Patricio made a mistake. On the second attempt, the World Cup winner made no mistake, to bring Sevilla to glory. Remember, Sevilla are fighting a relegation battle until Jose Luis Mendilibar is appointed in March.
3. The center of arbitration
Referee Anthony Taylor was somehow the focal point of the final. His sometimes puzzling decisions made the game crumbling, dramatic, controversial. Of course, AS Roma fans have reason to be unhappy with this respected referee, especially when he missed the time when the ball touched the ball in the penalty area of the Sevilla player.
Mourinho has reason to speak up: “The referee seems to be Spanish. Yellow cards, yellow cards, yellow cards all the time. The injustice is shown by Lamela should have received a second yellow card, but no, and he took the penalty in the penalty shootout.”
4. Sinner Mancini
Roma’s quest for a second European title in a row – following last year’s Europa Conference League title – has ended in misery.
They were on their way to victory after Paulo Dybala ‘s first-half goal . But Sevilla in the Europa League is still something very special. The representative of Spain brought the match to extra time thanks to Gianluca Mancini’s own goal. Notably, it was the first goal Mourinho’s sides conceded in a European final since 2003.
Mancini had a really forgettable match, because after that, it was he who missed in the penalty shootout. So did Roger Ibanez, before Montiel ended the Italian tragedy.
5. Roma’s Tears
Besides the joy, the winning smile of Sevilla, is the image of tears falling on the faces of the Roma players. They suffered a painful defeat, and the Dybalas and Edoardo Boves cried like babies.
More than 20,000 Roma fans cheered for the team from the stands of the Puskas Arena while another 50,000 watched the match from the giant screen at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Many of them also burst into tears after the final whistle