Someone said, obviously keeping the proportions, that the Sevilla is he Real Madrid from Europa League. There is a special chemistry between this team and the second most important club tournament on the old continent.
Even things happen that if someone tells before the game that they are going to happen, nobody would believe them. Like the play that defined the final against him Inter, in Cologne (Germany): a Chilean with a central defender, Diego Carlos, that deviates in the scorer and figure of the rival, Romelu Lukaku.
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Six finals played, six won. There is something special, without a doubt. And the footballing merits were also on the side of the team he directs Julen Lopetegui, that with this title he puts his name back into consideration of the greats, after what happened a couple of years ago, when he accepted an offer from Real Madrid two days before the start of the World Cup in Russia, when he was going to direct the National Team from Spain. He ran out of the World Cup, because the president of the Spanish Federation kicked him out hours before the first game, and his cycle in the white club did not last.
But Lopetegui is a good coach and he showed it with Sevilla, who knew how to neutralize Inter with a good job, especially from an offensive point of view, taking advantage of factors such as the attack on the wings, with outstanding performances by the two wingers, Reguilón and Navas , and set pieces.
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Of course, first he had to suffer, because after five minutes he was already losing 1-0, when the protagonists of the last goal appeared in the first dangerous play: Diego Carlos, who had already been holding him since before entering the area, took Lukaku ahead and the Belgian attacker managed to beat the goalkeeper Bounou.
The strength on the sides allowed Sevilla to tie the game, with a very good triangulation that ended in a large center by Jesús Navas and a little dove by Luuk de Jong, just six minutes after Lukaku’s penalty goal.
After that there was a controversial action in the Sevilla area, a hand from Diego Carlos in which the judge, the Dutchman Danny Makkelie did not want to know anything about the VAR and kept what he saw on the court. Television replays showed movement, small, but sufficient. It looked like a penalty.
Blow for blow
De Jong reappeared to put Sevilla in front, in another of its strengths, the still ball. He put his head to a side charge by Argentine Eber Banega, well towards the far post.
But Inter also hit back very quickly, and also with the same formula, overhead ball thrown by Marcelo Brozovic and header by a specialist, the Uruguayan Diego Godín.
Both Lopetegui and Antonio Conte, Inter’s coach, relied heavily on the initial scheme they had put together. Only the first one moved the team somewhat, piece by piece, when 25 minutes of the second half had passed, with the entry of Munir by Lucas Ocampos. But what was raised was better for the Spanish team. Because when Inter wanted to attack, Bounou responded in spades, especially in a heads up with Lukaku who could change the history of the game.
The one who changed it was Diego Carlos, a 27-year-old Brazilian central defender who came to Sevilla this season after three years at Nantes. The defender disguised himself as an attacker for seconds. I had already tried it in the first half. He repeated it in the second when taking a rebound. Lukaku wanted to deflect the ball and sent it to his goal.
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There were 16 more minutes left for Makkelie to replace. There yes, Conte remembered the bench, kicked the board and filled the court with attackers. But Seville showed that it also knows how to defend itself.
When it comes to the final of the Europa League, Seville is always there. It is the sixth title in the competition, in a span of 15 years: 2006, 2007, 2014, 2015 and 2016. It is his tournament, the one that also prevented Spanish football from going blank this season.
Jose Orlando Ascencio
Sports Deputy Editor
@josasc
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