Sevilla Wins Europa League No.7, Beats AS Roma After a Penalty Shootout, 4-1 (1-1)

Sevilla won the UEFA Europa League for the seventh time, this time after defeating AS Roma in the finals and the penalty shootout, 4-1, 1-1 after 120 minutes of play. An incredibly poor officiating overshadowed a very intense and exciting game. The English referee, Anthony Taylor, wasn’t up to the task, as well as the entire VAR room. Both are responsible for at least two uncalled penalties.

We saw a true war on the field, with both teams giving 100% of their power. There wasn’t too much beaut, but for all 120 minutes, the fans were on edge.

This was the first time for Jose Mourinho to lose one European final. His Roma started well, taking the lead through Paulo Dybala, who appeared in the starting lineup after a long pause. The Argentinian didn’t endure all 90 minutes and was substituted in the second half.

Argentina win the World Cup, Napoli win Serie A, Barcelona win LaLiga and Sevilla win Europa League in the same season 😮🏆

Diego Maradona would be so proud 💙 pic.twitter.com/mRpADwe5LR

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 31, 2023

Before Dybala’s goal in the 35 minutes, we’ve seen Spinazzola’s miss from six yards and a couple of more tries by Roma players. Sevilla had the ball in its feet but couldn’t do anything with it due to a strong defensive block in Il Lupi’s part of the pitch. It was like that until the finish of the first half when Ivan Rakitic hit the post.

The Spanish unit was more aggressive coming into the second sequence, and they immediately imposed their own tempo. A very big problem for Roma was Nemanja Matic’s yellow card after some 20 minutes of playing. The Serbian received a punishment for accidental elbowing, which immediately increased the tension because of poor officiating.

Sevilla equalized Jesus Navas’ cross towards Youssef En-Nesyri, who was in the box. However, Roma’s defender, Mancini, reached the ball first but placed it inside his goalkeeper’s net. Former Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham missed an ideal chance to return the lead to Roma’s side shortly afterward.

After that, we saw Anthony Taylor’s show, with the English referee throwing yellow cards all over the place, wrongfully deciding in the cases which would eventually lead to penalties, and overall, losing control of the game.

Belotti wasted a good opportunity for Roma, and then on the other end, El-Nesyri was involved in a solid chance, but the result remained the same.

Jose Mourinho threw his runners-up medal into the crowd after the Europa League final 😱 pic.twitter.com/uSOkqGhoV5

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 31, 2023

The extra times were football antipropaganda, with players on both ends often flopping, laying on the ground seeking medical help, and constantly arguing with one another. At one point, tempers flared, and both benches got into a dispute, but nothing bad happened.

Lucas Ocampos opened the penalties confidently, breaking the ice, yet the hero of the Rojoboancos tonight is the Moroccan goalkeeper Bono, who was already outstanding in the previous World Cup in these situations. He denied Cristante’s and Ibanes’ shots, while Montiel ended the shootout, bringing the seventh UEFA Europa League crown to Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

This outcome kinda proved all the claims and theories about Europa League being a very fortunate for the team from Andalusia. They struggled to deliver decent performances at the start of the campaign, but ever since they began playing in the Europa League, the entire situation changed.

On the other side, Roma couldn’t win back-to-back European titles, and after last year’s UEFA Europa Conference League trophy, this one slipped away.