Europa League thoroughbreds Sevilla recovered to reach another final as substitute Erik Lamela’sfabulous header five minutes into extra time earned a gritty 2-1 win in a pulsating affair against Juventus on Thursday, securing a 3-2 aggregate victory.
The Spaniards will bid for a record-extending seventh Europa League title when they face AS Roma in the final in Budapest on May 31, after Jose Mourinho’s side drew 0-0 at Bayer Leverkusen to secure a 1-0 aggregate victory in their semi-final.
Juventus, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Sevilla in the first leg in Turin, looked on course to reach the final when substitute Dusan Vlahovic scored with a tidy finish in the 65th minute at the Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium.
But midfielder Suso levelled six minutes later with a stunning long-range strike to take the game into extra time.
Argentine Lamela then wrapped up the win when he leapt in a crowded area and sent a towering header into the net to delight the fans who refused to leave the stadium for ages after the match ended, celebrating with their jubilant players.
It was a cathartic night at Seville as the Europa League kings worked their magic yet again in their favourite competition after a difficult season.
Languishing in the bottom half of LaLiga for a large part of a season in which two managers were fired, Sevilla rediscovered their mojo after exiting the Champions League and beat PSV Eindhoven, Fenerbahce and Manchester United before downing Juve.
“This is madness, incredible, it’s time to enjoy this amazing moment,” Sevilla captain Jesus Navas told Movistar Plus.
“The fans have been incredible and they deserve everything. We have shown the courage we have inside of us to recover after going through some rough months.
“The courage of the fans has carried us and we are here again in another European final. It’s been my team since I was a kid, living every game with so much passion. It’s our turn to enjoy.”
DOMINANT SEVILLA
Like in the first leg in Turin, when Sevilla were in control but allowed their rivals to equalise in added time, they dominated possession again on Thursday roared on by a raucous atmosphere at a sold-out Sanchez Pizjuan stadium.
Juve goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was arguably the best player on the field in the first half, making several critical saves including a one-handed stop to keep out Navas’ diving header from close range.
But just as the hosts were in full control and missing chances, Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic scored the opener three minutes after coming off the bench.
He ran at defenders Nemanja Gudelj and Loic Bade, who hesitated for a second and allowed the Serbia international to win the challenge and beat flailing goalkeeper Bono with a cool dinked finish.
But Sevilla hit back soon after through Suso’s strike that whistled into the top corner to light up the fans, who roared their team on as they put relentless pressure on Juve until Lamela scored the winner in extra time.
The only downside for Sevilla was that left back Marcos Acuna was sent off extra time for time wasting after a second yellow card and will miss the Budapest final.
Roma reaches final after goalless draw at Leverkusen
AS Roma earned a 0-0 draw at Bayer Leverkusen in their Europa League semi-final return leg on Thursday to reach the showpiece match with a 1-0 aggregate win.
The Rome side have now reached back-to-back European finals under coach Jose Mourinho following last season’s Europa Conference League title.
The visitors were on the backfoot for the entire game and had to survive intense pressure from the Germans, who missed a lot of chances and also hit the woodwork, as they advanced thanks to last week’s 1-0 win in Italy.
They will play Sevilla in the final on May 31 in Budapest.
“This match is the result of our work, tactical wisdom, experience, knowing how to stay in matches and trying to hide our problems,” said Mourinho.
“These guys deserve something special. My concern was always to reach the final, it will be very hard with the experience of Sevilla but we’ll think about it later”.
Yet it all started well for Leverkusen, looking to reach their first European final in 21 years.
Apart from a second minute chance for Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini, the hosts had the upper hand in the first half with a dozen efforts on goal compared to their opponents’ one.
Moussa Diaby rattled the crossbar with a powerful shot in the 12th minute and Kerem Demirbay’s low drive in the 21st was saved by goalkeeper Rui Patricio.
The visitors tried to push up a bit higher in the second half to intercept Leverkusen’s attacks earlier but the hosts kept finding ways to create chances.
Demirbay forced another good save in the 67th from Patricio, who thought he was beaten by Sardar Azmoun minutes later only for the Iranian’s shot to sail just wide.
Leverkusen, whose last major title dates back to 1993, had 23 efforts on goal but it was Mourinho’s Roma that went through even if they had just the one effort on goal in the entire game.
“The boys gave it all until the end,” Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso said. “We did everything we could, created lots of chances, had many shots on goal but just could not score.”
“It was small details. We played our game, tried our best until the end and wanted to score. It is sad we did not.”