Europa League in Seville, Rome loses the final on penalties

From our correspondent Andrea Pugliese

1st of June
– BUDAPEST

An endless battle, maybe even the longest final ever. An endless challenge, made up of duels and revenges. And a gigantic disappointment, with Roma losing the final on penalties. The mistakes of Mancini and Ibanez were decisive, when all the Giallorossi penalty takers were already out.

Go Joya

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Mourinho immediately plays the Dybala card to try to make the match, while Mendilibar in front on the left prefers Gil to Lamela. Sevilla warms up with an encouragement shirt for Sergio Rico (Sevillian, who grew up in the club), then we leave and the first to try is Dybala. You play in a bedlam, the stadium for two-thirds Giallorossi, but the rhythms never get up. Roma opt for a 3-5-2 formation aimed at creating density in the middle and on the pitch it looks like an accordion: at times it gets up to go and press the Spanish sources of play, at times it curls up to reveal the opponents and try to hurt in the spaces. But the Spaniards, in fact, do not raise the pace, just not to risk. Rather they seek breadth, more to the right with Navas and Ocampos than to the left with Telles and Gil. But on balance they produce little and the first real big chance happens to Spinazzola, who however kicks Bono without fail. Telles and Gudelj take close care of Dybala, who takes a while to fuel up, but when he engages the right gear it’s the decisive one: Cristante recovers the ball from Rakitic, Mancini guesses the right corridor vertically and Joya leaves no way out Bounou. It’s the 35th minute, Roma are ahead and the Giallorossi go crazy with joy. Shortly before there had been a protest over a contact between Gudelj and Abraham in the box, but the Serbian defender first took the ball and then the Englishman’s head. And Sevilla? Until the last minute of added time (a good 7 minutes) he produced almost nothing, except for a harmless header from En-Nesyri and two high shots from Torres and Fernando. Then, just a hair’s breadth from the break, it’s Rakitic who gives Rui Patricio the creeps, but his left foot from outside hits the post.

The reaction

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Mendilibar then up front changes everything a bit, sending in Suso and Lamela for Torres and Gil. The balls start pouring into the Giallorossi area: Ocampos looks for an improbable bicycle kick, Telles tries as soon as he enters the area. Then in the tenth minute Sevilla equalized, with Mancini deflecting a cross from Navas on goal in an attempt to anticipate En-Nesyri. Mou preaches calm, but Roma’s real problem is that now the center of gravity is too low and the team is struggling to recover. We need to absorb the psychological repercussions of the goal, we need to find serenity and balance again. In the 20th minute, however, Roma could pass again, but in the mix in the area first Abraham and then Ibanez were unable to put them in with sensational mistakes. And here Dybala’s game also ends (in Wijnaldum), who had started limping for a while. Now the game plan is different, with the Spanish ball possession opposed to the launches on Abraham, who however misses the game once again. And in fact Mou pulls it out, relying on Belotti. 15′ from the end Taylor concedes a penalty for a foul by Ibanez on Ocampos (full ball), but then retraces his steps with the help of the Var. Then there is a foul by Fernando (considered involuntary by Taylor), the goal devoured by Belotti and the final attempts (out) by En-Nesyri and Fernando.

The grand finale

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We go into extra time, in search of the coup de theater that changes the momentum of the game. But the teams get longer, you live on tears and the fatigue is felt on your legs. The first half slips away like this, without great emotions. The second starts with an elbow from Lamela to Ibanez (split lip), then Matic who falls from fatigue, Smalling’s crossbar in his last breath and penalties to decide the trophy. Roma are without their three penalty takers (Pellegrini, Dybala and Abraham), pull themselves under the curve of Sevilla: Mancini and Ibanez are wrong, Montiel also imitates them but Taylor makes him repeat and Sevilla take home the cup. An endless disappointment. Even undeserved.