Sevilla have won the Europa League title six times than any European club
Sevilla beat Inter Milan in a five-goal thriller to win Europe’s second-tier trophy, Europa League at RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne, Germany on Friday.
It was Internazionale that first struck when Romelu Lukaku won and converted a fifth-minute penalty.
However, Luuk de Jong’s bullet header pulled Sevilla level within seven minutes, and the Dutchman doubled his tally with a second headed effort on 33 minutes; the brilliant outing made him the Man of the Match.
Inter smashed back instantly through Diego Godin as a lively first half took another fascinating twist, but there was no way back for Antonio Conte’s side when Diego Carlos’ stunning bicycle kick deflected off Lukaku into his own net with 16 minutes remaining.
The match undoubtedly has been chronicled as one of the most impressive finals in recently, pairing two prominent clubs from Spanish and Italian leagues.
Having said this, there are certain seven facts to take home from the European encounter:
1. LUKAKAU BROKE RECORD AS HIGHEST GOAL SCORER
The Belgian parted with English Premier League side, Manchester United last year August to join Inter as he struggled at Old Trafford. And, his decision of joining the San Siro outfit on a five-year deal with €80 million has paid off. The 27-year old scored 34 goals in 50 appearances for Internazionale in his debut season.
It was only Ronaldo that had the record in 1997/98 season.
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He netted 23 goals for Inter at Serie A campaign in his debut season. In addition, he scored 11 times in Europe at the just-concluded campaign, therefore becoming the only player to score in nine successive Europa League or UEFA Cup matches, smashing the record of eight he previously shared with Newcastle’s Alan Shearer in 2005. He is also the first player to score in six successive European matches for Inter.
Sadly, Lukaku deflected Diego Carlos’ bicycle kick into his own net to hand victory to the rivals, Sevilla.
2. SEVILLA WON THE 6TH EUROPA LEAGUE TITLE
The La Liga outfit won the trophy sixth time and remain the only club currently with the highest victories of the second-tier European trophy.
Sevilla who finished fourth on the Spanish log this season had clinched Europa League title in 2006, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016 and now, 2020.
3. THIS IS SEVILLA’S COACH JULEN LOPETUGI’s FIRST MAJOR TROPHY
The Spaniard was a former goalkeeper for prominent Spanish teams including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Logrones and Rayo Vallecano during his playing period.
However, he began his club-managing career in 2003. He was a successful manager handling the Spain U-17, U-20 and U-21 teams. He also performed fairly coaching Real Madrid, Porto, and he wouldn’t have known he was booking an appointment with destiny when he joined Sevilla on June 5, 2019.
4. ANTONIO CONTE DID NOT WIN ANY TROPHY FOR INTER THIS SEASON
Italian manager, Antonio Conte joined Internazionale on May 31, 2019 and may soon be on his way out of the San Siro following his trophy-less campaign, despite helping the Nerazzurris finishing behind Scudetto winners, Juventus.
He had managed the Italian national team, Juventus and Chelsea, the last before joining Inter. At Stamford Bridge, he won the English Premier League title and FA Cup. He was the first manager in the history of EPL to win 3 consecutive Premier League Manager of the Month in October, November and December 2017.
The Italian gaffer was however sacked after finishing fifth in 2018/2019 season for Chelsea. Sadly, his current coaching tactics at Inter bore no silverware, as the Europa League was his last hope.
5. LUUK DE JONG’S BRACE WON HIM MAN OF THE MATCH
The Dutch joined the Spanish outfit from PSV Eindhoven on 1st July, 2019 on a four-year deal. He won the Eredivisie title with the Dutch side in 2015, 2016 and 2018 seasons. The brilliant, goal-bound striker scored the winning goal for Sevilla in their 2 -1 victory against Manchester United at the semi-final on 16th August.
He was fantastic in front of goal on the final night and scored twice at 12 and 33 minutes to help his team, Sevilla lift the trophy.
6. SEVILLA’S CAPTAIN JESUS NAVA HAS WON EUROPA LEAGUE 3 TIMES WITH THE CLUB
Jesus Navas has the most competitive appearances for Sevilla as a player. He played 285 games scoring 23 goals from 2003 – 2013. He joined Manchester City in 2013 where he got 123 matches with just four goals to show, thereby leaving the Ethiad in 2017 to re-join Sevilla.
He has featured 96 times for Sevilla in his second spell with two goals.
Navas has seven titles including a UEFA Super Cup, a Spanish Super Cup, two Copa de Rey and three Europa League.
