Sevilla are Europa League winners again!
Sevilla have won the Europa League! For a record fourth time! Their reward is GLORY. And a place in next season’s Champions League group stages. Dnipro showed many admirable qualities and deserve praise for their part in an entertaining tournament and final, but the better team won.
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90+2 min: A lovely exchange of passes between Coke and Vidal before Coke blems a shot way off target from an excellent position.
90+1 min: There are at least three minutes left. Can the 10-man force extra-time?
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90 min: Dnipro are not giving up just yet. They’ve forced a succession of corners. But none of Rotan’s deliveries were particularly good. He tries to redeem himself moments later from open play, but Rico hurries off his line to claim the well-aimed cross.
88 min: Matheus is carried off the pitch on a stretcher after collapsing to the ground with no one near him. There does not appear to be too much alarm among the medics or players, so hopefullt the injury is not serious.
87 min: Sevilla sub: Banega off, Iborra on.
86 min: Dnipro sub: Kankava off, Shakhov on.
85 min: The Dnipro dream appears to be fading,. No sign of them mustering a comeback. “They weren’t underdogs on the level of Iraq in 2007 or Greece in 2004, but I really enjoyed Japan’s triumph at the 2011 Women’s World Cup, whoops Karl Tulinius. “The final was especially memorable. They were severely outclassed by the US team, but once Japan fell behind, they raised their game and equalized. In extra time the US got ahead again and Japan, visibly tired, looked doomed. But again they found reserves of energy and determination and equalized and eventually winning the penalty shootout. It’s the best international final I’ve seen this century (i.e. since the 2000 European Championship).”
82 min: Sevilla substitution: Bacca has been brilliant - showing dynamism, clever movement and smart finishing -but he won’t be rewarded with a hatr-trick, because Kevin Gameiro is on in his place.
80 min: Sevilla are keen to seal the win, but Bacca passes up another hat-trick chance, heading wide from a corner.
79 min: An awful freekick by Dnipro gifts possession back to Sevilla. And moments later Bacca nearly plunders his hat-trick! The striker escaped Douglas again to meet a fine curling cross from deep, but he headed straight at he goalkeeper, who did well, nonetheless, to divert it over the bar.
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77 min: Dnipro substitution: the jaded Kalinic off, Seleznyov on. Meanwhile, Philippa has taken up the heart-warming moments baton: “94th minute, Giroud’s run and Ait-Fana’s winner against Lille to set up Montpellier’s 2011/12 title.:
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75 min: As the Spanish fans chant with noisy glee, Dnipro try to mount another comeback. They’re sending plenty of players forward but need to show greater composure and precision when they get into dangerous areas. Fedetsky jsut dragged a pointless shot way wide from 16 yards.
GOAL! Dnipro 2-3 Sevilla (Bacca 73)
Bang! That’s an exquisite finish from Bacca After some uncertain defending by Dnipro, the stirker peeled off his marker and received a sharp through-ball from Vitolo before firing emphatically into the net from 15 yards.
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69 min: Penalty? No, according to the referee, and the replay suggests he was right, as Vitolo sought contact with Matheus. But that hairy moment came from another Sevilla corner, underlining how vulnerable Dnipro still are from setpieces. Not sure how they managed to keep so many clean sheets en route to this final.
67 min: Sevilla corner. Flicked on threatening at the near post, forcing Boyko to palm the ball off the line. It falls to Krychowiak, whose shot from close range is blocked as several defenders throw themselves in front of it. There’s momentary panic in the Dnipro box before they manage to ferret the ball to safety.
64 min: Dnipro have had much more of the ball in this half than they did in the first. It’s Sevilla who are playing more on the break now. But the pace of the game is slowing and chances are becoming rarer.
60 min: Coke’s first involvement is to hurl in a long throw. Mbia flicks it on at the neart post. Cheberyachko nods it out for a corner. Banega delivers. Konoplyanka wellies clear. None of that was really worth mentioning but I’m trying to keep myself busy. That ‘remembering heart-warming football moments’ riff hasn’t really taken off. Seems everyone prefers to be negative. You people make me weep. Suppose you’re happy about that, eh? You deserve Fifa.
58 min: Sevilal change: Reyes off, Coke on.
55 min: The crowd are booing, seemingly because they’re not liking the way Sevilla are are starting to keep possession jsut for the sake of it, circulating the ball in a bureaucratic way that is out of keeping with a lovably helter-skelter game so far. “Crazy first half,” blurts Gareth Hammond. “First time I’ve seen Dnipro and based on this display you’d have to say they are not good. Still they’ve scored two good goals in-spite of not generally passing to each other and having centre backs on separate sides of the pitch. I’d say good luck to them.”
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52 min: Konoplyanka attempts to blast one into the net from distance. His sights are badly misaligned.
49 min: “Dnipro are like leeches, you can’t shake them off!” bawls ITV commentator Sam Matterface as the Ukrainians try to sink their pesky teeth into Sevilla gain. But the cross to Matheus was fractionally over-hit.
47 min: Danger here! The ever busy Bacca (who plays a little like Lus Suarez) darts in othe box and collects a fine through-ball before being felled by a defender. But there’ll be no penalty because the flag is up for offside - wrongly!
46 min: Part Two now in progress. And Dnipro appear to have been told to attack at whill, coz they’ve put Sevilla straight on to the back foot...
“What started as a great day for humanity has turned into a great afternoon for soccerball here in the USofA,” hollers Art Dubano. “ Gotta love Dnipro’s escapology but they’re doomed. My question is: Chelsea excluded, could any team in England beat this Sevilla over two legs? Lucky for my ManU, a win here sends Seville’s finest straight to the Group Stage of next year’s Champions League (getting past the possible likes of Leverkusen & Valencia is daunting enough).” Of course there are several other teams in England who could beat Sevilla, assuming Arsenal and Man City had their heads right.
Half-time: Dnipro 2-2 Sevila
It’s been fun! Dnipro have been shoddier than expected at the back and sharper than expected up front. Sevilla remain the more nifty and look like they could score nearly every time they attack, but this Dnipro side seem swelled by a higher purpose and only a fool would dismiss their chances (no please excuse me as I delete the entry for the 33rd minute).
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45+2 min: Krychowiak practically orders Martin Atkinson to book him, by upending Rotan as Dnipro lashed forward on a threatening coutner-attack.
45 min: Reyes weaves his way between two defenders and then hits the ground on the edge of the box. The ref is unmoved. Good decision.
GOAL! Dnipro 2-2 Sevilla (Rotan 43)
You just can’t write these Ukranians off! Rotan clips a dainty freekick over a higgeldy-piggeldy wall and into the net! Rico ran across fro the other side of the goal but could not get ot it in time to paw it out!
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42 min: A pacey counter-attack by Sevilla concludes with a decent potshot from Vidal. Struck from well outside the area, the ball flies a yard over the bar.
40 min: Konoplyanka continues to be Dnipro’s main source of hope. Another probing run down the left, following by a well-aimed pass to Matheus puts Sevilla under pressure. They mobilise quickly to prevent Matheus from shooting or crossing from inside the area, and Dnipro must make do with a corner.
The Dnipro's number 7 Jaba Kankava is the one who saved his opponent's life during a game last year. http://t.co/oQ2WDD0gHF
— Artur Petrosyan (@arturpetrosyan) May 27, 2015
38 min: Now that’s encouraging! Konoplyanka cuts in from the left agan, then fires a fine effort towards the top corner from 22 yards. Rico stretches to tip it over the bar, but it was close enough to suggest there is still hope for Dnipro.
37 min: Freekick to Dnipro about 33.45 yards out, quite central. Rotan dinks it towards the penalty spot, but Bacca heads it away.
35 min: Konoplyanka comes off the left and shuffles towards the area, but his pass is misguided, eluding both Matheus and Kalinic in the box.
33 min: Not wishing to drive readers away or anything, but this match looks over: can’t see Dnipro scoring again, nor, indeed, avoiding the concession of more goals. If only this week was the 10th anniversary of some preposterous comeback in a European final from which they could take some inspiration ...
GOAL! Dnipro 1-2 Sevilla (Bacca 31)
That’s why they’re the top scorers in the tournament. Reyes bisected the defence with a foxy pass from deep, providing fitting reward for a shrewd run by Bacca. The Colombia takes one artful touch and then glides past the out-rushing keeper and slots the ball into the net!
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GOAL! Dnipro 1-1 Sevilla (Kyrchowiak 28)
And there’s another key difference between Dnipro and the Greeks of 2004: because the Ukranians have not coped at all well with set-pieces, and this time they are punished! Dnipro failed to clear a freekick from the left and when the ball bounced to Krychowiak near the penalty spot, he sidestepped Matos thanks to a beautifully sly touch and then whacked a low shot into the net! The Pole then wheels away in jubilation - quite right too: if you can’t celebrate scoring in a European final in your home country, then poor you.
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26 min: It’s an apt coincidence that Dnipro are wearing a very similar kit to the one worn by Greece in 2004, because their approach so far has been very similar, albeit without as much quality as the Greeks had.
23 min: Trémoulinas curls in another nasty cross from the left. Douglas boots it behind for a corner. Dnipro’s marking at the back post is surprisingly absymal, and Krychowiak pogoes before meeting the corner with a powerful header. Boyko shows great agility to push the ball behind for another corner. Dnipro deal with this one better.
20 min: Reyes cuts in from the right and cracks a low drive just wide.
19 min: Douglas has been impressive so far in the heart of Dnipro’s heavily-manned defence. You can see Sevilla players fretting every time he motions to intervene in a move. Can’t help thinking of the opening sequence to this tune every time he makes to enter the fray.
15 min: Konoplyanka scurries down the left and aims a cross towards Kalinic, who’s lurking dangerously in the centre. But Koloziejczak cuts it out and launched a Sevilla counter, which is crudely ended by Kankava’s trip: the yellow card darn near pops automatically from Martin Atkinon’s pocket like bread from a toaster.
13 min: A lovely inventive corner from Sevilla - featuring a deft flick in front of the near post from Bacca - presents Banega with a shooting chance, but it’s blocked again.
13 min: Excellent cross from Trémoulinas, who is constantly raiding forward down the left. Vitolo’s 12-yard shot is blocked.
11 min: See now, that’s exactly what Sevilla should not do at this stage: over-eagerness to equalise leads to silly decisions, such as attempting to swing the ball into the net from 30 yards as Banega did just now. The two team-mates who were in better positions glare at him ...
9 min: Manager Emery is swaying rather nervously on the sideline. It’s clear that going behind was the last thing he wanted against a side who revel in defending leads. And that lead has given Dnipro a visible lift, as they’re popping the ball about with a swagger now.
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GOAL! Dnipro 1-0 Sevilla (Kalinic 7)
A perfect counter-attacking goal! Kalinic flicked the ball wide and then hared off and demanded the return cross from Matheus, which duly arrived, and he nodded expertly into the net from eight yards!
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6 min: Sevilla dominating possession so far and, surprisingly, they’ve got behind the Dnipro defence a couple of times already. And they believed they should have had a penalty just now when Reyes went down under a tackle from Rotan, but the ref waved play on. The wrong call, I think.
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4 min: Banega lofts a long freekick in the area. Dnipro clear it easily, but Sevilla regain possession and Vidal sprints down the right and prepates to cross, but Dnipro regroup and stifle the move.
2 min: An early chance for Bacca to become only the fourth players in 10 European matches to score agaisnt Dnipro. The Colombia controls the ball nicely on his chest at the edge of the area but then bogs his shot way wide.
1 min: Off we go! And it’s a good old-fashioned red v blue battle, with Dnipro in blue and the Spaniads wearing the colour that angers bulls.
The atmosphere at the stadium in Warsaw sounds fabulous. Both sets of fans are crooning harmoniously and very loudly.
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“I suspect the real disdain for the Europe League in England comes from the marketing men,” snorts Kevin Porter. “Competing in it ‘damages the brand’ for any club that aspires to the Champion’s League. Surely from a playing point of view Liverpool, Tottenham et al would welcome the opportunity to give a second XI experience of European competition, but then getting dumped out by Jablonec doesn’t look so good.” So field the first XI and go for it properly. Then again, there are some teams who do go for it but then pretend, after being eliminated, that they weren’t really that bothered.
Jerzy Dudek kicks off the opening ceremony by marching out on to the pitch with the trophy in his safe hands before placing it on a podium, flashing a sincere smile and strolling off. No milking the acclaim, no pouting for the camera, just an honest-to-goodness grin and a friendly wave. What a nice man! His whole demeanour seems to say “go on then, try to be snide about me.” It’s a feelgood football day for sure.
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“Here in Seville there is a big screen in the Auditorium and even in the Collegio de Medicos there is an outdoor screen and one downstairs in the bar,” relates Henry Carter. “Please can you explain the snobbery about the competition in England?” Well, firstly, it’s not in all of England: Fulham and Middlesbrough fans were righteously joyful when they reached the final not so long ago. As for the others, there’s is a very crass snobbery, being down to them valuing money over glory.
Teams:
Dnipro: Boyko; Fedetskiy, Douglas, Cheberyachko, Leo Matos; Kankava, Fedorchuk; Matheus, Rotan, Konoplyanka; Kalinic
Subs: LAstuvka, Vlad, Seleznyov, BEzus, Gama, Luchkeyvch, Shakhov
Sevilla: Rico; Vidal, Carrico, Kolodziejczak, Trémoulinas; Mbia, Krychowiak; Reyes, Banega, Vitolo; Bacca
Subs: Beto, Navarro, Figueiras, Gameiro, Iborra, Suarez, Coke
Ref: Martin Atikson (England)
Preamble:
Every now and again football throws up wonderful, heart-warming tales – think Iraq winning the 2007 Asia Cup, Zambia being crowned African champions in 2012, Fifa suits being rounded up by the FBI this morning – and tonight Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk could add to the sport’s happy anthology. Yes, Dnipro’s a lovely story, the unheralded team from the fringes of the continent who have won no silverware of any sort for a quarter of a century but who have reached a major European final in the very season that they’ve been prevented by war from playing any ties at home. Dnipro’s odyssey has uplifted a whole nation, with the team’s defiance of daunting adversity inspiring all of Ukraine at a time of great peril. They are surely not the prettiest team to watch – their style is rooted in grit, gumption and a dollop of counter-attacking flair – but they are very much admired and victory for them tonight would be welcomed far and wide.
So Sevilla find themselves cast in the uncharacteristic role of spoilsports. Their city duel with Real Betis notwithstanding, Sevilla are often the ones flying the flag for the underdog, being among the clubs that have to russle up a meal from the scraps that Barcelona and Real Madrid toss to the rest of Spain. So it would be quite a feat – and another indictment of Premier League clubs – if Sevilla tonight became the first team to win this trophy four times. You can be sure that Unai Emergy has devised a 45-point plan detailing how they can do precisely that (for more on Emery, check out this illuminating chat with Sid Lowe).
Team news will be in shortly. In the meantime, perhaps you’d like to reminisce about other heart-warming football tales? Even Hull fans, for instance, must have felt a little glow from seeing Jonas Gutierrez scoring to help keep Newcastle up last weekend. I quite liked Gary Bennett putting manners on David Speedie in 1989 but admit that doesn’t quite fit the bill of what we’re looking for here. So what football moments really raised your spirits?
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