Luuk speaks!
Europa League final match report: Sevilla 3-2 Inter
Here’s how Jamie Jackson saw the Europa League final unfold on a dramatic night in Cologne ...
Sevilla get their prize: Julen Lopetegui leads his players up on to the podium and they get their medals. Jesus Navas, who has had a terrific game tonight, is the last man up. He’s handed the trophy, wanders over to his jubilant team-mates and lifts it towards the heavens. For the sixth time in 14 seasons, Sevilla are Europa League champions!
The presentation: The match officials get their commemorative medals and enjoy a group hug before the disappointed players of Inter are presented with their runners-up medals. Several of them remove them as soon as they are put around their necks.
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The tale of the game: Inter went ahead after three minutes when Romelu Lukaku scored from the penalty spot after being wrestled to the ground by Diego Carlos, who should have been sent off but got away with a yellow card from the referee.
Two headed goals from Luuk de Jong put Sevilla in front, before Diego restored parity before half time. Lukaku’s own goal settled the game, the Belgian accidentally prodding the ball past his own goalkeeper as he attempted to clear a bicycle kick from ... Diego Carlos.
Sevilla are champions! Julen Lopetegui wipes tears of joy from his face as he walks on to the pitch to congratulate his players after their heroic come-from-behind win. He had a huge rebuild at the club last summer, bringing in 14 players but he’s managed to mould them into something special. The players of Sevilla are understandably delighted, while those of Inter are understandably distraught.
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Full time: Sevilla 3-2 Inter
Super Sevilla have done it again! The Spanish side win the Europa League, beating Inter by the odd goal of five.
90+6 min: Inter play it long towards Lukaku but the ball is overhit and Reguilon shepherds it out of play.
90+4 min: Sevilla win another throw-in near halfway after Inter waste a free-kick. There’s just two minutes of added time left for Inter to try to keep themselves in the game.
90+3 min: Sevilla win a throw-in just inside the Inter half and are in no rush to take it.
90+2 min: Alexis Sanchez is penalised for a foul and Sevilla take an age to take the free-kick.
90 min: Inte keep plugging away as the fourth official signals six added minutes.
88 min: Interesting stat, courtesy of Robbie Savage on BT Sport - Sevilla have not conceded a goal in the second half of any of their past 12 matches. If they hold out tonight, they’ll win their sixth Europa League title since the turn of the millennium.
85 min: Time is running out for Inter and Sevilla are trying to waste what’s left of it by making substitutions v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y. De Jong is replaced by En Nesyri, then Gudelj comes on for Diego Carlos.
82 min: Alexis Sanchez has an effort cleared off the line by Jules Kounde after a bit of a scramble in the Sevilla penalty area in which Romelu Lukaku attempted to hook the ball goalwards.
78 min: Sevilla substitution: Vazquez on for Suso. Inter triple substitution: Victor Moses, Alexis Sanchez and Christian Eriksen on for Galiardini, D’Ambrosio and Martinez. Sevilla win another free-kick but another splendid delivery from Banega is headed over the bar.
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GOAL! Sevilla 3-2 Inter (Lukaku 74og)
Oh my! Sevilla lead. The free-kick was headed clear and Diego Carlos, who should have been sent off in the third minute, tries his luck with a bicycle kick. his effort is going narrowly wide, but Romelu Lukaku sticks out a foot and accidentally diverts the ball into his own net. Sevilla lead by the odd goal of five.
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73 min: Gagliardini is booked for tugging the shirt of Jesus Navas. Free-kick for Sevilla, in line with the right side of the Inter penalty area. Ever Banega curls the ball towards the far post ...
71 min: Lautaro Martinez wins his Inter side a free-kick in a good position, in line with the left side of the Sevilla penalty area. Ashley Young whips the ball into the corridor of uncertainty with pace, where it’s punched clear by Bono.
69 min: Sevilla substitution: Lucas Ocampos, who has been struggling with a thigh injury all night, limps off the pitch. He’s replaced by Munir.
67 min: Gagliardini plays a chipped pass to Romelu Lukaku on the edge of the penalty area, but the striker’s cushioned header isn’t as deft as it should be.
65 min: Lukaku gets in behind the Sevilla defence to control a long ball and finds himself one on one with Bono. He tries to roll the ball past the onrushing keeper and into the bottom right-hand corner, but under a blood red sky, the goalkeeper finds what he’s looking for in the shape of an outstretched left leg which blocks the ball.
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62 min: Inter go on the attack, with Godin on the ball. A misunderstanding between him and D’Ambrosio results in the veteran defender sending the ball out of play for a goal kick.
60 min: Past the hour mark we go, with this Europa League final poised on a knife-edge. It’s difficult to call at this point - there’s very little in it and neither side is particularly dominant. Sevilla’s Jesus Navas sends another cross towards the far post from the right flank and it’s headed clear. Neither Ocampos or De Jong made much of an effort to get on the end of that delivery.
58 min: Corner for Inter. It’s played short and the ball is eventually worked across the face of the Sevilla penalty area. Ashley Young tries his luck but fires over the bar.
56 min: Ocampos plays the ball wide to Reguilon, who canters down the left flank, cuts inside and beats Diego Godin before shooting into the side-netting with his left foot.
55 min: Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni is booked for a bad tackle on Suso, who he clatters into from behind.
53 min: A spell of pressure from Sevilla. A Navas cross from the right is blocked and the ball goes to Banega, who’s chipped up-and-under is brought down expertly by De Jong. He takes one touch too many and is closed down in the Inter penalty area before he can fire off a shot.
51 min: Diego Carlos dives and gets a block in as Gagliardini runs on to a loose ball and looks poised to smash it home from the edge of the penalty area.
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50 min: Barella goes down holding his throat after being caught by Diego Carlos. Free-kick for Inter, inside their own half.
48 min: Now Jordan is lucky to avoid a yellow card for a blatant pull on the shirt of Marcelo Brozovic.
47 min: Joan Jordan brings down Gagliardini right in front of the refree, who awards Inter a free-kick just inside their own half, out by the touchline.
Second half: Sevilla 2-2 Inter
46 min: Play resumes with no changes in personnel on either side. Luuk de Jong gets the ball rolling for Sevilla.
A pedantic boffin tweets on the Diego Carlos penalty concession ...
The double jeopardy law becomes a farce if refs are going to bottle reds for cynical fouls like that or Azpilicueta in the FA Cup final.
— Jonathan Wilson (@jonawils) August 21, 2020
I just don't understand that. The ref can't possibly think that was a genuine attempt to play the ball. Even if he didn't see the tread on the heel, Diego Carlos is all over the back of Lukaku and nowhere near the ball. It's just cowardice not to give a red.
— Jonathan Wilson (@jonawils) August 21, 2020
Half-time: Sevilla 2-2 Inter
Peep! It’s all square at the interval in Cologne, following a white-knuckle ride of a first half. Inter went ahead courtesy of a Romelu Lukaku penalty which should have also resulted in a red card for Sevilla’s Diego Carlos. Sevilla went ahead and then equalised through a couple of headers from Luuk De Jong, only for Inter to restore parity through Diego Godin.
45+1 min: Sevilla win a free-kick, wide on the right. Banega whips the ball into the penalty area. Lucas Ocampos leaps to flick the ball inches over the bar.
45 min: Ever Banega gets booked for a trip on Roberto Galliardini, who’d given him the slip and was off on a canter down the left touchline with the ball at his feet.
43 min: Inter go forward with Lukaku on the ball. He attempts to pick out Lautaro Martinez on the edge of the Sevilla penalty area but his pass is intercepted.
41 min: Nicolo Barella gets booked for a little kick at Ever Banega, who flings himself to the ground ground as if he’s just been shot by a sniper in the stands.
38 min: Two very similar goals in the space of two minutes mean we’ve had four in the first 40 minutes of a very entertaining Europa League football. Jesus Navas drills a low cross through the Inter penalty area, watching in anguish as the ball flashes across the face of the Italian side’s goal, with nobody in a white shirt on hand to stab it home.
GOAL! Sevilla 2-2 Inter (Godin 35)
Ah, stop it. From the free-kick, the ball’s floated into the area by Brozovic and Diego Godin leaps to head past Bono at the far post. It’s all square again.
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35 min: Now Inter have a free-kick, about 35 yards from goal, a little right of centre.
GOAL! Sevilla 2-1 Inter (De Jong 33)
Ever Banega floats the ball to the far post, where Luuk de Jong leaps highest to guide a wonderful header across the face of goal past Samir Handanovic. That’s a terrific header, which seemed to take an age to go in.
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32 min: Past the half-hour mark we go, with Sevilla slightly edging it on my scorecard, but honours even on the scoreboard. Sevilla have a free-kick in line with the right side of the Inter penalty area.
28 min: Danilo D’Ambrosio rises high at the far post to head a cross from Roberto Gagliardini wide.
27 min: A long throw from Ocampos, which is cleared. A foul by Lautaro Martinez on Jesus Navaz gives Sevilla a free-kick wide on the right. Banega sends the ball into the Inter penalty area and Ocampos flicks a header wide.
25 min: Sevilla’s Lucas Ocampos goes down in a heap, before rolling around on the ground in agony after a minor coming-together with Inter right-back Danilo D’Ambrosio. The ref is having none of it.
23 min: Ashley Young takes a throw-in for Inter, with the game very evenly poised. He subsequently sends a cross into the Sevilla penalty area, trying to pick out Lukaku, but overhits his delivery.
21 min: An awful lot of whining from both sets of players and the occupants of both technical areas each time the ref blows his whistle. It’s all very tedious. The latest: Diego Godin elbows Luuk de Jong in the back as the Sevilla striker leaps for a high ball and then explodes with anger when he is penalised.
19 min: Danilo D’Ambrosio shanks over the crossbar after a cross from the left travels through a thicket of legs and rolls slightly behind him at the far post. Moments previously, Inter boss Antonio Conte was shown a yellow card for excessive protesting on the touchline in the wake of Inter’s recent penalty appeal.
17 min: Inter’s players surround the referee and appeal for a penalty after the ball is flicked against Diego Carlos’s hand in the Sevilla penalty area. A VAR check spares the Sevilla defender embarrassment of conceding his second penalty of the game and his fourth in three matches.
15 min: An injury doubt before tonight’s game, Sevilla’s Lucas Ocampos is already feeling his hamstring.
14 min: What a start! From the penalty spot, Luuk De Jong made a darting run towards the near post, shaking off his marker to head past Handanovic. The goalkeeper got a hand to his effort, but such was the power of De Jong’s header that he couldn’t keep the ball out.
GOAL! Sevilla 1-1 Inter (De Jong 12)
Luuk de Jong nods home at the near post, sending an unstoppable bullet-header past Samir Handanovic after getting on the end of a Jesus Navas cross from the right.
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10 min: Nothing comes of the set piece, but Inter struggle to clear the ball. Sevilla are looking calm in possession despite their early setback.
9 min: Ever Banega plays the ball wide to Lucas Ocampos, as Sevilla attempt to get a foothold in the game. Sevilla win a corner, Samir Handanovic putting the ball behind his own goal.
7 min: I’m not sure why referee Danny Makkelie elected not to send off Carlos for that foul on Lukaku. The Sevilla No20 made no attempt to play the ball and cynically dragged the Inter striker down to prevent a clear goalscoring opportunity.
GOAL! Sevilla 0-1 Inter (Lukaku)
A brief stutter from Lukaku in his run-up and he smashes the penalty past Bono. Inter have an early lead, while Sevilla are exceptionally lucky to still have 11 players on the pitch.
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Penalty for Inter
Sevilla defender Diego Carlos drags Romelu Lukaku down in instalments, starting outside the Sevilla penalty area and continuing inside it. He avoids a red card, but concedes a spot-kick - the third one he’s given opponents in as many games.
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2 min: Sevilla’s backroom staff call for a red card for Danilo D’Ambrosio for what they see as an elbow on Reguilon, who’s in the wars early doors. None is forthcoming. On BT Sport, former ref Peter Walton says it shouldn’t be a red, which almost certainly means it should be.
The 2019-20 Europa League final is go!
1 min: Romelu Lukaku gets the ball rolling on the signal from Dutch referee Danny Makkelie. Sevilla win an early free-kick for a foul on Sergio Reguilon on the halfway line, just by the touchline. He’s a full-back in big demand, particularly from Chelsea, is Senor Reguilon.
Not long now: The teams make their way out on to the pitch of the depressingly fan-free Stadion Cologne, ready to bring the curtain down on a tournament that began 14 months ago. Sevilla wear white shirts, shorts and socks.
Their Italian counterparts wear their usual home kit of blue and black striped shirts, black shorts and white socks. The trophy is on a plinth at the tunnel exit and Sevilla striker Luuk de Jong gives it a long, hard stare as he walks past. The last of the pre-match formalities are very much ahoy and kick-off is just a couple of minutes away.
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Julen Lopetegui speaks ...
“Inter are equipped to compete in the Champions League given the extraordinary calibre of players they have and a very experienced manager,” said the Sevilla manager ahead of tonight’s game. “That will require us to be at our limit in every respect, and to be able to put in a great performance in all aspects of the game to compete with them. It is a daunting challenge.”
Sevilla v Inter line-ups
Sevilla (4-3-3): Bouno, Navas, Kounde, Carlos, Reguilon, Fernando, Jordan, Banega, Ocampos, Suso, De Jong.
Subs: Vaclik, Sergi Gomez, Munir, Gudelj, Escudero, Torres, Vazquez, Alonso, Sanchez, Genaro, Perez, En-Nesyri.
Inter (3-5-2): Handanovic, Godin, De Vrij, Bastoni, D’Ambrosio, Barella, Brozovic, Gagliardini, Young, Lukaku, Martinez.
Subs: Padelli, Sanchez, Moses, Sensi, Ranocchia, Valero, Esposito, Pirola, Biraghi, Skriniar, Candreva.
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Team news ...
Antonio Conte names an unchanged side for the fourth game in a row. Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez lead the attack.
Julen Lopetgeui makes one change from the side that beat Manchester United last weekend, with Luuk de Jong coming on for Youssef En-Nesyri up front.
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Football Weekly
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On Romelu Lukaku: The striker was maligned at Manchester United but no one has done more to carry Inter to Friday night’s final against Sevilla, writes Nicky Bandini.
Antonio Conte speaks ...
“We have to play with the desire to win and bring the trophy back to Italy – and to bring a trophy back to Inter,” said the Italian side’s manager. “We have to show that we’re the better team. It’s always important to be able to tell the lads at the end of the game that we don’t have any regrets. If we’re the better side, we’ll lift the trophy. If not, we’ll have given our all, and we’ll applaud our opponents.”
Tonight’s match officials
Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)
Assistants: Mario Diks and Hessel Steegstra (Netherlands)
Fourth official: Anastasios Sidiropolous (Greece)
VAR: Jochem Kamphuis (Netherlands)
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Early team news
Premier League old boys Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez, Ashley Young and Christian Eriksen are all likely to feature for Inter tonight, with Young and Lukaku almost certain to start. Alexis Sanchez is recovering from a muscle injury and could come on from the bench.
Sevilla manager Julen Lopetegui has a fully fit squad to choose from. Deep lying midfielder and orchestra conductor Ever Banega plays his last game for Sevilla tonight, against his former club. Luuk de Jong may start after coming on to score the winner against Manchester United last weekend.
Europa League final: Sevilla v Inter
Five-times winners Sevilla take on three-times winners Inter in the final of the Europa League. Remarkably, this is the first meeting of these two sides in European competition but one of them will leave the Stadion Köln in Germany with what, for this reporter’s money, is arguably the most aesthetically pleasing trophy in sport. Kick-off is at 8pm (BST) but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
