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A thoroughly entertaining 120 minutes weren't enough to separate the two sides and the game went into a penalty shootout in order to decide the winner of this years Europa League.Sevillas calm heads prevailed in the end as they lifted their 3rd Europa League/UEFA Cup title in eight years. Here are the five major talking points from the game.
#1 52 years and counting, the curse still lives on
All the talk before the final wasn’t about how Benfica’s were the stronger side, nor was it about Sevilla’s defensive shape. It was all about whether Benfica will finally break the “curse of Béla Guttmann”. For the opening half hour it looked as though they would and it was only a matter of time before they scored. But the longer the game went, the more the curse started to play on the minds of the players.
And that was precisely why the penalty shootout was the worst thing that could have happened to Benfica. Although Lima put away the first penalty, the next two efforts were tame and were easily stopped by the Sevilla goalkeeper Beto, whose job was made a lot easier by the fact that the curse was starting to play on the players’ mind.
And so, Benfica lost their eight-straight European final in the 52 years since the curse came to be. This looked like the perfect opportunity for them to break, but they couldn’t, which begs the question will they ever be able to?
#2 Profligate finishing costs Benfica
Benfica manager Jorge Jesus brilliantly summarized the game, when he said "Sevilla started off better than Benfica, but, as the match progressed, Benfica improved, showed it was the better team, more of a team and in the second half showed its power, had a number of opportunities to score, wasn't able to and then in extra-time was the team that played more.”
Even in defeat, Jesus’ analysis of the game was spot on as Benfica spurned chance after chance in the 90 minutes before the game went into extra time.
It wasn’t just in the shootout but in normal time as well that Benfica left their shooting boots at home. Ezequiel Garay was one of the main culprits as not only did he blaze a couple of efforts over the bar, but also could not react quickly enough as Beto spilled a free-kick at his feet. To be fair though, he wasn’t alone.
Nicolás Gaitán also poked a shot just wide and Lima had, on more than occasion had his effort saved by Beto. In the end, with each missed chance, it looked more and more as though Benfica thought they won’t score and by the time extra time arrived both sides were too exhausted to even try very hard and in the penalty shootout the curse struck again and Benfica lost another European final.
#3 Beto and the Sevilla defense won them the title
One of the main reasons why Sevilla won the game was their goal keeper Beto. Not only did he keep a calm head in the shootout and save two penalties, he was one of the main reasons why the game went into a shootout in the first place.
Throughout the game, Beto was always alert, whether it was saving a shot from Rodrigo early on or tipping over a wonderful drive by Lima in the second half, the Portuguese shot-stopper demonstrated tremendous reflexes all the way through.
He was ably assisted by his defense, who put in a stellar effort that meant that Benfica, for all their possession and their chances couldn’t get past them. Although it wasn’t always a controlled defensive effort, the two center backs got their bodies in the way and ensured that nothing went through.
Early in the second half, Nicolás Pareja blocked two goal-bound shots in a matter of seconds and set the tone for the rest of the game. Both he and Fazio, the other center-back ensured that Benfica never got an easy path to goal.
#4 Referee ensures parity in parsimonious affair
Far too often, big games, especially finals are ruined by card-happy refs who end the spectacle far too soon. Thankfully, the Europa League final saw a referee at the top of his game, who wanted to let the game flow at all times.
Although the German referee Felix Brych should have given a penalty to Benfica in the first half, which would have meant sending the player off, that was the only blemish in an otherwise glittering copy book.
Brych, who is on his way to the World Cup was more than happy to let the players get on with the game and only really got into the action when it was necessary. Whilst some might call his non giving of the penalty, an unwillingness to take a decision, in hindsight, whilst it was the wrong decision it made for an entertaining game.
#5 A fitting finale to the Europa League
Although there were no goals, this Europa League final had everything else. Yellow cards, brilliant saves, clear penalties not given, players losing their cool and a penalty shootout, you name it, this game had it all. Although the game finished 0-0 after extra time, it was one of the most entertaining nil-nil’s in recent memory.
And it was a combination of Benfica’s profligate finishing and Sevilla’s desperate defending that ensured that the game ended nil-nil and went to penalties. Sevilla’s 18-game run to the final ended in victory as the curse struck yet again. While the 90 minutes were undoubtedly entertaining, the extra time was a little less so and was completely understandable as there were players going down with cramps all over the place.
In the end, the penalty shootout added to the drama even more and ensured a fitting finale to the Europa League.
