The semi-final stage of the Europa League has come to an end — in in the decisive match, which will be hosted by Budapest, the Italian “Roma” and the record holder for the number of victories in the second most important tournament of the Old World, the Spanish “Seville”, will converge on the field. The Sport correspondent sums up the results of Thursday's matches and talks about the upcoming final in Budapest.
Special has a second special yearIn 2022, Jose Mourinho took the Conference League trophy, and this season he reached the decisive match of the LE. In Rome, the «wolves» won a victory over «Bayer» with a minimum score (the only goal scored by the talented Edoardo Bove), and in Germany they did not strike a single shot on target, but the Leverkuseners with Serdar Azmun were not allowed to score either.
Arriving in Rome two years ago, Mourinho is tearing up the international scene. Although the Portuguese coach has not shone at Manchester United and Tottenham, he is now one step away from the sixth European Cup (at the moment, Special has two victories in the Champions League, two in the Europa League and one more in the LK).
Red and white magic Where it was hotter on Thursday in Spain. There, Juventus, who survived in a home meeting (1:1), came to visit Sevilla, which, thanks to endless victories in the LE, became the owner of the tournament and, as if bewitching football history, was again eager for the trophy. Failed to take away the victory from Turin? «Old señora» through the efforts of Dusan Vlahovic opened the scoring in the second leg? The referee does not put a penalty/free kick for Cuadrado's dirty tackle? Nothing, the Andalusians in the raging arena «Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan» will cope with something else.
In the 71st minute, Suso will score and transfer the match to extra time. And there everything will be “decided” by Eric Lamela, who will not be looked after either by the defense of black and white, or by Wojciech Szczesny, who made several chic saves … So, after Manchester United, Sevilla also finished with Juve.
Facts about the coming slaughter in Budapest:
- Sevilla have reached the final of the UEFA Cup/Europa League for a record seventh time. And all this over the past 18 years: in 2006, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2020, the Spaniards won victories and took away the trophy;
- As for Roma, she has not reached the final of this tournament since 1991. Then the Wolves lost to Inter in a two-match confrontation;
- Andalusians do not lose in the finals of the European Cup, and Mourinho — in the finals of European competitions in general. The Portuguese has five wins out of five;
- «Seville» has already beaten the Italian club in the final: in 2020, «Inter» was crushed (3:2);
- The teams played each other four times (2-1 in favor of Sevilla). Moreover, their paths also crossed in the LE: in the 1/8 finals of the 2019/20 pandemic season, the Spaniards beat the Italians with a score of 2:0;
- Bookmakers give away a tiny preference for the Romans: 1.9 odds for Roma, 1.95 for Sevilla.
What is there in the Conference League? In the Czech final we will see the Anglo-Italian confrontation. It was West Ham that beat the Dutch AZ twice (2:1; 1:0), while in the other semi-final pair, Fiorentina finished off the Swiss Basel in extra time. The former club of Alexander Kokorin lost in Florence with a score of 1:2, but snatched a ticket to Prague on the road — a long stop due to poor health of the viewer, 2:1 in regular time and a decisive goal in the 129th (!) minute in the performance Antonina Baraka.
Note that in all the finals of the club tournaments of the Old World of the 2022/23 season, teams from Italy will play. Serie A left behind both the English Premier League with two representatives, and the Spanish La Liga with the ubiquitous Sevilla … When was the last time three Italian teams climbed so high? Answer: 25 years ago. In 1998, Inter played Lazio in the UEFA Cup final, and Juve fought Real Madrid for the big-eared Champions League trophy. .
Conference League
- Fiorentina vs. West Ham
- When: June 7, Wednesday;
- Where: Shinobo Stadium, Prague.
Europa League
- SEVILLE vs ROMA
- Where: Puskas Ferenc Stadium «, Budapest.
< li class="article__list-item">When: Wednesday 31 May;
Champions League
- MANCHESTER CITY vs INTER
- When: Saturday June 10;
- Where: Ataturk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul.