Goals: Dnipro—Kalinic 7’ - Rotan 44’; Sevilla—Krychowiak 28’ - Bacca 31’, 73’
Con este gol de Kalinic, Dnipro derrota 1-0 al Sevilla en la final de la #EuropaLeague. pic.twitter.com/BSCIxQLsXy
— André Marín (@andremarinpuig) May 27, 2015
Recap: Ninety minutes of enthralling football saw Sevilla defeat Dnipro 3-2 on Wednesday.
A pristine header from Nikola Kalinic gifted Dnipro a shocking 1-0 lead just seven minutes in. Sevilla would mount a comeback, equalizing and taking a 2-1 lead in a span of three minutes. The Ukrainian underdogs, however, did not falter before the half. A free-kick stunner from Ruslan Rotan ensured both clubs entered the locker rooms level at 2-2.
In the end, Sevilla proved to be too much. A clinical finish from Bacca in the 73rd minute sealed the 3-2 victory. This is the club's fourth Europa League title, passing Liverpool for the most all time.
Key Moment: Dnipro had three opportunities to clear the ball prior to Bacca’s goal. Unable to do so, the moment fell to Vitolo, who delivered the through-ball that changed the history of clubs.
Man of the Match: The pride of Colombia, Bacca finished with a brace and the eventual match-winner.
Lesson Learned: There is no denying the importance of the Champions League, but the Europa League is deserving of more respect. Often, especially in the early stages of the competition, clubs tend to look at the Europa League as a burden—a wasteful Thursday night to throw younger players on the pitch and award them actual minutes. Sevilla, however, consistently gave the competition its proper respect, lifting the title in successive years. And the club did it in style.
With much higher stakes, the Champions League final between Juventus and Barcelona is likely to be a pragmatic watch, and far from the free-flowing attacking football displayed in Warsaw. Although it truly is a secondary competition, Sevilla and Wednesday’s final proved it’s worthy of more.
Up Next: Sevilla has already completed their league campaign. Dnipro travels to Hoverla in search of three points on May 30.
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).
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