The Europa League (née UEFA Cup) and Sevilla go together like peas and carrots. Six finals, six wins for the Andalusian side, who again overcame an early deficit on Friday night to beat Antonio Conte’s Internazionale, 3-2 in Cologne. Must be in the water.
Julen Lopetegui’s decision to give striker Luuk de Jong pay off handsomely, with the hero of the semi-final against Manchester United coming up with two great leaders to overcome an early goal from former Chelsea prospect Romelu Lukaku.
Lukaku blew through penalty attacks Diego Carlos (third straight match with a penalty kick removed) and shot the ball coolly from the spot in the fifth minute to give Inter the lead. But Sevilla hit back with two set pieces before long-time Atlético center-back Diego Godín got Inter back on level with a set piece of their own.
The second half was not the goalfest that was the first. And with the game balanced on the edge of a knife, the roles were reversed from the first goal when an invisible touch from Lukaku put an overhead header from Diego Carlos in the back of the net.
Conte threw in the likes of Christian Eriksen, Alexis Sánchez, and Chelsea loaner Victor Moses, and the last two almost got Inter back on level terms, but it was not intended.
‘It was a tough, balanced match. Any moment in the second half could have brought the game to life. We had a great opportunity, then came the unfortunate own goal. But we can only regret it so much because the boys gave their all against a team accustomed to playing these types of games. Sevilla have won this competition several times, always doing well in finals and that is the difference in the end. “
-Antonio Conte; source: International
That, no trophies for Conte in his first year back in management, and still no trophies for Lukaku since winning the Belgian league with Anderlecht far back in 2010, in his first season as a professional. That’s sad, but congratulations to Sevilla and likely-not-future-Chelsea player Sergio Reguilón.
