Jose Mourinho has suffered his first ever European final defeat after Sevilla beat Roma on penalties to lift the Europa League trophy for the seventh time in their history. Paulo Dybala opened the scoring for the Serie A giants in the first half of Wednesday’s showpiece at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, but Sevilla hit back early in the second half. The contest eventually went to extra time and penalties, where goalkeeper Bono saved two spot-kicks before Argentina’s Gonzalo Montiel netted the decisive, trophy-winning penalty.
Sevilla edged possession in the early stages with Roma looking solid and compact, but it was the Italians who had the first chance of note when Dybala found Leonardo Spinazzola in space inside the box but his first-time shot was palmed away by Bono. Roma then took the lead moments later, with Dybala racing onto a through-ball from centre-back Gianluca Mancini and calmly firing the ball past Bono with his dependable left boot.
Deep into added time of the first half, Sevilla carved out their best opportunity when Ivan Rakitic was left unmarked on the edge of the box; the Croatian let the ball run across him and struck a fizzing, left-footed effort towards goal that hit the inside of the post and narrowly avoided rebounding in off Rui Patricio. A minute after the restart, Sevilla found a breakthrough; Jesus Navas darted down the flank and whipped in yet another delivery, but for once Roma’s defence could not clear their lines and Mancini nodded the ball past his own keeper – the first goal Mourinho has conceded in a European final since 2003.
Roma’s players high-fived as they walked down the tunnel, with Mourinho claiming a 1-0 half-time lead in a European final for the sixth time. Despite their lack of possession, Roma continued to threaten from set-pieces and a neat free-kick saw the ball scooped over the wall for substitute Andrea Belotti, who looked certain to score only for Bono to produce another excellent stop. The match went to extra time and after an almost entirely uneventful 30 minutes of play, Sevilla won the shootout when Bono saved two spot-kicks before Montiel netted yet another decisive penalty to spark wild scenes of celebration among Sevilla’s players. After two decades, Mourinho’s bus had finally been beaten.