Last night, Sevilla became the first team to win 4 UEFA Cup/Europa League trophies and only the second to ever retain the trophy, after beating Ukrainian side, Dnipro, 3-2.
After a very successful run to the final, Dnipro started the game well, with striker Kalinic scoring the first goal after only 7 minutes but Sevilla reacted and equalised through Krychowiak, in the 28th minute. Carlos Bacca would net the 2-1 just three minutes after that. Just before halftime, Rotan would convert a set-piece to put the result at 2-2. In second half, the same Carlos Bacca scored the final and winning goal, securing the trophy for Sevilla.
This way, Sevilla held the trophy conquered last year and became only the second team ever to do it, after Real Madrid in the 1985-1986 seasons. This is also the first time that the Europa League winner will qualify automatically for the Champions League group stage. So, next season there will be a record 5 teams from Spain in the Champions League.
In the final minutes, the Dnipro player, Matheus, fell to the ground with no other players around him, having to be rushed to the hospital. Earlier this year, two other players died after similar circumstances. Fortunately, his coach, Myron Markevych, told the official UEFA site that the player is well: "He worked a lot on the pitch today so perhaps something went wrong, but I think everything is alright now.
Matheus was diagnosed with a fracture of the nasal bones and a head injury. A few hours later, he rejoined the team", Markevych later added on the club's official website.
Sevilla's coach, Unai Emery, was very happy with the way his team kept the trophy but their success has prompted many rumours about Emery leaving the club this summer.
He avoided the subject by saying that "this is not the time to talk about my future. Right now I just want to enjoy this and in a couple of days, I will sit down with the club president and the sporting director to make a decision".
In Primera Division, Sevilla finished fifth, with 76 points. Last year, that would have been enough to win the title.
