World Soccer - UK (2020-10)

T

he Europa League has
never benefited from such
a high profile. In the sadly
but strangely beneficial
circumstances of 2019-20, Sevilla,
now record six-times champions, were
appropriate as well as worthy winners
after a14-month season.
In the past, the Europa League’s
closing stages have been overshadowed
by the Champions League.
This time it was different. The ravages
of COVID-19 persuaded UEFA to find
a one-off remedy that could not have
worked more effectively. With no
domestic football to compete, the
Europa League’s final eight mini-
tournament in Germany benefited from
a broadcasting bonanza by running
alternately with the Champions League
in Portugal. Top-level European club
competition was out there every night.
Once the round of16 second legs had
been sorted out, it was to Germany for
the “Final Eight” – not in one city, as in
the Champions League, but four: Cologne,
Duisburg, Dusseldorf and Gelsenkirchen.
The concept and venues worked. All
that remained was for the football to rise
to the closed-doors challenge.

Happily, it did. All credit to coaches

and players, who came out victorious

over coronavirus and complexity.

Not all the games were memorable.

Fatigue,fitnesslevels andthe peculiar

pressures of the extended season took

their toll as early as the quarter-finals.

Shakhtar of Ukraine saw off Basle

easily 4-1, but Manchester United

needed extra time to edge out FC

Copenhagen. United hit the post four

times and had one goal and one penalty

appeal rejected by the video assistant

before Bruno Fernandes scored the

decisive goal with a typically unerring

spot-kick in the 95th minute.

Single-goal margins also saw the two

eventual finalists through: Inter by 2-1

Sevilla win a record sixth

Europa League crown

against Bayer Leverkusen and Sevilla by

1-0 against Wolverhampton Wanderers,

with a late goal from Argentinian Lucas

Ocampos punishing an early penalty

miss by Wolves’ Mexico striker Raul

Jimenez. In the semi-finals, Sevilla

recovered from conceding another

early Fernandes penalty to beat

wasteful United 2-1, while Inter ran

down Shakhtar 5-0, with two-goal

Romelu Lukaku extending his run of

scoring in successive matches in the

competition to ten.

But Inter’s first appearance in a

European final since winning the

Champions League underJose Mourinho

in 2010 was not the success they and

their Belgian top scorer had anticipated.

LET’S TALK ABOUT SIX

EUROPA LEAGUE REVIEW

2020 EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL

Penalty...Lukaku

is tripped by

Diego Carlos

Record-

breakers...

Sevilla players

celebrate with

Lopetegui