Roma to play Sevilla in Europa League final as Mourinho gets chance for 6th European trophy

AP , Friday 19 May 2023

José Mourinho will have a chance to claim a sixth European trophy, although his Roma team will have to stop Sevilla from winning a record-extending seventh Europa League title.

UEFA Europa League Group
Roma s players celebrate after the UEFA Europa League Group semi final second leg football match between Bayer Leverkusen and AS Roma in Leverkusen, on May 18, 2023. Photo: AFP

 

Roma reached the Europa League final by holding Bayer Leverkusen to a 0-0 draw in Germany on Thursday following the kind of disciplined defensive performance that Mourinho's teams have become known for. The Italian team went through 1-0 on aggregate after winning the first leg of the semifinal at home.

Roma will face six-time champion Sevilla, which knocked out Juventus with a 2-1 win after extra time to prevent an all-Italian final.

The final takes place on May 31 in the Hungarian capital of Budapest.

Leverkusen forward Moussa Diaby hit the crossbar early and Roma goalkeeper Rui Patrício was busy at times but Roma's defense held firm, despite the team rarely venturing forward and managing just one effort on goal in the entire game.

José Mourinho is looking for back-to-back European titles with Roma after winning the inaugural edition of the Europa Conference League last season. He has won the Europa League — or UEFA Cup as it was previously known — with both Porto and Manchester United and also has two Champions League titles.

“It’s an unbelievable team, I don’t know if I can ask for more from Roma but these guys deserve something special," Mourinho told Sky Sports.

Winning the Europa League could also be the only chance for Roma to qualify for next season's Champions League.

Sevilla trailed 1-0 at home in the second half but substitute Erik Lamela set up the equalizer that forced extra time and then headed in the winner in the 95th minute at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán stadium.

After the two teams drew 1-1 in Torino last week, substitute striker Dušan Vlahović gave Juventus the lead in the 65th with a precise chip from inside the area.

Suso, another substitute, scored the equalizer with a long-range effort seven minutes later.

Sevilla defender Marcos Acuña was sent off after picking up his second yellow card five minutes before the final whistle.

Sevilla hopes to salvage a turbulent season with a seventh triumph in the second-tier European competition.

It sits just 10th in the Spanish league but has once again showed that it thrives in Europe, knocking out Manchester United in the quarterinals.

Sevilla won the trophy six times between 2006-20.

EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE

Substitute Pablo Fornals scored deep into stoppage time for West Ham to beat AZ in Alkmaar 1-0 in the second leg of the Europa Conference League semifinals and send the Premier League club to a European final for the first time in 47 years.

Fornals seized the ball in the middle of the field and finished his run with a low shot from the edge of the area for the Hammers to advance 3-1 on aggregate

Lucas Paquetá hit the post in another chance for the visitors the first half.

West Ham will face Fiorentina in the final that takes place in Prague on June 7.

The Hammers have been waiting for a European trophy since the 1965 title in the European Cup Winners’ Cup and reached the final in the same competition again in 1976.

Fiorentina also needed extra time to advance, with substitute midfielder Antonin Barak netting the decisive goal in the 129th minute to secure a 3-1 win at Basel. Fiorentina trailed 2-1 from the first leg but reached its first European final since 1990.

Fiorentina's Nicolás González was unmarked at the far post to put the visitors 1-0 ahead after a corner kick from Cristiano Biraghi in the 35th.

Forward Zeki Amdouni leveled the score at 1-1 for Basel 10 minutes into the second half, a result that would have sent the Swiss club to a European final for the first time. The Swiss forward scored in six of the last seven games in the knockout stage, including the first leg of the semifinals.

González scored his second goal at St.Jakob-Park with a low left-foot shot in the 72nd to force extra time.

Fiorentina's win means Italy has a team in the final of all three UEFA competitions, with Inter Milan facing Manchester City in the Champions League title match.

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