It had all the earmarks of a romantic European Cup final, and what a classic match it turned out to be. Liverpool, a club founded in 1892, versus Sevilla, founded in 1890 and bearing the title of Spain’s oldest football club.
Liverpool, winners of this competition in 1973, 1976 and 2001, were looking to substantiate an exciting debut season for Jurgen Klopp with European glory and the ensurance of Champions League football at Anfield next season.
For Sevilla, an eighth place finish in La Liga belied both their success in the Europa League and their advancement to Sunday’s Copa del Rey Final against Barcelona. Additionally, they had the nous derived from winning this competition in 2006, 2007, 2014 and 2015. Going for a third straight Europa League triumph, and their own ticket to the Champions League, Sevilla could hardly be billed as underdogs.
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With Liverpool supporters thronging the streets of Basel, Switzerland, the stage was set for a night of revelry and footballing drama. 191 participating clubs had been trimmed down to the final two over nine arduous months of competition, and the precedence of the occasion was not lost on the lucky 35,000 supporters within St. Jakob-Park.
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An early exchange of hopeful punts forward, fouls and a chorus of noise from supporters set the occasion to a simmering boil. Liverpool’s physical pressing resulted in a number of early set pieces for Sevilla, but their delivery was found wanting.
Liverpool announced their attacking ambitions in the eleventh minute, Nathaniel Clyne’s fantastic cross to Daniel Sturridge forcing an acrobatic clearance from Sevilla in front of their own goal. Sensing their ascendency in the match, Liverpool pushed for the opening goal.
Roberto Firmino then had a decent shout for a penalty waved away, the referee refusing to point to the spot after a defender inadvertently used his arm to block the ball and Firmino’s advancement in the box.
As the tempo of the match slowed, a shift which Sevilla seemed to welcome, the significance of the occasion threatened to turn the game into a cagey affair.
Sturridge forced Soria to block his shot from a tight angle after a clever reverse pass from Adam Lallana, and a succession of fouls, Sevilla forays forward and incongruous shouting at the referee stirred the tempers of all involved.
Sevilla finally found the right delivery on a corner kick in the 32nd minute, Gameiro narrowly missing with an overhead kick that Simon Mignolet could only wish wide while rooted to the spot.
Three minutes later, Liverpool had the breakthrough they craved, and what an opening goal it was. Coutinho and Firmino combined to find Sturridge on the edge of the area. Sturridge briefly looked up, calculated his options, and dialed in a shot with the most audacious of nonchalance.
With the outside of his left foot, he curved an unstoppable shot into the far corner. It was an absolutely ridiculous shot in any circumstance, let alone a European Cup Final.
Liverpool had the ball in the back of the net again in the 39th minute from a Dejan Lovren header, but Sturridge’s offside position in front of the goalkeeper meant that the goal was correctly ruled out.
As Sevilla held on for dear life before the halftime whistle, Liverpool were once again denied a penalty decision after a clear handball.
Unable to play the ball out of the back and suffocated by Liverpool’s pressing, Liverpool continued to attack dangerously while forcing Sevilla into a string of uncharacteristic mistakes.
With the halftime whistle, it was evident that Sevilla manager Unai Emery had his work cutout for him. On the other side, Klopp could only be frustrated by his side's inability to add to their lead in the first half.
4 - Daniel Sturridge has attempted four shots in the first half, three more than Sevilla. Raging. pic.twitter.com/ZRpm2pqaQZ
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) May 18, 2016
Whatever Emery said to his Sevilla squad at halftime worked wonders. They attacked straight from the kick off, charging down the Liverpool flank and onto the scoreboard.
Sevilla’s Mariano nutmegged Alberto Moreno, got behind the Liverpool defense and squared the ball for Gameiro. His eighth goal of the competition couldn’t have been any easier, a tap-in from a yard out.
Liverpool were clearly rattled by the setback and a couple of minutes later Gameiro was sent racing through on goal. He looked certain to at least ask a difficult question of Mignolet, but Kolo Toure raced back to make a crucial challenge on the Sevilla goalscorer.
One hour into the final and things resembled the way we’d started, the scores even and Sevilla enjoying their time on the ball.
Gameiro should’ve put Sevilla ahead in the 61st minute when he was found totally unmarked in front of the Liverpool net. His mishit volley allowed Mignolet to make a great save, but the French forward should’ve buried the chance.
In the 64th minute, Sevilla finally took their deserved lead through their captain, Coke. The Spanish side cut through the Liverpool defense with some intricate passing and movement before Coke lashed a 20-yard effort into the bottom left corner.
Liverpool’s defense looked exceedingly unable to deal with the movement and energy of Sevilla’s attackers, with Gameiro, Vitolo and Coke growing in influence.
In the 70th minute, Sevilla had a third. Once again Coke was the one to dent Liverpool’s Europa League title dreams. A bit of chaotic defending in the Liverpool area allowed the ball to ricochet through to Coke.
While Liverpool defenders vehemently protested for an offside decision that never came, Coke’s shot had just enough on it to make its way past Mignolet and into the Liverpool net.
Coke wheeled away, staring at the linesman for a few seconds before celebrating deliriously with teammates and fans.
Sevilla began employing the dark arts of football while Liverpool were forced to resort to shots from distance.
Ultimately, the fifth goal of the game seemed much more likely to be scored by Sevilla. There would be no repeat of “The Miracle of Istanbul” in Basel for Liverpool. For Liverpool, the match ended with a sense of what could've been. They were unfortunate in some cases, but, ultimately, Sevilla were deserved winners.
Their performance in the second half was simply too much for Liverpool. Once again, both the Europa League and Champions League trophies will reside in Spain.
