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LIVE: EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL: SEVILLA 3-2 INTER MILAN

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Full time! Sevilla are six time Europa league winners!!

90min: Antonio Conte makes another switch , sending on Antonio Candreva for Godin.

 +6mins added time

88min: Sevilla players are going down at every opportunity now. Frustration brewing over for Inter now who can’t get any sustained pressure on the Spanish side.

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GOAL! SEVILLA 3-2 Inter Milan

74min: What a turnaround in fortunes! Just over an hour ago, Diego Carlos was bringing down Romelu Lukaku for a penalty.

Now the defender’s overhead kick following a Sevilla free-kick deflects off the striker for an own goal, and a remarkable sixth Europa League trophy is within sight for the Spanish side.

Sevilla 2-2 Inter Milan

51min: Sevilla are seeing more of the ball in the early stages of this second half, but these first six minutes have probably been the quietest of the game so far.

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Sevilla restart – no changes from either side

What are we going with for a full-time score, 6-6?

The second half begins.

De Jong becomes the first Dutchman to score in UEFA Cup/UEL final since Van Hooijdonk in 2002

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Diego Godin, who scored in the 2014 Champions League final for Atlético, is the sixth player to score in both a European Cup/Champions League final and a UEFA Cup/Europa League final after Steven Gerrard, Hernan Crespo, Dmitri Alenichev, Allan Simonsen and Pedro. Collection.

Half time round up

  • Inter and Sevilla produce thriller in Cologne
  • Godín nods Sevilla level from set piece
  • De Jong heads two after Lukaku penalty
  • Sides level record for first-half UEL final goals
  • Spaniards boast perfect final record (P5 W5)


HALF-TIME VERDICT: Sevilla
A good half of football from Sevilla, with the Spaniards controlling large swathes of the game. You have to feel they’ll be disappointed in the manner of concession of both goals, but can take heart from the problems they’ve caused Inter.

Half time

Sevilla 2-2 Inter Milan

39min: Bit sneaky from Nicolo Barella, who is late with his challenge on Ever Banega to pick up a yellow card. There has been no pattern to his first half at all. This is madness, yet enjoyable madness.

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Gooooal!

Godín (Internazionale) scores!

This is astonishing; it’s 2-2! It is almost a replica of Sevilla’s second goal as Brozović clips in a deep free-kick from a similar area and Godín storms through the crowd to head past Bounou.

GOAL! SEVILLA 2-1 Inter Milan

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12 minutes is the earliest both sides have scored in a UEFA Cup/Europa League final since 1990 when Fiorentina versus Juventus was 1-1 after only 10 minutes. Intense

Romelu Lukaku is the first player to score in six consecutive knockout stage matches in major European competition since Cristiano Ronaldo between 2012 and 2013. Inevitable.

Inter have scored in 50 of their 54 games this season now. Sevilla have only failed to score four times too in their last 44 games following De Jong’s effort. The scoreline should not really be a surprise given those facts

Lukaku has matched Ronaldo’s number of goals (34) during his first season at Inter (1997/98). He now needs the most difficult part to really equal him: bringing the trophy home.

Inter have scored during the first half in ten of their last 11 European matches now.

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Sevilla 1-1 Inter Milan

18min: You can’t take your eyes off this game, it’s insane! Inter want another penalty against Diego Carlos (who else?) but he is innocent on this occasion as the handball claim against him was more ball to hand.

Not that Inter boss Antonio Conte agreed on the touchline as he is booked for his protest.

GOAL! SEVILLA 1-1 Inter Milan

12min: Oh, it’s one of those nights is it? Excellent response from Sevilla as Jesus Navas swings in a cross from the right and at the near post Luuk de Jong justifies his selection by diverting home with a diving header.

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Jesús Navas (Sevilla)12’Gooooal!

L. de Jong (Sevilla) scores!

GOAL! Sevilla 0-1 INTER MILAN

5min: Diego Carlos, who has given away penalties in the quarter-finals and the semi-finals has now got the hat-trick in the final.

There was never any doubt as he was booked for practically assaulting Romelu Lukaku as they tussled inside the box, with the striker eventually dusting himself down to drill his penalty into the bottom corner.

The two previous single match UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League finals which were played in Germany both involved Spanish teams and went into extra time – Liverpool vs Alavés (2001) and Atlético vs Fulham (2010).

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Italy’s Inter meet Spain’s Sevilla in Cologne. The Italians have named an unchanged side form their semi-final match. But in Sevilla, De Jong replaces En-Nesyri. Meanwhile, Sevilla boast perfect final record (P5 W5)

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  • Sevilla starting XI: Bono, Navas, Kounde, Carlos, Reguilon, Jordan, Fernando, Banega, Ocampos, De Jong, Suso
  • Inter Milan starting XI: Handanovic, Godin, De Vrij, Bastoni, D’Ambrosio, Barella, Brozovic, Gagliardini, Young, Lukaku, Martinez

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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‘Mr Europa League’ Unai Emery into yet another final

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UEFA Europa League - Semi Final - Second Leg - Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest - Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain - May 7, 2026. Aston Villa manager Unai Emery reacts Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith.

Four-times Europa League winner Unai Emery booked an astonishing sixth final in the competition as ​a manager on Thursday when his Aston Villa team swept ‌aside Nottingham Forest in the second leg of their all-English semi-final.

The 54-year-old Spaniard has won three times with Sevilla (2014, 2015, 2016) and once ​with Villarreal (2021) – either side of a defeat with Arsenal (2019) – ​deservedly earning him the epithet “Mr Europa League” from some ⁠fans and media.

Now he goes to the 2026 final seeking ​a fifth title, this time with Aston Villa against Bundesliga side ​Freiburg.

“His track record speaks for itself,” said Villa striker Ollie Watkins, heaping praise on his boss as the man to guarantee Europa League success. “We ​need to go and win it now.”

Emery was delighted with ​how his team overturned a 1-0 deficit to Forest in the first ‌leg ⁠of the Europa League semi-final to score four times at home and win 4-1 on aggregate.

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“Now we have to look to the final,” he said, hoping that Villa will do “something fantastic” ​for their fans.

Though ​thrilled at Thursday’s ⁠win, Emery left the pitch quickly after the final whistle, pumping his fist a few ​times at the crowd before letting his players ​enjoy the ⁠moment with fans

He and his Villa side will be favourites at the Europa League final in Istanbul on May 20, but ⁠Emery was ​taking nothing for granted. “Of course German ​teams are so difficult, their coaches, their players are so good,” he added ​of the upcoming opponents.

-Reuters

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List of teams qualified for the Europa League knockout phase

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Tyrone Mings scores their second goal REUTERS/Isabel Infantes

List of teams which have qualified for the next round of the Europa League after the league phase concluded on Thursday, ranked by table position:

Directly to the round of 16:

1. Olympique Lyonnais (France)

2. Aston Villa (England)

3. Midtjylland (Denmark)

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4. Real Betis (Spain)

5. Porto (Portugal)

6. Braga (Portugal)

7. Freiburg (Germany)

8. AS Roma (Italy)

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Knockout phase play-off places (seeded)

9. Genk (Belgium)

10. Bologna (Italy)

11. VfB Stuttgart (Germany)

12. Ferencvaros (Hungary)

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13. Nottingham Forest (England)

14. Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)

15. Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)

16. Celta Vigo (Spain)

Knockout phase play-off places (unseeded)

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17. PAOK (Greece)

18. Lille (France)

19. Fenerbahce (Turkey)

20. Panathinaikos (Greece)

21. Celtic (Scotland)

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22. Ludogorets (Bulgaria)

23. Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)

24. SK Brann (Norway)

-Reuters

 UEFA Europa League – Aston Villa v RB Salzburg – Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain – January 29, 2026 Aston

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Maccabi Tel Aviv refuse away tickets for Aston Villa Europa League match

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Maccabi Tel Aviv

Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to ban their supporters, they said on Monday.

The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.

“From hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context,” Maccabi said in a statement.

“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”

Aston Villa announced the decision last week, saying they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park.

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West Midlands Police described the match as high risk, past incidents, including violent confrontations and hate crime offences involving Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters ahead of a November 2024 game in Amsterdam.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the announcement as “shameful”.

Villa are third in the Europa League standings while Maccabi Tel Aviv are 30th after two rounds.

-Reuters

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