EUROPA League
Europa Cup specialists, Sevilla win seventh title
World Cup final shootout hero, Argentina’s Montiel was again the man that hit winning penalty for Sevilla in the Eurpa League Cup final to deny Mourinho a sixth European trophy after 1-1 draw with Roma
Incredible. Sevilla, yet again, are Europa League champions… for the sixth time!
They were probably the better team, particularly in the second half, when they were excellent.
It was a scrappy affair and, when it came to penalties, Sevilla stood up to the task yet again – as they normally do.
And so, at the end of a long, dramatic, ugly night in Budapest, another slice of European history for Sevilla.
It took more than 130 minutes, eight penalties, at least a dozen bookings and innumerable rounds of whingeing and warring between both benches.
But eventually Sevilla did as they always do. They triumphed in the Europa League and, in so doing, inflicted a first defeat on this stage on Jose Mourinho.
Between them, the Roma manager and their Spanish opponents had tasted only victory across a combined 11 European finals. So naturally they could not be separated over 90 minutes. Or 120.
And so it went to penalties, where Gonzalo Montiel scored the winning penalty – just as he did for Argentina in last year’s World Cup final.
This time, he needed two bites at the cherry. His first penalty was saved but Rui Patricio was punished for encroaching. Montiel profited to cap a remarkable turnaround for Sevilla, who trailed on the night and were battling relegation until Jose Luis Mendilibar arrived in March. He has now secured their seventh Europa League title. No one else has won it more than three times.
The real hero of the night, however, was referee Anthony Taylor, who somehow managed to keep a football match going amid all the histrionics and moaning. Mourinho was at the centre of it until the last, of course.
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.
“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 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)
4. Real Betis (Spain)
5. Porto (Portugal)
6. Braga (Portugal)
7. Freiburg (Germany)
8. AS Roma (Italy)
Knockout phase play-off places (seeded)
9. Genk (Belgium)
10. Bologna (Italy)
11. VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
12. Ferencvaros (Hungary)
13. Nottingham Forest (England)
14. Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)
15. Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
16. Celta Vigo (Spain)
Knockout phase play-off places (unseeded)
17. PAOK (Greece)
18. Lille (France)
19. Fenerbahce (Turkey)
20. Panathinaikos (Greece)
21. Celtic (Scotland)
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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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.
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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