EUROPA League
Europa League kings Sevilla target seventh title against Mourinho’s Roma
Sevilla will target a record-extending seventh Europa League title in Wednesday’s final against an AS Roma side under Jose Mourinho, who has himself won five major European trophies including last year’s Conference League with the Italians.
Neither Sevilla nor Mourinho have ever lost a European final, with the Spaniards having won all six of their Europa League finals and the Portuguese having last year become the first coach to win all the European trophies.
Mourinho’s haul includes two Champions League titles (Inter Milan and Porto), two Europa League crowns (Porto and Manchester United) and the inaugural Conference League trophy.
However, the Roma manager will have a hard task to steer his team to victory against Europa League thoroughbreds Sevilla who will arrive with momentum as they try to keep their astounding record in their favourite competition after a difficult season.
Languishing in the bottom half of LaLiga for a large part of a campaign in which they fired two managers, Sevilla rediscovered their mojo after exiting the Champions League.
They beat PSV Eindhoven, Fenerbahce and Manchester United before downing Juventus in the semis to reach the final.
They have lost only two matches since the arrival of manager Jose Luis Mendilibar in mid-March and are in the race for a Conference League place with one game left in LaLiga after spending most of the season fighting to avoid relegation.
Roma, however, are without a win in seven consecutive Italian league games and suffered a late collapse to lose 2-1 to Fiorentina on Saturday, ending any hopes Mourinho’s side had of a top-four finish in Serie A.
They earned a spot in Wednesday’s Europa League final after a hard-fought 0-0 draw at Bayer Leverkusen in their semi-final return leg, securing a 1-0 aggregate win.
With Sevilla and Roma both having struggled for form in their domestic leagues, they need to win on Wednesday to qualify for the Champions League next season. In the case of Sevilla, who are 11th in LaLiga, they could miss out on Europe entirely.
After winning the 2006, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2020 Europa League finals, Sevilla have the chance to work their magic yet again in their favourite competition.
However, they will be without talismanic left back Marcos Acuna, who was sent off in extra time in the second leg of the semi-final against Juventus, which Sevilla won 2-1 for a 3-2 aggregate victory, for time wasting after a second yellow card.
‘The Special One’ Mourinho, who knows a trick or two of his own when it come to European finals, will have full-back Leonardo Spinazzola back after a muscle strain, while forwards Stephan El Shaarawy and Paulo Dybala should also be fit.
Roma have never won the Europa League, although they were runners up in the 1991 UEFA Cup and 1984 European Cup, with their only European title apart from last year’s Conference League triumph being the 1961 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
-Reuters
EUROPA League
Ajax and Panathinaikos set UEFA record with 34 penalty kicks
![](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ajax.jpg)
It took Ajax 34 penalties to beat Panathinaikos 13-12 in a marathon shootout on Thursday, setting a UEFA competition record after their Europa League third qualifying round tie ended 1-1 over two legs and extra time.
Ajax, who won 1-0 at Panathinaikos last week, conceded in the 89th minute in Amsterdam, leading to the shootout that broke the previous record of 32 attempts at the European U-21 Championship semi-final in 2007 where Netherlands beat England 13-12.
The world record for the longest shootout was set in May when Israeli third-tier clubs SC Dimona and Shimshon Tel Aviv took 56 penalties to resolve their semi-final promotion playoff tie.
Ajax keeper Remko Pasveer made five saves and scored on his own attempt to help the hosts win the shootout as Dutch international Brian Brobbey missed two penalties.
“Five is quite a lot, yes. I save a penalty every now and then, but I don’t think you often experience something as crazy as this,” Pasveer said.
“Every time I thought we would do it. Brobbey behind the ball, we will do it. But he missed, while he always scores during training.”
Defender Anton Gaaei ultimately delivered the winning penalty for Ajax. The Eredivisie club will now face Polish side Jagiellonia Bialystok in the playoff round later this month.
-Reuters
EUROPA League
Manchester United may be denied Europa League slot
![Manchester United Loses Coach To MLS Side Minnesota United -](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Manchester-United-Loses-Coach-To-MLS-Side-Minnesota-United.jpg)
It is not yet certain for Manchester United if the struggling former giants will play in the Europa League despite winning the FA Cup.
The club will discover their Europa League fate after UEFA threaten relegation
They have been left concerned they could be relegated to the Europa Conference League after Nice, who Sir Jim Ratcliffe also owns, qualified for the Europa League
According to British publication, Mirror, Manchester United will be allowed to play in the Europa League after UEFA came to a decision on their future in the competition.
Though they finished eighth in the Premier League, Erik ten Hag’s side won the FA Cup. That win earned them automatic qualification to Europe’s second-tier competition for next season.
But there had been some doubt that they would be allowed to play in the competition after Nice also qualified.
The French side are also owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe through his INEOS chemical company.They finished fifth in Ligue 1 in the season just gone and UEFA rules state that clubs owned by the same company are not allowed to play in the same European competition.
Normally, the team that finished lower in their respective league would be relegated to the Europa Conference League, in this case United.
But according to The Times, both United and Nice will be allowed to play in the Europa league next term. UEFA’s Club Financial Control Board is due to issue a ruling on multi-club ownership issues on Monday.
It is expected that the CFCB will give their approval to United playing alongside Nice, subject to certain conditions. They will also be warned that the upcoming campaign will be viewed as a transitional one and this leeway will not be given in future years.
The CFCB is also set to rule that Nice should be operated via a ‘blind trust’ by a panel approved by UEFA. It is a model that was used by AC Milan and Toulouse this season, with both clubs being owned by Red Bird Capital.
It is reported that a UEFA document on multi-club ownership says a blind trust would be a ‘temporary alternative… granted on an exceptional basis for the 2024-25 Uefa competitions’. It also states that UEFA’s multi-club ownership rule may be changed for future seasons.
INEOS only own 27.7 percent of United, but Ratcliffe has been handed control of the club’s football and business operations by majority owners the Glazer family. The British billionaire previously bought Nice in 2019.
Ratcliffe also owns Swiss Super League side Lausanne-Sport, though they have not qualified for a European competition for next year. The ruling around multi-club ownership also affects Manchester City.
EUROPA League
Hat-trick hero Lookman takes winding road to Europa League triumph
![](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ademola-lookman-3.jpg)
Atalanta’s Europa League hat-trick hero Ademola Lookman admitted that he had to wait a while for success after years in and out of favour at different clubs but said it was “just the beginning” after he sank Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday.
The Nigeria forward became the first person to score a hat-trick in a Europa League final in the 3-0 win, which handed the Bergamo club their first major trophy in 61 years and ended the German champions’ remarkable 51-game unbeaten streak.
“Maybe it could have come earlier, but it’s come now,” said the 26-year-old Lookman, who bounced around in England with Everton, Fulham and Leicester City and in Germany with RB Leipzig before settling in Atalanta two seasons ago.
“This is just the beginning. I hope for more nights like this and to just keep getting better and better,” he told a news conference.
Lookman, who was a youth international for England, credited the Atalanta coaching staff and leadership of manager Gian Piero Gasperini for his revival. Since arriving at the club, he has scored 30 goals in 76 matches.
He pointed in particular to Gasperini’s belief in attacking football that has helped him to flourish.
“The first conversations I had with him made me look at football a lot different. It made things simple. It allowed me to play my game in a different light. I’m very grateful to him,” he said.
Asked if he would have imagined such a night in his wildest dreams while starting out as a teenager at Charlton Athletic, Lookman responded: “Probably yeah.”
“I’ve always had the confidence in my ability to create, to score goals, to help my team mates. In the past two years I’ve been able to take my game to a whole new level,” he said.
-Reuters
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