Escudé ban sours Sevilla triumph

Between Sevilla FC's raucous joy and CA Osasuna's crushing disappointment, there was precious little nuanced emotion at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán on Thursday. Perhaps only Julien Escudé found himself torn between extremes. Cautioned in the closing minutes, the French defender will now miss the UEFA Cup final through suspension.

Mixed feelings
Alone among the six Sevilla players a booking away from a ban to see yellow, the 27-year-old fell foul of referee Graham Poll with just three minutes to go in the semi-final second-leg. At the time, the holders were leading 2-0 on the night, 2-1 on aggregate and never looked like gifting Osasuna a lifeline. "There's no doubt I have mixed feelings right now and when I got the card I thought about missing the final a lot," Escudé told uefa.com. "But the most important thing is the team and the fact we won and qualified for another final. I hope the lads can give everything and come home with a second trophy."

Controlled performance
Rarely troubled at the back, the Andalusian outfit had Brazilian pair Luis Fabiano and Renato to thank for overhauling the 1-0 first-leg deficit they incurred in Pamplona. That set up a showdown with fellow Spaniards RCD Espanyol in Glasgow on 16 May and, despite his dismay, Escudé was quick to praise the performance. "We were worried about conceding but the most important thing was to score two goals," he said. "We managed to do that thanks to the whole team and a lot of encouragement from our supporters. We controlled the match well, our tactics were good and Osasuna had very few chances."

Emerging force
It was exactly the kind of display that has singled Sevilla out as an emerging force, and should Escudé start to feel despondent, he has much to be positive about. Not just his memories of keeping Middlesbrough FC at bay in last year's UEFA Cup final, of course, but also the part he can still play in his team's climactic end of season. Leading RC Deportivo La Coruña 3-0 at the halfway stage of their Copa del Rey semi-final, Juande Ramos's charges also find themselves a solitary point back from Primera División leaders FC Barcelona with six games to play.

Title aspirations
The only European club still competing on three fronts, Sevilla would give their Spanish title aspirations a huge shot in the arm with victory away to third-placed Real Madrid CF on Sunday. Switching focus after Thursday's elation may prove tricky, but Escudé believes they now head into that encounter in the perfect frame of mind. "I said before the Osasuna match that this result would be crucial for our trip to Madrid," he commented. "Now we go there full of confidence and optimism. The only issue is whether we can recover our strength in the next two days." Having expertly juggled their priorities all year, few would be surprised if they find a way.