Where the Europa League final was won and lost
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Article summary
The inclusion, and removal, of José Antonio Reyes, a tough day for Douglas, and Éver Banega feature in our dissection of why Sevilla FC won at FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk's expense.
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Carlos Bacca's class
Sevilla FC's No9 was the width of Denys Boyko's wrist from hitting the first UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League hat-trick since Jupp Heynckes in 1975. That particular chance came via his head, though the Colombian international had already inflicted sufficient damage with three classy touches with his feet: one to control José Antonio Reyes's first-half pass, one to finish and one to score the winner.
Starting with Reyes
Coach Unai Emery surprised some by starting Reyes, but this was the Sevilla captain's 91st UEFA club competition appearance, making him the most seasoned European campaigner on the pitch. His wily positional play – not to mention that eye-of-a-needle through ball for Bacca – was more than adequate justification.
Taking off Reyes/bringing on Coke
Though Reyes – now a four-time winner of this competition – was a thorn in Dnipro's side for every one of the 58 minutes he was on the field, his exit was potentially crucial. Yevhen Konoplyanka was becoming increasingly influential and the introduction of Coke allowed Sevilla to shore up their right side, Aleix Vidal moving up from full-back to midfield.
Bad day at the office for Douglas
A regular in UEFA.com's UEFA Europa League team of the week since the turn of the year, centre-back Douglas has been intrinsic to Dnipro's solidity at the back. Bacca, though, shrugged him off for both his goals. "Today was perhaps not his best game," said Dnipro coach Myron Markevych. "It is fair to say that the defender did not cope."
The understated Éver Banega
If Sevilla's No19 was not as obviously influential as Bacca to the untrained eye, there was reason aplenty for him being named man of the match. It looked as though Dnipro had not bargained for Banega to be the conductor and – despite Emery praising their "pressing skills" on Tuesday – did not prevent him from prodding and probing throughout.
European pedigree
Reyes was the wise old head on the pitch; Daniel Carriço has made more UEFA Europa League outings (group stage to final) than any other player in the competition's history (48); and Emery is the most seasoned coach (50 games). Sevilla, put simply, had enough nous to make the right calls at the right times. "Our opponents were more experienced and that made the difference," said Markevych.