Where the 2023 Europa League final was won and lost

The 2023 UEFA Europa League final was decided by the finest of margins in a penalty shoot-out as Sevilla eventually lifted the trophy for the seventh time with a 4-1 victory against Roma on spot kicks following a 1-1 draw.

Here, the two coaches share their take on how the Budapest showpiece played out, while our UEFA.com reporters mull over the key moments.

Where the coaches and players thought the Europa League final was decided

José Luis Mendilibar, Sevilla coach: "When they scored against us, you think that it will be very difficult to score against them. The equaliser came quickly in the second half and gave us the strength to continue in the fight to win the game.

"Taking a penalty in training and then shooting with 60,000 fans is nothing like the same. We hadn't practised in any of the previous rounds. We had confidence in the people who were going to take them."

José Mourinho, Roma coach: "I hid Dybala's situation in the last two or three days. He was seriously injured. When you see Paulo play, you understand that, with him over the last two months, our results would have been different.

"We felt pressure against a team that has more talent than us. We had also worked hard on penalties but we missed two."

Yassine Bounou, Sevilla goalkeeper: "I've had a lot of moments like this and I realised that you have to be very calm to deal with them. My team-mates also give me a lot of calm and security."

Ivan Rakitić, Sevilla midfielder: "In the centre circle, I was saying 'Bounou is going to save two penalties, for sure,' the whole time."

Where our reporters thought the Europa League final was decided

Simon Hart, Sevilla reporter

Sevilla's increased penetration out wide was a factor in their turning the game around. Yes, Roma had big centre-backs, not least the excellent Chris Smalling, who repelled plenty of aerial balls, but the Andalusians found more space outside the Roma midfield as the game progressed and ended the match with 33 crosses from open play – including the one from Jesús Navas which yielded the equaliser.

And then, of course, there was the brilliant Bounou. He has made big penalty saves before – including two in a FIFA World Cup penalty shoot-out against Spain – and Sevilla's Moroccan goalkeeper delivered when it counted once again. Rakitić said he believed Bounou would save a couple of kicks and so it proved. In a final of narrow margins, he had earlier made several important saves, notably at close range from Tammy Abraham after a Roma set play prompted a second-half goalmouth scramble.

Francesco Corda, Roma reporter

Roma gave up their lead too soon. Having been the better team in the first half, they failed to heed the alarm when Rakitić struck the post and were guilty of retreating a little after the break, when Mendilibar's substitutions helped Sevilla dominate. Suso and Erik Lamela came in, making the Spanish team more offensive, and the Giallorossi lacked their usual defensive consistency.

In addition, Jesús Navas on the right and Alex Telles on the left started to push forwards, and the cross that led to Gianluca Mancini's own goal came from a run by the former Manchester City player. Mourinho's team managed to regroup, but the early second-half equaliser gave Sevilla's confidence a rapid boost.

The chances missed by Abraham and Andrea Belotti in the second half also confirmed a running theme from throughout this season – Roma's lack of a killer instinct in attack. The former Chelsea striker and 'Il Gallo' scored 13 goals in all competitions between them, but Dybala – who had several injury issues and missed many games – managed 17 all by himself. The numbers do not tell the whole story, but for much of this season Mourinho's team have lacked one of their key players up front.

As for the shoot-out, while many consider penalties a lottery, they are a combination of technique, composure and experience. And, for various reasons, Mourinho could not send his best takers to the spot. Roma's top specialists are Dybala and Lorenzo Pellegrini, but 'La Joya' went off after 68 minutes, having stayed on the pitch longer than expected, while the captain was replaced at the start of the second period of extra time.

Also missing were Abraham, another valid option, and Nemanja Matić, who was injured. When it came to choosing takers, Mourinho opted for Bryan Cristante, who scored, and two defenders – Mancini and Roger Ibañez – who missed.