Europa League Final 2016: Score, Report and Reaction from Liverpool vs. Sevilla
Sevilla won the UEFA Europa League for the third year in a row on Wednesday as they came from behind to beat Liverpool 3-1 at St Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland, and the club will also compete in next year's UEFA Champions League as a result.
Daniel Sturridge's superb finish gave the Reds a deserved lead at half-time, before Sevilla pulled level through Kevin Gameiro seconds after the restart and triumphed thanks to a brace from captain Coke.
After a largely anonymous first half in which they failed to direct a single shot on target, Sevilla exploded into life in the second as Liverpool collapsed, denying the Reds their ninth European trophy.
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The first sight of goal fell to Liverpool after a slightly slow start, when Emre Can tested goalkeeper David Soria from 25 yards out.
Minutes later, Daniel Carrico acrobatically cleared Sturridge's header off the line as Roberto Firmino closed in, and soon after, the defender was perhaps fortunate not to give away a penalty when the ball struck his arm.
As for Los Nervionenses, what they lacked in chances created they made up for with commitment in midfield, per football journalist Dermot Corrigan:
Sturridge came close once more after latching on to Adam Lallana's pass forward, but Soria was quick off his line to deny him.
Their opponents opted to play far more directly but almost scored a sublime goal through Gameiro, who fired a bicycle kick just wide from a corner.
The Reds took the lead shortly after the half-hour mark through Sturridge, who picked up the ball to the left of the goal and curled a brilliant finish past the helpless Soria with the outside of his left foot .
His strike wowed pundits and fellow professionals alike, including Bleacher Report UK's Jack Lusby and Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann:
Liverpool almost doubled their tally minutes later when Dejan Lovren rose to head home a corner, but his effort was ruled out as Sturridge attempted to stab the header in himself from an offside position.
Half-time could not come quick enough for Sevilla, but manager Unai Emery's words at the break clearly had an impact as the Spanish side grabbed an equaliser just 17 seconds into the second half. Mariano picked up the ball on the right and picked out Gameiro at the back post after gliding past Alberto Moreno, and the Frenchman made no mistake in tucking home his 29th goal of the season.
Gameiro came close to netting again moments later as he advanced menacingly on goal, but the striker was denied by a superb intervention from Kolo Toure. La Liga writer Andrew Gaffney summarised the opening to the half:
Sevilla continued to turn the screw and had another excellent chance fall to Gameiro in space. But the forward scuffed his close-range volley, and Simon Mignolet was able to make an excellent save.
The pressure eventually told when Ever Banega broke forward and Coke latched on to his loose touch and curled it into the bottom corner from the edge of the area with a first-time finish.
In the 70th minute, the Spaniard bagged another after when the ball came to him in space—and an offside position—via a Liverpool player, and he stabbed the ball past Mignolet to give his side a commanding lead.
Corrigan noted the two sides' respective chance in fortunes:
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp rang the changes in the later stages of the match as his side desperately sought a way back into the contest, but they were unable to significantly trouble their resolute opponents.
Gaffney reflected on the remarkable success of Spanish sides in European competition in recent years:
Indeed, Sevilla's dominance of the Europa League continued unabated here, and their task now will be to make a bigger splash in the Champions League, where they exited at the group stage last season.
As for Liverpool, Klopp has now lost five successive cup finals, which could be something of a concern should the German guide them to another in the years to come.
However, in reaching two finals in Klopp's first season in charge, the Reds have shown a great deal of improvement under him, and that only looks set to continue as he prepares for a summer of transfer activity and a season free from European distraction.
Post-Match Reaction
Reds boss Klopp was naturally disappointed with the defeat but vowed that his side would improve next season, per This Is Anfield:
"The first goal had an influence on our game. In this moment we lost faith in our style of play. We changed from passing simple and quick to slow and complicated. First half was OK, we deserved the 1-0. Sevilla played a lot of long balls to avoid our pressing game. We are disappointed, we are frustrated 100 per cent.
Tomorrow, or a week, we will see it a little bit more clear, we'll use this experience. We have no international tournament next year, no games Wednesday, we have time to train, we will come back stronger.
"
Meanwhile, counterpart Emery was delighted and also reserved praise for Liverpool, per the UEFA Europa League:
He added:
"Spanish teams compete passionately. We are able to read the game at the highest level. We love this competition. We want to win it so much. It's our competition.
"
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