A great Sevilla lived a cruel discount against Juventus. The historic Italian team equalized with their second shot on goal in the last play of a match that the Andalusian team dominated after a great first half and an excellent defensive exercise in the second. The six minutes of extra time had passed and Siebert conceded, however, a corner kick that ended with Gatti’s goal practically under Bono’s sticks. Undoubtedly, the tie left a bitter taste for Sevilla, who competed excellently and deserved the win. Juventus lacked football, but they have the pride that their shield gives them. Thanks to this he tied when nobody expected it. Of course, Sevilla escaped alive from Turin and took an acceptable result for the return next Thursday in a Sánchez Pizjuán that will be bursting.
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Szczesny, Bonucci (Federico Gatti, min. 61), Alex Sandro, Danilo, Fabio Miretti (Federico Chiesa, min. 45), Cuadrado, Filip Kostic (Samuel Iling, min. 45), Rabiot, Manuel Locatelli, Dusan Vlahovic (Milik , min. 61) and Di María (Pogba, min. 69)
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Bono, Loic Bade, Gudelj, Marcos Acuña, Jesús Navas, Rakitic, Fernando, Óliver Torres (Papu Gómez, min. 73), Lucas Ocampos (Montiel, min. 34), Bryan Gil Salvatierra (Lamela, min. 81) and En -Nesyri
goals 0-1 min. 25: En-Nesyri. 1-1 min. 97: Federico Gatti.
Referee daniel siebert
Yellow cards Rabiot (min. 42), Rakitic (min. 71), Manuel Locatelli (min. 76), Bryan Gil Salvatierra (min. 78), Federico Chiesa (min. 79), Loic Bade (min. 82) and Lamela (min. .93)
Sevilla’s first half was excellent, with a great game and efficient positioning on the field, also exerting high pressure on Juventus that did a lot of damage. The second act was something else. Sevilla, however, defended with great order and forced Allegri to take out everything he had on his bench.
Bonucci’s injury, in his 500th game with Juventus, led to the entry of Gatti, who, in the end, achieved a draw that greatly tarnished everything that Sevilla offered on a magnificent stage and against a very substantial rival. Perhaps run down, but with a lot of history and a lot of weight on his shirt. Great match by men like Fernando or Rakitic, veterans who raise the level of this highly competitive Sevilla always in the Europa League.
Just a month ago, these same players who showed up with so much personality and so much football in the Juventus stadium were in the eye of the hurricane. Sevilla was playing relegation to Second. Barely a month later, Mendilibar’s work and the power of the mind in a sport like soccer has transformed a team that was fighting for relegation into a contender to win the Europa League. If we add to this the mystique that this competition has for Sevilla, the result is reflected, for example, in the half hour of fantastic football that the Andalusian team gave in the field of one of the greats in Europe. A team that overcame a hesitant start and that from minute 20 onwards gave Juventus a sovereign review, a squad that was more beautiful than good, without character and with many defensive problems.
Sevilla, superb, well placed, dominating all times of the game at will, warned in a shot from Ocampos only inside the area that went wide. The notice was transformed into high-quality, precise football, with a dagger down the wing like Ocampos and perfect organization on the field. Thus came the first goal. A delight, a song to Luis Aragonés. A counterattack drawn in a spectacular change of game from Óliver Torres to Ocampos, which put it on the penalty spot, where En-Nesyri, of course, made it 0-1. Juventus trembled. Sevilla grew and began to collect one occasion after another. Ocampos himself had it before being touched by his adductor. Then Rakitic and En-Nesyri. Sevilla, to the delight of the 1,500 Sevilla supporters displaced to Turin, drew a great game at half-time after a clash that they dominated at will. As an example, the 12 shots made by the Andalusian team by the three from Juventus.
Allegri changed his bands at halftime. He looked for speed and overflow with Illing-Junior and Chiesa. His team got better, without much fanfare, but he did. Sevilla went back and no longer had the ball with the hierarchy that it exhibited in the first act. However, Mendilibar’s men continued to have control of the match against an opponent who became desperate, with tremendous problems to generate play. Sevilla no longer had an arrival, but a placement and order to stop Juventus. Until Gatti, in the 97th minute, tarnished the great match of the Andalusian team.
In the other semifinal, Roma beat Bayer Leverkusen (1-0). Once again the European showcase showed Mourinho, who a year ago led Roma to victory in the Conference League and now has them one step away from the final in the upper echelon, that of the Europa League. The hallmarks are invariable, those of an armed team that if it catches a glimpse of disorder has the capacity to stop the games, competitive to the maximum in a scene that demands expertise in managing efforts and talents. Roma is a headache, canchera because it also optimizes its resources to the maximum. In the first leg of the semifinal they left behind Bayer Leverkusen, a team much improved since Xabi Alonso arrived last October when they were in the relegation spot in the Bundesliga.
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