Football, so wonderful, raised Sevilla in its most beloved competition. The six-time Europa League champions ate a world soccer giant, Manchester United, in a huge game, to fairly sneak into the semi-finals of the tournament. It will be the seventh time for a team that overcame a discreet season with a great game on a historic and memorable night, which its fans thoroughly enjoyed. United, one of the rich in world football, was overwhelmed by a Sevilla side that had the best game of the season. A waste of intensity, football, pressure and heart to get past United, as presumably good as indolent.
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Bono, Loic Bade, Marcos Acuña (Alex Telles, min. 84), Marcao (Suso, min. 28), Jesús Navas, Rakitic, Fernando, Lamela (Bryan Gil Salvatierra, min. 80), Gudelj, Lucas Ocampos and En- nesyri
0
De Gea, Harry Maguire, Nilsson-Lindelöf, Wan-Bissaka (Shaw, min. 45), Diogo Dalot, M. Sabitzer (Fred, min. 68), Jadon Sancho (Rashford, min. 45), Casemiro, Eriksen (Anthony Elanga, min. 86), Antony and Anthony Martial (Wouter Weghorst, min. 53)
goals 1-0 min. 7: En-Nesyri. 2-0 min. 46: Loic Bade. 3-0 min. 81: En-Nesyri.
Referee Artur Manuel Soares Dias
Yellow cards Casemiro (min. 55), Antony (min. 59), Bono (min. 72) and Shaw (min. 92)
The English had previously eliminated Barcelona and Betis. They could not with the heart of this Sevilla rehabilitated by a humble technician, José Luis Mendilibar, who also lived his most glorious day. A Seville that reminded one of the best European nights to write another brilliant page in his idyll with the competition in which his mystique grows to unsuspected limits. Sevilla, huge, finally enjoyed this course. And let it continue. In the semifinals, nothing more and nothing less awaits him than Juventus. And.
A whole encyclopedia could be written around Sevilla’s relationship with the Europa League. Like Madrid in the Champions League, the Andalusian team flourishes every April offering dazzling matches in the competition of which they are six times champions, more than anyone else. And Nervión, his people, smell the signs like nobody else. That is why he sang at the door of Antonio Puerta’s house, near the stadium, hero of the 2006 and 2007 titles. And that Nervión atmosphere is transmitted to the players. He is the spirit of Gate, that transforms the pores of the skin of each fan and of the players who wear the Sevilla shirt. For this reason, and beyond what happened at the end of the tie, when Nervión and his people conspire, anything can happen. A symbiosis that surpasses any football debate, since a galaxy separates Sevilla from United in football, but…
The first half of Sevilla was exquisite. A team hungry for glory that beat an English giant from start to finish who, despite their absences, presented a great starting XI against the Andalusian team. Sevilla, intense and very brave, put suffocating pressure on a United who couldn’t read the game. After eight minutes, Maguire, the English captain, to whom his own fans chanted against him, lost a ball to Lamela’s harassment. The ball reached En-Nesyri, who beat De Gea with a soft shot, beaten since the Moroccan international entered the area with too much advantage.
Pizjuán exploded, decked out in white, enjoying Fernando’s cunning, Ocampos’s power and the sense that Rakitic gave to the game. United, touched, could not stop the barrage of play from a new, youthful Sevilla, with a surprising vitality compared to what they had shown throughout the season. With Eriksen out of focus, only Casemiro, thanks to his great skill, kept United on its feet. At Sevilla, everything was good news, except for Marcao’s injury, replaced after 27 minutes by Suso. Gudelj went on defense and Rakitic set out to play as a pivot.
Sevilla even improved, being far superior to the English team. At 40 minutes, Ocampos scored the second goal, but Acuña was slightly ahead and the VAR disallowed the goal. Casemiro still took a great shot from Rakitic that slipped through. Sevilla, owner and lord, arrived very much alive in the second half. Ten Hag brought Rashford onto the field, not caring that his star was not fully recovered from his injury. He met another Sevilla goal in his first approach to De Gea’s goal. A very well taken corner kick by Rakitic —his match was memorable— was finished off by Badé with his shoulder to slip into the Spanish goalkeeper’s net. Nervión burst with happiness. Badé, who had scored in Valencia in the League, was doing it again now in the quarterfinals of the Europa League.
Sevilla felt secure with the 2-0 lead, without lowering their intensity one iota to navigate without excessive shocks in search of the end of the match. Ten Hag, pulling his checkbook, brought in Weghorst and Fred. He did not care, Sevilla continued to do their thing, wasting energy and taking advantage of the gifts of a deranged rival. De Gea did one of his own and failed to control a ball. The ball remained dead for En-Nesyri, who scored the third goal to certify Sevilla’s fantastic pass to the semifinals of their competition. It will be the seventh in its history. He always reached the final and ended up winning it. This is how this team moves when it smells glory. Tears of emotion and joy flooded the Sánchez Pizjuán.
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