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BUSINESS NEWS - Assessing who will win the UEFA Europa League final? After months of games, stunning goals, moments of brilliance, flying saves and fiery flashpoints, we are finally at the last dance in the 2022/23 UEFA Europa League campaign.
Once seen as the less-loved brother of the UEFA Champions League, the Europa League has quickly become a big part of the lives of major football fans who will sit back and watch some of the best teams in Europe going head-to-head.
With some top talent and clubs falling from the Champions League into the Europa League, it has not been odd to see teams like Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund plying their trade on Thursdays recently.
Despite the pair being among the form sides in Europe, neither will be playing in the final. Instead, we are left with Jose Mourinho’s Roma and La Liga giants Sevilla. Most football tipsters are predicting another Sevilla trophy but which side will stand victorious? Here we assess the chances of the respective teams.
Sevilla
Sevilla’s fans have really felt the highs and lows of football this season. In La Liga, they had genuine concerns that they would be relegated this season, with their performances not good enough.
Their Champions League campaign saw them finish in third with a single win, meaning they were relegated to the Europa League. Perhaps being sent into Europe’s second biggest competition was the best thing that could have happened to them.
Sevilla now sit in ninth place in La Liga, 13 points clear of Valladolid and the relegation zone. With three games to go, they are only two points away from a Europa Conference League spot.
Alongside their rejuvenation in Spain, they have found a way to beat some top European talent.
A 3-2 aggregate win over PSV was followed soon after by a stunning 5-2 thumping of Manchester United. They then stunned Juventus in a 3-2 win that required extra-time to see them move into the final two.
Sevilla seem to have saved their best for the return fixture each time, with a supreme 3-0 win over United in Spain preceding a brilliant 2-1 win over Juve at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
The one worry for Sevilla is that there is no return-leg in Spain for them to bring the furore and passion of their home crowd into the final. With no second chances, can the Spanish side continue to dominate the Europa League and win it yet again?
If they hit the ground running and score first, Roma could struggle to deal with the intensity that the La Liga side bring. However, if they go behind, ill-discipline could come into play, which may ultimately cost them.
Roma
The Italian side currently sit in sixth place in Serie A, with four points between themselves and a top-four finish and a place in the Champions League. With only two games of the season left to come, Roma look like they are going to miss out on a finish in the top-places this season.
This makes winning the Europa League even more important.
While Roma themselves are not a major name like Juventus, they are a side that have high expectations, and see themselves as Champions League worthy. Their performances across the Europa League semi-finals have definitely been worthy of a top side.
They were able to beat Bayer Leverkusen in a strong defensive display as they notched a 1-0 win at home in the first-leg. In the return, Roma soaked up all of the pressure and kept their hosts goalless in a show of intense strength at the back. Despite Leverkusen having 23 total shots and 72% of the ball, they could not break through.
The idea that Jose Mourinho is a defensive manager that gets his teams through on being great at the back is one he has never shaken. Although, saying that, Mourinho is a serial winner, proven to get results and, more importantly, silverware.
Saying they are just a defensive unit would be a major insult to Roma. In the second-leg of their quarter-final clash with Feyenoord, Roma had 33 total shots and scored four goals.
While the likes of Paulo Dybala and Stephan El Shaarawy may not be uttered in the same breath as Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, they still score goals and have big impacts on games.
When you can couple players that score goals and want to attack the opposition with a manager and team that know the value of defending well, you have a recipe for success.
Sevilla constitute a threat that have quite literally ‘been there and done that’, but so does Mourinho. The tactical master and his side come into the Europa League final having won the Europa Conference League final last year. It seems like a natural step for the Italians to win this showpiece event and take their place in the Champions League next term.
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