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Dnipro 2-3 Sevilla: Five talking points from the Europa League final

Sevilla players celebrate victory after the UEFA Europa League Final match against FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk

Carlos Bacca scored twice as Sevilla came from behind to retain the Europa League trophy with a 3-2 victory over Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in Warsaw.

Nikola Kalinic had given the Ukrainian underdogs the lead inside seven minutes but two goals in three first-half minutes from Grzegorz Krychowiak and Bacca gave Unai Emery’s side the lead.

Ruslan Rotan levelled things up against the run of play just before half-time but after further heavy pressure Bacca drilled home the winner with the outside of his left boot.

The win is Sevilla’s fourth in a decade in the competition and their extraordinary knack for tasting Europa League glory is among the talking points from a thrilling game…

Aleix Vidal moves away from Ruslan Rotan
Image: Ruslan Rotan (right) had briefly levelled things up for Dnipro in Warsaw

Quality counts in the end

Sevilla’s two previous Europa League triumphs had come after a penalty shoot-out so perhaps it should have come as little surprise that the Spanish side’s victory over the little-fancied Ukrainians was far from straightforward. Emery’s men dominated possession throughout – enjoying 62 per cent of the ball – but the likes of Yevhen Konoplyanka provided a real threat on the counter-attack. Even so, few could argue with the result as Bacca provided the decisive firepower for Sevilla.

Carlos Bacca of Sevilla celebrates scoring his team's second goal
Image: Carlos Bacca was the hero for Sevilla as he scored twice in a 3-2 win

More European glory for Sevilla

While no team has defended the Champions League trophy since 1990, the Europa League version has been defended twice already since the turn of the century. Both times it was Sevilla’s name that went on it. They have become experts at this competition and their appetite for it was obvious well before the party kicked off in the Polish capital.

Coke of Sevilla celebrates victory with Stephane Mbia after the UEFA Europa League Final match against FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
Image: Sevilla were celebrating once again as they saw off Dnipro in Warsaw

Huge Champions League prize

Sevilla will now have to enter through the Champions League backdoor if they are to make it three in a row because this season’s Europa League comes with the added prize of a place among the big boys for next year’s tournament. It’s perhaps appropriate that the team to have done more than any other for Europe’s secondary competition should reap the dividends of the rule change.

Sevilla fans celebrate victory after the UEFA Europa League Final match against FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
Image: Sevilla supporters are in no doubt about what the Europa League means to them

Spanish domination continues

It’s not so long ago that England topped the UEFA club coefficient but no country is close to Spain now. In fact, England and Germany are currently closer in points to fifth-place Portugal than the leaders. Spain has now provided seven of the last 12 Europa League winners and that could become five of the last 10 Champions League winners if Barcelona win in Berlin next week. There is little sign of it changing – next season there will be five La Liga teams in the Champions League.

Demba Ba celebrates Besiktas' penalty victory
Image: Liverpool endured a night to regret against Demba Ba and Besiktas

Did English clubs miss a trick?

Harry Kane was playing for Tottenham in a near empty stadium in Malaysia when he might have been getting the full UEFA treatment in Warsaw. Brendan Rodgers has difficult questions to answer that might have been avoided if he’d prioritised finished the job against Besiktas. It’s easy to regard it as a Thursday night distraction when the Premier League is in full flow but while Sevilla will now be in the Champions League group stage, Spurs and Liverpool get do it all over again. One look at the celebrating supporters in Warsaw reveals which club got their priorities right.

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