Sevilla beat Roma 4-1 on penalties to win the Europa League at the Puskas Arena. Sevilla sealed victory through Gonzalo Montiel's winning penalty.
It secured a seventh Europa League title for Sevilla, continuing their 100% record.
The match ebbed and flowed for the opening third of the match, but, with 35 minutes on the clock, Paulo Dybala sent the travelling Roma fans into bedlam.
The forward latched onto a precise through-ball from Gianluca Mancini, before slotting a composed effort past the goalkeeper. Roma narrowly led 1-0 at half-time in Budapest.
Roma's efforts to hold out a 1-0 lead failed early on in the second half. Mancini, who provided the assist for the opening goal, turned from hero to villain to divert Jesus Navas' cross into his own net.
The second half provided controversy at both ends of the pitch. Sevilla had a penalty decision overturned by VAR, before Roma had their own penalty appeal waved away, despite it hitting the arm of a defender. The match headed into extra time, despite a dominant performance from Sevilla in the second half.
The first period of extra time epitomised the effort levels of both teams, with neither side coming close to taking the lead. The second period was almost a carbon copy of the first. Neither side threatened the opposition's goal, with fatigue and injury becoming a recurring issue. With the match level, it headed to penalties.
In the shoot-out, Sevilla scored all four penalties to win 4-1, with Montiel scoring the winning penalty. He missed his initial effort, but was allowed to retake due to the goalkeeper's positioning.
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Story of the Match
Just four players stayed in the starting lineup from Sevilla's 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid. Yassine Bounou, Nemanja Gudelj, Ivan Rakitic, and Bryan Gil featured once again. For Roma, it was a similar story. Chris Smalling was the only player to start against Fiorentina at the weekend to also start tonight. However, Dybala was fit enough to start for the Italian giants, despite recent injury woes.
The game was billed as the clash of the giants beforehand. Jose Mourinho had never lost a European final pre-match, whilst Sevilla had won all Europa League finals they had taken part in. The Puskas Arena was a cacophony of noise at kick-off. Sevilla and Roma fans had travelled in their numbers to support their sides.
It was Roma who had the first chance of the match early on. Zeki Celik played a low ball across the pitch, allowing Leanardo Spinazzola to fire a powerful effort towards Bounou. However, his effort from the edge of the box was firmly saved by the Moroccan. Mourinho, as the traditionally animated figure he is, showed his frustration on the bench as his side wasted a golden chance.
The match ebbed and flowed for the opening 25 minutes. Spurred on by the buoyant crowd, both teams looked to strike first, yet neither looked dangerous in the final third.
Roma aimed to utilise the strength and power of Tammy Abraham as a target man in the opening half, but they failed to provide support for him either out wide or centrally early on.
Dybala strikes first
Roma claimed for a penalty with 33 minutes on the clock after a flailing kick from Gudelj caught Abraham. After a lengthy VAR check, play was waved on by Anthony Taylor.
However, frustrations did not last long for Roma; minutes later, they took the lead through Dybala. The Argentinan playmaker latched onto a precise through-ball from Mancini, before slotting a composed, low effort past Bounou. The Puskas Arena erupted with a chorus of noise from the travelling Italian fans!
In recent years, teams managed by Mourinho have struggled to control the match when they take a 1-0 lead. Yet, that did not seem to be the case for the remainder of the first half in Budapest, with Roma continuing to try and threaten in the final third.
With seconds remaining until half-time, Rakitic struck the base of the post with a powerful, low effort from 25 yards. The Croatian has a reputation for performing in European finals, but could not quite deliver on the opportunity. As the half-time whistle blew, Roma led 1-0, but they knew they would have to be at their best in the second half to take the trophy home.
Erik Lamela and Suso replaced Gil and Oliver Torres respectively at the start of the second half for Sevilla, with Jose Luis Mendilibar looking to add a new dynamic to the match.
Sevilla started the second half as they meant to go on. With Mourinho's side perfectly happy to sit back, it provided more opportunities for the Spanish giants. Alex Telles tried an audacious effort in the opening minutes, but it flew wildly over the bar.
Their efforts paid off with 55 minutes on the clock through a fortune of luck. Mancini guided Jesus Navas' cross into his own net from within the six-yard box to send the Sevilla faithful into raptures.
Now it seemed Sevilla were the more likely victors, with the atmosphere, and the match, quickly changing course.
Roma needed to silence the travelling Sevilla faithful; they had the perfect opportunity to do so with 66 minutes on the clock. From a wide free-kick, a scramble ensued in the six-yard box, before it eventually fell to Roger Ibanez. It fell perfectly for him, but the defender could only fire the golden chance wide of the goal.
Sevilla thought they had won a penalty with 15 minutes remaining when Lucas Ocampos went down after a reckless challenge from Ibanez. However, under closer inspection, VAR chose to overturn the on-field decision, suggesting the Brazilian made contact with the ball beforehand.
The Italian side then had their opportunity to appeal for a penalty that was swiftly waved away. Nemanja Matic's cross hit the arm of a Sevilla defender, but VAR decided to stick with Taylor's original decision, much to the anger of the Roma fans. The match's tempo slowed down at the end of the second half, seeing the Europa League final head to extra time.
Extra time
With Sevilla and Roma on weary legs, both sides failed to dominate the first period of extra time. The match ebbed and flowed, but neither came close to threatening in the final third.
The second period was a similar story. Despite the crowd continuing their phenomenal support, the energy did not transfer onto the pitch. Several Roma players went down injured with fatigue, highlighting the effort they had made to defend valiantly. It headed to penalties.
In the shoot-out, Sevilla scored their opening two, before Mancini missed Roma's second penalty. Rakitic extended Sevilla's lead, before Roma missed their third penalty. It gave Montiel the chance to win it for Sevilla and he did - despite missing his first effort, he was given the chance to retake due to the goalkeeper's position.
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Player of the match - Jesus Navas
Despite being substituted in the first period of extra time, the veteran was key to Sevilla's second half comeback.
The former Manchester City player earnt the assist for Sevilla's equaliser, whilst also contributing heavily to keeping Roma's attack shutdown for the majority of the match.