Sevilla beat Juventus in the semi-final second leg in extra time to enter their seventh Europa League final.
Six-time winners Sevilla won Juventus 2-1 in a pulsating match on Thursday at the Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, securing a 3-2 aggregate victory, after both ended their first leg in a 1-1 draw.
They face then AS Roma in the final in Budapest on May 31, after Jose Mourinho’s side drew 0-0 at Bayer Leverkusen to secure a 1-0 aggregate victory in their semifinal.
Dusan Vlahovic scored the first goal in the 65th minute but Suso equalized 6 minutes later with a long-range shot, forcing the match to play an extra time. Substitute Erik Lamela scored with a header five minutes into extra time.
Sitting at the bottom half of LaLiga for a large part of a season in which two managers were fired, Sevilla rediscovered their strength after exiting the Champions League and beating PSV Eindhoven, Fenerbahce, and Manchester United before downing Juve.
“This is madness, incredible, it’s time to enjoy this amazing moment. The fans have been incredible and they deserve everything. We have shown the courage we have inside of us to recover after going through some rough months,” Sevilla captain Jesus Navas said.
“The courage of the fans has carried us and we are here again in another European final. It’s been my team since I was a kid, living every game with so much passion. It’s our turn to enjoy.”
Juve goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was the best player in the match which was largely dominated by Sevilla, making several sharp saves including a one-handed stop to keep out Navas’ diving header from close range.
We should not also forget Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic, who scored the first goal in the 65th minute, only three minutes after coming off the bench, evading defenders Nemanja Gudelj and Loic Bade.
The only drawback for Sevilla, after their many missed chances, was that Marcos Acuna was given a second yellow card and sent off for wasting time in the extra time, and will miss the Budapest final.