UEFA Cup Sevilla Defeat Espanyol
Holders Retain Trophy in Penalty Shoot-out in Hampden Park Final
Sevilla defeated Espanyol to retain the UEFA Cup after a penalty shoot-out victory after extra time in the Final at Hampden Park, Glasgow with Goalkeeper Palop the hero.
Sevilla, the holders, retained the UEFA Cup at Hampden Park, Glasgow defeating Spanish rivals, Espanyol on penalties after extra time. It is Sevilla’s second success in the competition, having beaten Middlesbrough in last year’s Final while Espanyol have suffered their second UEFA Cup Final heartbreak with another defeat in a penalty shoot-out. In their only previous European Final they lost to Bayer Leverkusen on penalties after two legs.
Sevilla who are third in the Spanish Primera Liga and in the Spanish Cup Final, were favourites to win the trophy but Espanyol made them work hard for their victory. In their League encounters during the season, both sides had won once in close games. Espanyol who came into the Final undefeated in this season’s UEFA Cup competition found themselves a goal down after eighteen minutes. Adriano gave Sevilla the lead after a quick break following a long throw from goalkeeper Palop but Espanol levelled the score ten minutes later when Alberto Riera’s shot was deflected.
Andres Palop - Goalkeeping Hero
In an exciting game Palop saved Sevilla with an important stop from Riera but then they gained an advantage when Espanyol’s Moises Hurtado was sent off for two yellow cards with twenty minutes remaining. However, the ten men of Espanyol battled gamely and took the match in to extra time.
Mounting pressure resulted in the former West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur striker, Fredi Kanoute restoring Sevilla’s lead at the end of the first period of extra time.
All seemed lost for Espanyol but they were not to be outdone and with five minutes remaining, against all the odds, they equalised through Jonatas.
Penalty Shoot-out Victory
The game went to a penalty shoot-out and Sevilla’s players held their nerve. The Sevilla goalkeeper who earlier in the season had played such a vital part in securing his side’s place in the quarter-final of the UEFA Cup by scoring an equalising goal in added time of normal time against Shakhtar Donetsk to take them into extra time and subsequent victory, was the hero of Hampden Park in a more conventional goalkeeping way.
Having made important saves through the game, Andres Palop set Sevilla up for their victory by saving three Espanyol penalties from Luis Garcia, Jonatas and Marc Torrejon. Sevilla scored penalties through Kanoute, Dragutinovic and Puerta to win the trophy 3-1 on penalties.
Sevilla are only the second team to retain the UEFA Cup following the standard set by their Spanish counterparts, Real Madrid.
Search for more Success
Now Sevilla can concentrate on closing the two point gap that exists between them and Real Madrid and Barcelona at the top of the Spanish league. Barcelona are in first place by virtue of a better goal difference. All three clubs have four games remaining.
