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Sevilla take the penalty prize as Guttmann's 'curse' does for Benfica Sevilla take the penalty prize as Guttmann's 'curse' does for Benfica
(35 minutes later)
Bela Guttmann's curse struck again. Benfica battered Sevilla for the majority of the 120 minutes but they could not score and after Oscar Cardozo and Rodrigo had their penalties saved, Sevilla won their third Europa League final in eight seasons and Benfica's run without a European trophy stretched to 52 years. Bela Guttmann's curse struck again. Benfica put Sevilla under pressure for the majority of the 120 minutes but they could not score and as Oscar Cardozo and Rodrigo had their penalties saved in the shoot-out, Sevilla won their third Europa League final in eight seasons. For Benfica there was yet more gloom with a trophy in sight, as their run without European success stretched to 52 years.
The story has it that Guttmann, the great Hungarian coach, cursed the club in 1962 when, having led the club to a second successive European Cup, he was denied a bonus by the board. He resigned and, it is said, as he stormed out of his meeting with directors, vowed the club would not win another European title in 100 years. Benfica have played in eight finals since and lost them all. The story has it that Guttmann, the great Hungarian coach, cursed the club in 1962 when having led the club to a second successive European Cup, he was denied a bonus by the board. He resigned and, it is said, as he stormed out of his meeting with directors, vowed the club would not win another European title in 100 years. Benfica have played in eight finals since and lost them all.
Miralem Sulejmani's bursts from a deep position on the right – he had a sort of shuttling role that transformed Benfica's 4-4-2 into a lop-sided 4-3-3 – drew bookings for Federico Fazio and Alberto Moreno in the first quarter of an hour, the former slightly unfortunately for a high foot, the latter for a clattering late foul. That second challenge flipped the Serb winger into the air and he landed awkwardly on a shoulder, an injury that forced him off after 25 minutes. Already without Enzo Perez, Lazar Markovic and Eduardo Salvio because of suspension, Benfica's resources suddenly looked rather stretched. Last night the sense was that, as chance after chance went begging, their players came to feel that they would never score, that the curse became real. "Sevilla started off better than Benfica," Jorge Jesus, the Benfica manager, said, "but, as the match progressed Benfica improved, showed it was the better team, more of a team and in the second half showed its power, had a number of opportunities to score, wasn't able to and then in extra-time was the team that played more. But the team that believed in the penalties was Sevilla and Sevilla ended up winning.
Still, it was they who created the better chances in the first half. Fazio, in particular, looked uncertain, allowing Rodrigo to sashay past him before hitting his shot rather too close to Beto after 39 minutes and then getting in a terrible muddle with Nicolas Pareja and gifting possession to Nicolás Gaitán. The midfielder ran on but never quite got a bouncing ball under control and although he poked it past Beto under pressure from his fellow Argentinian, it drifted wide, leaving him appealing in vain for a penalty. "Today in the game the best team did not win. The Benfica players should be congratulated. There's nothing I can criticise."
The Uruguayan full-back Maxi Pereira drew a save from Beto with a close-range header and Ezequiel Garay might had turned the ball in at the back post after the keeper had spilled a deep free-kick; seeming surprised the ball had reached him, the centre-back rather stabbed at his shot and it was hacked away. Ezequiel Garay could not react quickly enough as Beto spilled a free-kick at his feet, Rodrigo had a shot saved by Beto after sashaying by Federico Fazio, Nicolás Gaitán poked a shot just wide, Lima had an effort tipped over by Beto, then Garay put two other chances over. Twice in the space of a few seconds early in the second half Nicolas Pareja blocked goal-bound shots, the first from Lima, the second from Rodrigo.
Sevilla's shakiness continued after the interval. Lima, finding space on the left of the box three minutes into the second half, seemed to have taken the ball too wide with his first touch but he beat Beto with a ferocious shot only for Pareja to get back to chip the ball to safety. By the time it was returned to the middle, Pareja has recovered to get in the way of Rodrigo's effort. Pareja had a decisive game. It might not have been calm or controlled defending but again and again he and Federico Fazio, the other centre-back, got in the way, putting their bodies on the line, making last-gasp challenges. In front of them Ivan Rakitic, the elegant playmaker and captain, was superb, passing calmly and intelligently.
For Benfica, the sense was the chances only made things worse. They had seen this before, notably against Chelsea last season when they had much the better of the final before succumbing to Branislav Ivanovic's last-minute winner. Rakitic alluded to "a difficult season" but that is to understate it: given the turmoil at the club, their financial situation and the huge turnover of personnel, this was a remarkable achievement.
Pareja's two blocks seemed to induce neurosis and suddenly Sevilla looked genuinely threatening, Ivan Rakitic, the elegant Croatian playmaker, laid in José Antonio Reyes with a dinked through ball and after the former Arsenal man had put that chance wide, he sidefooted another opportunity straight at Jan Oblak. "I think that the best team did win," said the Sevilla coach Unai Emery. "I think the result was fair and we deserved to win this. We fought until the end. It's a very special evening for all our fans.
Everything Benfica did betrayed their anxiety. Pereira, advancing on the right and gliding into the area after a deft first touch, squared for Lim, but he missed his kick, tripped by the demons of Benfica's drought rather than by Pareja as he steamed across to cover. It was all too hurried, too frantic. "This competition is a competition that our fans really like because we've won it before. We've worked really hard because we thought we had the responsibility to win, but of course to win sometimes you have to suffer, but we've have learnt to suffer and that's why we reached the final today. We suffered against Betis, against Porto and against Valencia. We know how to suffer and that's why we won."
Where in the first half they had tried to pass their way through and around Sevilla's holding pair of Stéphane Mbia and Daniel Carrico – on loan from QPR and Reading respectively, a bizarre dash of Championship blue and white in a European final – they went more and more direct. The momentum tipped their way again. Lima had a dipping effort palmed over by Beto. Garay headed just over with the keeper out of the picture, and then smacked a falling volley over amid some injury-time pinball. But still it would not come and so with Benfica fearing another failure at the last, the game went into an additional period. For Benfica the sense was the chances only made things worse: they were not a sign of being in control, but of the fact that their fate was out of their control. They had seen this before, notably against Chelsea last season when they had much the better of the final before succumbing to Branislav Ivanovic's last-minute winner. Everything Benfica did betrayed their anxiety. Pereira, advancing in the right and gliding into the box after a deft first touch, squared for Lima but he missed his kick, tripped by the demons of Benfica's drought rather than by Pareja as he steamed across to cover.
In extra-time, Sevilla's Carlos Bacca, hitting the space behind Benfica as they committed men forward, broke. Sevilla's manager, Unai Emery, red elbow patches darting upwards in anticipation of glory, leapt from his bench, but the Colombian's shot flew just wide. And so it was left to penalties to uphold Guttmann's curse. It was all too hurried, too frantic. Where in the first half they'd tried to pass their way through and around Sevilla's holding midfield pair of Stephane Mbia and Daniel Carrico – on loan from QPR and Reading respectively, a bizarre dash of Championship blue and white in a European final – they went more and more direct. Chances were snatched at, opportunities wasted.
And so it was left to penalties and Beto to uphold Guttmann's curse.