There was to be no repeat of the “Miracle of Istanbul” in Basel. Liverpool were comprehensively beaten as they went down to a Sevilla side that now celebrate a record 3rd consecutive Europa League title, the first ever team to achieve such a feat.
Daniel Sturridge opened the scoring in the 35th minute with an absolute beauty of a goal. Phillipe Coutinho picked out Sturridge on the edge of the area and the Englishman smacked it beyond Sevilla goalkeeper David Soria with the outside of his left foot. Dejan Lovren headed home 4 minutes later, only to have his goal ruled out for offiside as Liverpool dominated the early exchanges.
It was a game of two halves however, and Sevilla ran the show in the 45 minutes that mattered the most.
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Seconds after half-time, Kevin Gameiro capped off a fine team move by scoring his 29th goal of the season to equalize, before captain Coke sealed a fabulous comeback with goals in the 64th and 70th minute.
The win means Sevilla will be playing Champions League football next season while Liverpool will be a notable absentee from Europe after finishing 8th in the Barclays Premier League.