Liverpool
and Sevilla are set to clash in the final of the Europa League, after
they eliminated Villarreal and Shakhtar Donetsk respectively on
Thursday night.
The
stakes will be high at St-Jakob Park in Basel later this month, as
both teams have finished outside of their domestic top fours, so the
winner will qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Liverpool
had a difficult task against Villarreal after losing the first leg
1-0 at El Madrigal, but a dominant showing saw them win 3-0 at
Anfield
Jurgen
Klopp sent his team out guns blazing, and they were up one within ten
minutes as Bruno Soriano scored an own goal.
Daniel
Sturridge rewarded his manager’s faith in him by putting the
Merseysiders into the lead on the one-hour mark, while Villarreal’s
hopes of a comeback were dashed when visiting defender Victor Ruiz
was sent off.
Adam
Lallana scored from close range in the 81st minute to send the home
fans into rapture and ensure Liverpool progressed to the final.
It
gives Klopp the chance to win the silver cup in his first season
leading the English club.
Liverpool
will face the reigning champions Sevilla, after the Spaniards made
short work of Shakhtar, winning the second leg 3-1 to record a 5-3
aggregate victory.
The
fate of both teams was on a knife edge following the 2-2 draw in
Ukraine, but Unai Emery’s crew wasted little time in taking the
lead at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, as Kevin Gameiro scored after only
nine minutes.
Skakhtar
forward Eduardo evened the score for the visitors just before
halftime, but Sevilla put in a dominant performance in the second
half.
Goals
from Gameiro and right-back Mariano ensured victory for the La Liga
team, victors of the Europa League for the last two years in a row.
Liverpool
has a proud record in European competitions and will hope to add
another continental crown, while Sevilla can go down in history as
the first team to win the second-tier tournament on three consecutive
occasions.
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