Despite a magnificent performance from Romelu Lukaku who smashed several records, it was scant consolation as gritty Sevilla claimed a record-extending sixth Europa League crown in just 14 years.
Romelu Lukaku scored at both ends during Inter Milan's dramatic 3-2 defeat to Sevilla in the UEFA Europa League final on Friday (August 21).
After converting his penalty in the 5th minute of the match to give Inter an early 1-0 lead, the Belgian forward found himself on the wrong end of the Sevilla goal.
In the dying ember of the match, the Spanish side won a corner with the scored tied at 2-2. Brazilian center back Diego Carlos saw the ball bounce in front of him and went for an outrageous overhead kick!
While he did connect with the ball decently, it was Lukaku's final touch at the second post which took the ball into the back of Handanovic's net in the 75th minute of the match.
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Despite a magnificent performance from Romelu Lukaku who smashed several records, it was scant consolation as gritty Sevilla claimed a record-extending sixth Europa League crown in just 14 years.
As his teammates made up for the lack of noise in the Cologne Stadium -- free of fans because of the COVID-19 pandemic -- with ecstatic celebrations, tearful Sevilla captain Jesus Navas declared: "This squad deserves it. We fought all year, experienced the difficult situation, like everyone, tried to get through day by day. The fans deserve it, those who love football like we do and we have to enjoy it," he added.
Inter missed their best chance of forcing extra time when Jules Kounde cleared the ball of his line after a goalmouth scramble and Sevilla held on in the dying minutes under intense Inter pressure. It was a joyful end of the season for their coach Julen Lopetegui, who won his first trophy as coach at senior level after a torrid period which saw him sacked by Spain and Real Madrid.
Yet Inter’s Handanovic could only rue their failure to win a first trophy since 2011. "We are very disappointed but we have to move on," Slovenian Handanovic said. "We just hope to play many other important games like this in the future. The foundations are there."
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