Romelu Lukaku scores for both sides as Sevilla wins a record sixth UEFA Europa League title on Friday night.
Lukaku deflected an overhead-kick by Diego Carlos into his net in the 74th-minute to give Sevilla the winner in a back-and-forth affair.
Sevilla FC has now won the Europa League in four of the last seven seasons and the sixth time in six appearances, breaking their record set in the competition.
The game was quickly off to a flyer as after Inter opened the scoring just three minutes from the opening. Inter Milan won a third-minute penalty when hitman Romelu Lukaku was brought down by Sevilla defender Diego Carlos in the penalty area.
Carlos, who could have been sent-off, was fortunate not to see red after he was the last man before the foul.
Lukaku calmly drilled the resulting penalty into the bottom-left corner to give Inter the lead.
This lead lasted just seven minutes before Luuk de Jong restored parity with a diving header from a whipped-in cross by full-back Jesus Navas.
De Jong soon put Sevilla one by one in the 33rd-minute, after guiding his header into the back of the net from a Sevilla free-kick.
He became the first player to score two headers in a Europa League final.
Inter immediately responded with a leveler, and this time, it was defender Diego Godin who got on the scoresheet.
The Uruguayan center-back pulled the leveler, scoring a header to end an entertaining and goal-filled first-half.
Finally, the winner came in the 74th minute when Lukaku put the ball into his net.
Sevilla defender Diego Carlos scores the clincher with a powered in a bicycle-kick which hit Lukaku on its way in. The Belgian who was in front of the Inter goal attempted to keep the ball out, but only guided the ball past Samir Handanovič.
Captain Jesus Navas — who has now won the famous competition for the third time with the Spanish outfit— lifted the trophy as the Sevilla players celebrated the win.
Head coach Julen Lopetegui revealed he was delighted to win a trophy with Sevilla after he was fired back in 2018, barely three months in charge of Real Madrid.
Lopetegui said: “It was a very emotional game but in the second half we controlled the game a bit better we dug in.”
While the Sevilla head coach rejoiced, Antonio Conte revealed that Sevilla should have seen a red card for the Lukaku incident.
“If you win the penalty and it’s a red card, if indeed it was a red card, then ultimately the match would have been a lot less tough,” Conte said while speaking after the match
He added, “The referee made a decision in the end. That’s the way he read this decision and there’s also VAR, but we know VAR is used differently in every different country.”
The Inter Milan boss later revealed that he was unsure about his future with the Nerazzurri.
“We’re going to meet next week with the club and we’ll decide about my future. I’m not sure that I’ll be the Inter manager next season, we’ll decide together. Inter will plan the future with or without me.”
This loss now extends Inter’s wait for a European trophy since 2010 when they lifted the UEFA Champions League with Jose Mourinho at the helm.
