Sevilla were crowned UEFA Europa League champions for a seventh time after beating Roma 4-1 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in extra-time on Wednesday evening.
Roma were boosted by Paulo Dybala recovering from ankle injury, as he joined Tammy Abraham upfront. Six-time record winners of the tournament, Sevilla, were without Marcos Acuna who was suspended, as Moroccan forward Youssef En-Nesyri led their attack.
Giallorossi had the first opening on 11 minutes after Leonardo Spinazzola received a cut-back from Zeki Celik unmarked in the box but his shot was smothered by goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
The game became tightly contested after that and Roma capitalized on a defensive lapse from Sevilla ten minutes before the half-time break after Dybala raced through on goal from a quick counter-attack and found the bottom corner with a low drive.
Jose Luis Mendilibar's charges were fired up after that and Ivan Rakitic was unfortunate not to equalise on the stroke of half-time with a low travelling rocket that cannoned off the bottom post.
The Spanish side continued to attack with pace from the break and finally got the equaliser ten minutes into the second stanza after Gianluca Mancini deflected Jesus Navas' cross into his own net.
As the game opened up, Abraham should have restored the lead for Jose Mourinho's troops on 67 minutes after he connected with a cross at the near post but his flicked shot was saved by Bounou, who quickly closed the angle.
Mourinho needed a bit more protection in midfield after that as Dybala could not continue and he was replaced by Georginio Wijnaldum and with 15 minutes left, Abraham also walked off the pitch gingerly and he was replaced by Andrea Belotti up top.
Sevilla thought they had won a penalty after the referee pointed to the spot for a challenge that brought down Lucas Ocampos. However, after reviewing the incident on the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) monitor, the referee reversed his original decision.
Sevilla had the momentum in the dying minutes as they threatened to snatch the winner but they were not clinical and the game went to extra-time after a 1-1 draw in regulation time.
The sides showed signs of tiredness in the early stages of extra-time, as they cancelled each other out back and forth.
Half-way through extra-time, Mourinho changed the shape of his defence, in a low block, as Diego Llorente replaced Leonardo Spinazzola and Stephan El Shaarawy came on for fresh legs in attack.
The game remained on the edge in the closing stages and Chris Smalling almost netted the winner for Roma deep in stoppage time with a header at the back post that came off the crossbar.
In the end, the sides could still not be separated after a 1-1 draw in extra-time and penalty shootouts were required to determine the winner.
Sevilla won the penalty shootout 4-1 after Bounou saved one spot-kicks while the other hit the post and Gonzalo Montiel scored the decisive winner for the Spanish side from a retake after Roma shot-stopper Rui Patricio came off his line, as they were crowned champions for a record-extending seventh time.
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