Sevilla welcomed Shakhtar Donetsk to Spain for the second leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday night.
The tie was delicately poised following a 2-2 draw in the first leg last week, with Kevin Gameiro netting a late penalty to level the scores for Sevilla.
Shakhtar gave Sevilla a scare late in the first period when Eduardo cancelled out an opener from Gameiro to leave the score at 3-3 on aggregate, but the home side secured a 3-1 win on the night to book their spot in another Europa League final.
Read how it all unfolded in Sports Mole's live minute-by-minute commentary of the action below.
Evening all! Sports Mole's live Europa League coverage continues from Seville as Sevilla welcome Shakhtar Donetsk for the second leg of their semi-final. The two teams played out a pulsating 2-2 draw in the first leg last week, leaving matters delicately poised at the Estadio Ramon. It should be a super night!
Kickoff is not actually until 8.05pm UK time, but be sure to remain with me for all of the build-up and indeed the team news, which is expected to land at around 7pm. It will be interesting to see who is in and who is out for both of these sides, who are meeting for the first time since 2007.
Indeed, Juande Ramos's Sevilla overcome Shakhtar in the 2006-07 UEFA Cup round of 16 on their way to winning the competition for the first time. That, however, only tells half the story. After a 2-2 draw in Spain, Sevilla stopper Andres Palop scored late on to make it 2-2 in the return leg in Ukraine, before Ernesto Chevanton won it for the Spanish outfit in extra-time. It was some tie!
Shakhtar will be out for revenge tonight, but they will start as the underdogs against a Sevilla team that love this competition. Indeed, the Spanish outfit won the UEFA Cup/Europa League for a record fourth time last season and are chasing a third straight success in this particular competition.
It was Sevilla that took a sixth-minute lead through Vitolo in the first leg last week, but goals from Marlos and Taras Stepanenko saw Shakhtar lead 2-1 deep into the second period. It did appear that the Ukrainian side would secure a vital first-leg advantage, but French striker Kevin Gameiro had other ideas as his late penalty made it 2-2 and handed Sevilla a slight advantage in the tie.
Sevilla are now unbeaten in six meetings with Ukrainian clubs – recording four wins in the process. Indeed, they beat Shakhtar's domestic rivals Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in last season's final to claim the trophy once again. In terms of Shakhtar's European record against Spanish opposition, the Ukrainian outfit have lost 12 of their 20 meetings and only recorded four wins. That particular run includes five defeats at home and six in Spain and also includes a 1-0 defeat to Barcelona in the 2009 Super Cup.
Of the eight teams that dropped into the Europa League from the Champions League this season, only Shakhtar and Sevilla remain in contention. Villarreal and Liverpool, the other two semi-finalists, have had to fight their way through the group stages and beyond and there has been criticism of the rule allowing teams to drop into the Europa. Incidentally, Villarreal visit Liverpool in tonight's other semi-final holding a 1-0 lead. You can follow live commentary of that game at Anfield here.
This is Shakhtar's first semi-final appearance in Europe's second competition since they won the final edition of the UEFA Cup in 2009. In fact, of the four semi-finalists, Shakhtar are the only team to have not reached this stage of the Europa League, which is a surprise due to their strength in recent seasons.
Like Shakhtar, Sevilla started this season in the Champions League and they advanced straight into the group stages courtesy of their Europa League success last term. It was a tough group for Emery's side, who were drawn alongside Man City, Juventus and Borussia Monchengladbach.
Man City and Juventus were the two favourites to advance and that was indeed the case, with the pair finishing first and second respectively. Sevilla lost four of their six group matches, but did manage two wins, which saw them finish in third position, one point above fourth-place Gladbach.
Sevilla are actually attempting to become the first team since Bayern Munich in 1976 to win three consecutive editions of a major UEFA competition. It would be some achievement for the Spanish outfit and of course, winning the Europa League means direct qualification for the group stages of the Champions League, which is now beyond them in La Liga. Team news is around 30 minutes away here!
Sevilla dropped into the Europa League - their favourite competition - following their exit in the group stages of the Champions League and were drawn alongside Molde in the round of 32. The Spanish side lost the second leg 1-0 away from home, but a 3-0 victory in the first leg at the Estadio Ramon saw them advance to the round of 16, where they met Swiss side Basel.
Basel held Emery's side to a 0-0 draw in the first leg in Switzerland, but it was a similar story from the previous round as Sevilla won 3-0 on home turf to continue their journey. They were bound to meet domestic opposition at some point and that came in the shape of Ernesto Valverde's Athletic Bilbao in what proved to be a classic European tie between the two impressive La Liga teams.
Sevilla actually recorded a 2-1 victory in the first leg away from home and although Bilbao responded with a 2-1 win at the Estadio Ramon, it was Sevilla that came through on penalties following extra-time. There is just something about the Spanish outfit and this competition and they are indeed the first club to contest the semi-finals of the Europa League for a third time in a row.
The fact that Unai Emery'a Sevilla are chasing more glory in this particular competition has done a good job of masking what has been a fairly disappointing La Liga campaign. They were expected to challenge for the top four once again, but with two games left to play, Emery's side are seventh in the table on 52 points – five points off the top six with just two games left.
The Spanish outfit will enter this match off the back of a 1-0 defeat at Espanyol on Sunday afternoon and they have only actually won one of their last five games in all competitions. Villarreal have secured fourth position in La Liga this season and it does appear that Bilbao and Celta Vigo will take the Europa League positions, which places such importance on tonight's game.
Sevilla's away form in general has been very poor this season, but they are strong at the Estadio Ramon and have only lost once in this stadium since Manchester City beat them 3-1 in the Champions League back in November. The atmosphere is already building inside the stadium and Sevilla can afford to draw 0-0 or 1-1 and still advance to the final on the away goals rule.
Right, let me bring you up-to-speed with the all-important team news, which has just landed. Who have Emery and Micrea Lucescu placed their faith in tonight? Let's have a look shall we...
TEAMS:
SEVILLA: Soria; Coke, Rami, Carrico, Tremoulinas; N'Zonzi, Krychowiak; Vitolo, Banega, Mariano; Gameiro
SHAKH: Pyatov; Srna, Kucher, Rakitskiy, Ismaily; Malyshev, Stepanenko, Kovalenko; Taison, Eduardo, Marlos
Michael Krohn-Dehli and Jose Antonio Reyes both miss out for Sevilla tonight through injury and head coach Unai Emery has sprung a surprise in his team selection by naming both Coke and Mariano Ferreira in his starting XI. It appears that Coke will operate just ahead of Mariano down the right, while Kevin Gameiro, after netting a late penalty in the first leg, is picked to lead the line ahead of Fernando Llorente. Yevhen Konoplyanka drops to the bench for the Spanish outfit.
As for Shakhtar, former Arsenal striker Eduardo is given the nod at centre-forward after scoring twice against Dynamo Kiev in the league at the weekend. The experienced Croatian takes the place of Facundo Ferreyra, while Taison and Marlos keep their spots in the final third of the field. Fellow Brazilians Wellington Nem, Bernard and Dentinho will all start on the bench for the Ukrainian giants tonight.
So there we have it. The two teams are in and kickoff is now under an hour away! I have spoken about Sevilla, but what about their opponents tonight? Well, what about them? The focus is on the home side, but Shakhtar are a very dangerous team and will fancy their chances of an upset.
At the age of 70, Shakhtar boss Lucescu is comfortably the most experienced manager left in the competition. The Romanian has led Shakhtar since 2004 and has won eight league titles with the Ukrainian club and five Ukrainian Cups. Incredibly, he has a win rate of almost 70% in all competitions, but that drops to 46% when running through his European record with the Miners.
This is Shakhtar's first semi-final appearance in Europe's second competition since they won the final edition of the UEFA Cup in 2009. In fact, of the four semi-finalists, Shakhtar are the only team to have not reached this stage of the Europa League, which is a surprise due to their strength in recent seasons.
Shakhtar had to beat Turkish outfit Fenerbahce and Austrian side Rapid Vienna in the early rounds of this season's Champions League to make the group stages and they were ultimately drawn into Group A alongside Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Malmo.
In truth, it was always going to be a tough ask for Shakhtar to qualify ahead of either Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain and it did not come as surprise when those two finished first and second respectively and Shakhtar finished in third spot. In fact, the Ukrainian side only won one of their six group matches, but finished ahead of a poor Malmo side on goal difference to secure Europa League action.
Shakhtar were paired with Schalke 04 in the first knockout round and a 3-0 victory in the first leg helped them progress 3-0 on aggregate. Anderlecht were the team waiting in the round of 16 and again it was comfortable for Shakhtar, who made the final eight courtesy of a 4-1 aggregate score.
Shakhtar managed to avoid a number of big European clubs in the quarter-finals and were instead drawn with Portuguese club Sporting Braga, who were dispatched 6-1 on aggregate – including a 4-0 victory on home soil. In truth, Shakhtar have not really been tested in the Europa League this season, but they will need to beat a strong Sevilla side to advance to the final this time around.
In terms of recent form, Shakhtar will enter this match off the back of an impressive 3-0 victory over table-toppers Dynamo Kiev at the weekend. That result has blown the title race wide open in Ukraine as it allowed Lucescu's team to close the gap on Dynamo Kiev to just four points at the top. This season, Shakhtar have won 19 of their 24 league games and lost just twice.
That impressive record has left them 11 points above third-place Dnipro and their goals at the weekend were scored by Eduardo (2) and Wellington Nem, who were both on the bench in the first leg. That is an indication of the strength in-depth that this club possess and there is no question that they have the credentials needed to harm Sevilla tonight. Eduardo's brace sees him start tonight!
Shakhtar actually won the Ukrainian top flight on five straight occasions from 2010 to 2014, but they finished as runners-up to Dynamo Kiev last season. They are a team that are used to winning, but they have not really been able to take their excellent domestic form into European action.
Just a reminder of the two teams for tonight's match...
SEVILLA: Soria; Coke, Rami, Carrico, Tremoulinas; N'Zonzi, Krychowiak; Vitolo, Banega, Mariano; Gameiro
SHAKH: Pyatov; Srna, Kucher, Rakitskiy, Ismaily; Malyshev, Stepanenko, Kovalenko; Taison, Eduardo, Marlos
PREDICTION! I fancy Sevilla to go through tonight. Shakhtar will be a threat in the final third and I do believe that the visitors will register here, but I am backing the holders Sevilla to record a 2-1 victory on the night and advance to the final courtesy of an aggregate score of 4-3. We shall see!
KICKOFF! Here we go then - the pre-match handshakes have been undertaken and the flags have been exchanged. Time for the football then! We are level at 2-2, but Sevilla have the slight advantage on the away goals rule. Right, it is the away side that get the first period underway here...
... as expected, there is a wonderful noise inside the stadium tonight and Sevilla have started on the front foot. Just a reminder that Sevilla will advance if this finishes 0-0 or 1-1, but 2-2 would bring extra-time and 3-3 etc in normal time would see Shakhtar go through! Let's hope for a good one!
Bright start from the home side as they manage to turn the Shakhtar defence on two separate occasions, but Kucher manages to beat Gameiro to the ball, before N'Zonzi fells Taison. Both teams are battling for control of the possession in what has been a fast-paced start in Seville.
Neither side has come close to making the breakthrough in the early exchanges, but both have shown their willingness to commit players in the final third. Eduardo attempts to meet a through pass from Marlos, but Soria is out to collect as the home side build from the back once again.
The two teams continue to exchange possession of the ball in what has been a very open and entertaining nine minutes in Seville. We are still waiting for the first real chance tonight though!
GOAL! Sevilla 1-0 Shakhtar (Gameiro)
Sevilla make the breakthrough in the ninth minute of action as Gameiro takes advantage of a slip from Malyshev before driving into the Shakhtar box and finding the back of the net!
BOOKING! Marlos (Shakhtar) is booked for bringing Tremoulinas to the deck.
Shakhtar continue to throw players forward, but they are leaving all sorts of space at the back and Gameiro does not need a second invitation, as he has shown in the opening 14 minutes here!
BOOKING! Rakitskiy (Shakhtar) is booked for a late challenge on Mariano.
Plenty of late challenges for the referee to think about in the early stages and he has already dished out two yellow cards. I would be astounded if we had seen the last of the goals in this match as both teams continue to commit players in the final third. Such a high intensity to this game here!
SAVE! Pyatov gets down to keep out an effort from Rami, who had met a corner from Banega. Shakhtar break straight down the other end and Taison dives into the Sevilla box. All-action!
BOOKING! Kucher (Shakhtar) is booked for a high challenge on Gameiro.
Gameiro has stayed down here following that high boot from Kucher. Not great from the defender!
Just a reminder that Shakhtar actually need two goals at this point to turn the tie around. A 1-1 draw would be enough to send Sevilla into the final on away goals. Shakhtar continue to flood players forward, but in truth, they have not come close to testing Soria in the opening 23 minutes.
Half-chance for the away side as Ismaily finds space from a short corner, but his effort was always moving wide of the post. Soria remains untroubled between the sticks for the home side here.
I would not be surprised one bit if we saw a red card in this match. The referee has already issued three yellows and the late challenges continue to arrive. Not an awful lot to report in terms of clear chances at the moment, with both teams guilty of losing possession too easily in the final third.
BOOKING! Banega (Sevilla) is booked for a late challenge on Srna.
Super football from the home side as Banega manages to release Gameiro following an exchange in the middle of the park, but Kucher is across to make the challenge as Shakhtar survive a second.
Little over 10 minutes of the first period remaining and the home side still lead courtesy of that ninth-minute opener from Gameiro, who showed nerves of steel under pressure. Half-chance for Shakhtar this time as Taison releases one from distance, but his effort was always too high.
Soria rises to collect a weak header from Eduardo as Sevilla continue to deal with Shakhtar's threat from a wide position. It must be said that this first period has absolutely flown past here!
Decent pressure from Shakhtar in the last couple of minutes as they continue to work the ball into wide positions, but their latest attack comes to an end when Kucher is adjudged to be offside.
Taison continues to look the most likely for the away side, but Krychowiak makes a vital block outside his own box to deflect the ball away from goal. N'Zonzi then makes a block of his own after the ball had dropped to Malyshev. Bit of panic inside the home side's penalty area there!
Sevilla are finding it much more difficult to break through at the moment as Shakhtar keep their goalkeeper well protected with a series of challenges. Still 1-0 with 43 minutes on the clock here.
Half-chance for the home side as Krychowiak meets a free kick from Banega, but there was always too much weight on the midfielder's header. First Sevilla chance for some time in this match.
GOAL! Sevilla 1-1 Shakhtar (Eduardo)
All square! Shakhtar are back in business here as Marlos plays a super pass into Eduardo and the striker, who had beaten the offside trap, slots the ball past Soria from inside the box!
Panic stations for Sevilla as the away side start to seriously threaten here!
Sevilla really need half-time here as Shakhtar continue to boss this game.
HALF-TIME: Sevilla 1-1 Shakhtar (3-3 on aggregate)
So there we have it. The referee brings the first period to a close with the two teams level at 1-1 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate. Gameiro sent Sevilla into a ninth-minute lead with a cool finish, but Eduardo levelled the scores in the 44th minute to pull his side back into this enthralling contest!
STATS! Shakhtar have bossed the possession with 59%, while they have had six attempts, but just one of those - the goal - was on target. That said, Sevilla have also only managed one attempt on target and that was Gameiro's strike. Already four bookings after some feisty challenges here!
BENCH WATCH! Sevilla boss Emery has plenty of attacking options on his bench tonight, with the likes of Cristoforo, Iborra, Konoplyanka and Llorente all in reserve. Shakhtar, meanwhile, have Brazilian attacking trio Bernard, Wellington Nem and Dentinho on their bench tonight. Plenty of talent.
RESTART! Here we go then - both sets of players re-join us on the pitch for the second period. Can Shakhtar turn this one around? We are all set for a pulsating conclusion as Sevilla kick things off...
... no changes from either side at the break, which is not too much of a surprise. However, I suspect that both managers will have alterations in mind as the second period develops here.
SAVE! Soria flies across his goal to keep out a strike from Kovalenko.
GOAL! Sevilla 2-1 Shakhtar (Gameiro)
Advantage restored! Sevilla score their second of the night and it is Gameiro once again. Krychowiak finds the Frenchman with a super pass and he rounds Pyatov before firing home!
BOOKING! Srna (Shakhtar) is booked for a late challenge on Tremoulinas.
Hardly time to take a breath at the moment as both teams continue to throw players forward. One goal for Shakhtar would level this semi-final tie at 2-2 and force extra-time, but I fancy at least two more goals in this match. Neither team looks secure at the back as we approach the 51st minute.
Pyatov keeps out a long-range strike from Krychowiak as Sevilla threaten once again.
Tonight's other semi-final between Liverpool and Villarreal is currently level at 1-1 on aggregate. Villarreal won the home leg 1-0 last week, but Liverpool lead 1-0 at Anfield in the second period.
Banega fires a low strike wide of the post as Sevilla continue to search for a third goal here. Shakhtar have so much talent on their bench and I suspect that we could see changes soon.
The atmosphere inside the stadium is absolutely deafening at the moment as both teams continue to commit players in the final third. Just a reminder that one goal for Shakhtar at this stage would level the semi-final at 2-2 and if it remained that way, we would be heading for extra-time here!
MISS! Wonderful chance for the home side to score a third as Gameiro attempts an over-head kick from close range and it just misses the crossbar! Would have been some goal!
GOAL! Sevilla 3-1 Shakhtar (Mariano)
Oh my word! What a goal! Sevilla score a third just before the hour as Mariano advances to the edge of the Shakhtar box before drilling one into the far corner - that is so good from the right-back!
BOOKING! Eduardo (Shakhtar) is booked for dissent.
A 3-3 draw would send Shakhtar into the final on away goals, but they will need to score twice in the final 25 minutes here and stop Sevilla from scoring. It is a really, really big ask!
Shakhtar have the chance to threaten from a free kick, but Marlos plays it short and Sevilla have players back to force the ball behind. Still around 25 minutes of normal time remaining here.
Not an awful lot to report in terms of chances in the last few minutes, but Krychowiak has just sent a header wide of the Shakhtar post after meeting another delicate free kick from the excellent Banega.
Liverpool have scored a second against Villarreal. At the moment, it will be Sevilla against Liverpool in the Europa League final later this month. Shakhtar need to score twice in the final 20 minutes if they are to overcome the holders, who are chasing a third successive title in this competition.
CHANCE! Wonderful chance for the away side to score a second as Eduardo meets a cross from the right, but his header drops just wide of the post! He had to score there!
SEVILLA SUB! Escudero replaces Tremoulinas for the home side.
Shakhtar need to be very, very careful here. They are in risk of losing their leads!
BOOKING! Stepanenko (Shakhtar) is booked for a poor challenge on Mariano.
SHAKHTAR SUB! Bernard replaces Taison for the away side.
Little over 10 minutes of this second leg remaining and unless Shakhtar score twice, Sevilla are going to make another Europa League final. And it does appear that they will meet Liverpool, who currently lead Villarreal 2-1 on aggregate. The Yellow Submarine only need one goal though!
Sevilla boss Emery is calling for the home supporters to make some noise and they respond! Shakhtar are huffing and puffing, but they cannot seem to blow this back four down!
SEVILLA SUB! Iborra replaces two-goal Gameiro for the home side.
Sevilla continue to threaten as Vitolo and N'Zonzi both pick up dangerous positions in the final third, but neither can release a clean strike and Shakhtar manage to force the ball down-field.
SHAKHTAR SUBS! Nem and Dentinho replace Marlos and Eduardo.
Smart work from Srna as the Shakhtar captain delivers a dangerous cross into the Sevilla box, but Carrico blocks Nem's effort and that brings a huge cheer from the home supporters here!
BOOKING! Vitolo (Sevilla) is booked for a late challenge on Kovalenko.
SEVILLA SUB! Cristoforo replaces Banega for Sevilla.
BOOKING! Ismaily (Shakhtar) is booked for a late challenge on Coke.
We are into the second of three additional minutes here.
FULL-TIME: Sevilla 3-1 Shakhtar (Sevilla win 5-3 on aggregate)
So there we have it. Sevilla make it through to their third successive Europa League final courtesy of a 5-3 aggregate win over Shakhtar! It will be Sevilla against Liverpool in the final on May 18, in Basel. What a game that promises to be! Thanks for joining Sports Mole for the action once again!
