Expand / Collapse search
Watch TV
Menu

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

Sports

Sevilla wins Europa League behind Bacca's brace

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

Warsaw, Poland (SportsNetwork.com) - Carlos Bacca scored a goal in each half to help Sevilla capture back-to-back Europa League titles on Wednesday with a 3-2 victory over Dnipro.

Playing in its first-ever UEFA final, Dnipro got off to a great start as Nikola Kalinic scored in the seventh minute to put the Ukrainian side ahead.

Sevilla answered with goals from Grzegorz Krychowiak and Bacca in the span of three minutes to take the lead, but Dnipro hit back as Ruslan Rotan scored on a free kick just before halftime.

But Bacca separated the sides in the 73rd minute with his second goal of the game to help Sevilla become the first team to win the Europa League four times.

For the first time the victory has the added bonus of allowing Sevilla to qualify for the Champions League for next season in a new rule implemented this year.

Dnipro came into the match as the underdog, but the team couldn't have asked for a better start as Kalinic got on the other end of a cross from Matheus to nod the ball inside the left post from in front of goal.

Sevilla was certainly surprised, but the Spanish outfit took charge of the game for much of the remainder of the first half and was back on level terms in the 28th minute when Krychowiak drove a low shot inside the right post.

Bacca then put his side in front in the 31st when he tracked down a through ball from Jose Antonio Reyes, rounded goalkeeper Denis Boyko, and rolled home his fourth goal in the last six Europa League games for Sevilla.

Dnipro was on its heels as the first half came to a close, but Rotan put them on level terms when he curled a 25-yard free kick over the wall and just inside the left post.

It was a huge boost heading into the break for Dnipro, but Bacca struck once again in the 73rd when he connected with Vitolo's through ball and slotted his shot past Boyko.

The best chance the Ukrainian side had at an equalizer came in the 76th when Artem Fedetskiy unleashed a shot from inside the penalty area that whistled past the near post.