José Mourinho couldn’t keep his perfect record in European finals intact on Wednesday as his Roma side fell to Sevilla 1-1 (4-1 on penalties) in the Europa League final.
Mourinho has now won five of the six European finals he’s managed in.
Roma opened the scoring in the 34th minute through Paulo Dybala. The Argentine was a surprise start after missing the last seven weeks with injuries, most recently an ankle issue.
Mourinho said leading up to the final that Dybala would only get “20 to 30 minutes” against Sevilla but was bluffing. Dybala would play 67 minutes before being substituted out.
So, there was the moment. Mourinho’s ace up his sleeve had just paid dividends and his side had the lead against the most dominant team in the competition. How does he react? Nothing but coolness from one of the world’s best managers.
Mourinho vs Sevilla reaction to first goal
WELCOME BACK PAULO DYBALA. pic.twitter.com/6BMo3BQfDB
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 31, 2023
(Skip to 1:10 for Mourinho’s reaction.)
Amazing. While the entire Roma bench rushes to go celebrate the goal with Dybala, Mourinho walks the other way and doesn’t even pump a fist. The Portuguese manager was completely unfazed and gestured for his side to cool it.
He knew the job was far from over and that became evident when Sevilla leveled the final after a Roma own goal in the 55th minute.
AN OWN GOAL BRINGS SEVILLA BACK INTO THE TIE!
IT'S THE FIRST TIME A GOAL HAS BEEN SCORED AGAINST A JOSE MOURINHO SIDE IN A UEFA FINAL SINCE 2003... pic.twitter.com/KKCRKbkhYE— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 31, 2023
Mourinho wasn’t so levelheaded for the entirety of the game and had his expected dramatic reactions and arguments with head referee Anthony Taylor. Mourinho was given a yellow card late in the game.
Jose Mourinho is not happy camper. pic.twitter.com/CGEFigfmti
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 31, 2023
Roma x Sevilla started in Budapest in May, it will end in June. pic.twitter.com/9NqxQgBNTi
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 31, 2023
Neither side could find a winner in 120 minutes and for the third season in-a-row the Europa League final went to a penalty shootout.
Roma, who won last season’s Europa Conference League under Mourinho, couldn’t get the job done on penalties as the wheels fell off the Mourinho bus. Roma went with a bizarre strategy of having three defensive players take the first three penalties and it didn't work out with only one converting.
Sevilla, who had a horrid LaLiga campaign that saw them fighting off relegation at one point, love themselves the Europa League and lifted the trophy for a seventh time. The next clubs closest to them in Europa League titles only have three.
Roma and Sevilla failed to qualify for the Champions League via league play, meaning Sevilla qualify for next season's UCL while Roma will likely have another Europa League in their future next season.
Of course Sevilla won the #UELFinal AGAIN. pic.twitter.com/f7C4ote5xp
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 31, 2023
SEVILLA ARE THE 2022/23 #UEL CHAMPIONS, WINNING THE TOURNAMENT FOR A RECORD SEVENTH TIME! pic.twitter.com/SQEMVjdD7L
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 31, 2023
José Mourinho loses a European final for the first time in history:
2003 - UEFA Cup (Porto)
2004 - Champions League (Porto)
2010 - Champions League (Inter)
2017 - Europa League (Man Utd)
2022 - Conference League (AS Roma)
❌ 2023 - Europa League (AS Roma) pic.twitter.com/UzM0FQVLly— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) May 31, 2023
