Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Benfica held Serie A giants Juventus to a 0-0 draw in the second leg and Sevilla edged Valencia on away goals in second half extra time to set up the Europa League Final on May 14th. Benfica came in to the second leg with a 2-1 advantage from the first leg in Portugal while Juventus was only a 1-0 scoreline away from playing in the Europa League Final in their home stadium. Juve made a valiant effort and had a header cleared off the line with the keeper beat and even faced 10 men for the last 23 minutes but could not break through.
Benfica had the advantage of not needing to score so they dropped deep and defended valiantly to reach their second consecutive Europa League Final. The Portuguese giants have already wrapped up the Primeira Liga title and will look to exorcise the ghosts of the 2013 final that they lost to Chelsea courtesy of a stoppage time header by Branislav Ivanovic.
The semifinal tie between Sevilla and Valencia was every bit as dramatic as the one in Turin with the Seville club moving on to the final on away goals. Sevilla went to Valencia with a two goal lead and hoped for a straightforward match but it was anything but. Valencia came on strong and went 2-0 up before the 30th minute of the match. This scoreline would take the match to extra time but Valencia scored their third in the 69th minute for a deserved 3-2 aggregate lead. Valencia looked sure to advance until stoppage time where Stephane Mbia, on loan from Queens Park Rangers, rose above the fray to head home a dramatic winner and send Sevilla through on away goals.
The all-Iberian Europa League final will take place on Wednesday, May 14th at Juventus’s home stadium and it should be an open and exciting match between two open attacking sides. Thankfully Chelsea will not be participating this time around and hopefully never again!
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