2023-05-11 01:31:15
Whenever Sevilla has played a Europa League semifinal, they have been proclaimed champion, but the king of the second continental competition faces a litmus test this Thursday in Turin, where a Juventus awaits him at a great moment that is fighting against history. Having passed Manchester United’s demanding test in the quarterfinals, Sevilla is now only two games away from returning to the final of their fetish tournament. Once again, with the undoubted advantage of being able to resolve the tie at the Sánchez Pizjuán, where they beat the Red Devils (3-0) after a surprising draw achieved in the first leg (2-2) with two own goals in the last minutes.
With an exercise in rebellion and faith in the first round of the quarterfinals, Sevilla put an end to United’s favoritism and is now preparing to do the same with Juventus, the second-ranked player in the Italian league, an exponent of defensive solidity with Massimiliano Allegri on the bench and threatening in attack with Di María and Vlahovic. A tough rival for Sevilla, although with José Luis Mendilibar the team from Seville has not stopped progressing and, once focused exclusively on ‘its’ competition, it is very prepared to continue feeding the dream of the seventh Europa League.
“We have gone from thinking about salvation in the League to thinking about winning the Europa League, and reaching the final would be the best thing I have done in football,” the Sevilla coach, the architect of the resurrection of a team, proudly acknowledges. powerless with Jorge Sampaoli. Facing the man who was the executioner of Sporting de Portugal in the quarterfinals, Mendilibar now imagines “a very similar experience” to the one he lived against United.
Probable lineups:
Juventus: Szczesny, Danilo, Bremer, Alex Sandro, Cuadrado, Fagioli, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic, Di María y Vlahovic.
Sevilla: Bono, Navas, Bade, Marcao, Acuña, Gudelj, Fernando, Ocampos, Rakitic, Lamela and En-Nesyri.
Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany).
Stadium and schedule: Juventus Stadium. 9:00 p.m. (Movistar Champions League).
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