Sevilla vs Internazionale 22/08/20

22 August 2020

RheinEnergieStadion is the venue as Sevilla and Internazionale battle it out for the UEFA Europa League title.

Sevilla have produced an utterly impressive European campaign so far, finishing top of Group A with a record of W5, L1 before dumping CFR Cluj in the round of 16 on the away goal rule (1-1 A, 0-0 H). After pulling off a comfortable 2-0 win over Roma in their revamped last-16 tie, Los Rojiblancos moved on to sink two Premier League sides in the subsequent two knock-out stage rounds. A hard-fought 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers was followed up by a stunning 2-1 comeback against Manchester United in the semi-finals. An inspiring triumph over United now means that Julen Lopetegui’s men have restricted their opponent to a maximum of one goal per game in ten of 11 Europa League fixtures this term. Indeed, the Spanish giants boast the competition’s best defensive record, having shipped just four goals so far, three of which arrived in the second half of play.

Meanwhile, Inter coasted through the Europa League knock-out stage since crossing over from the Champions League this winter. Indeed, after finishing third in the Champions League Group F, behind the likes of Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund, the ‘Nerazzurri’ have won all five of their matches in Europe’s second-tier tournament. After easing past Ludogorets in the round of 32 (2-0 A, 2-1 H), Antonio Conte’s men eliminated Getafe 2-0 in the revamped round of 16 and squeezed past Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 in the quarter-finals. A 5-0 win against Shakhtar Donetsk in the semi-finals only highlights how talismanic the Italians have been in the Europa League this season. Inter’s win over Getafe now means they’ve successfully negotiated two of their three UEFA ties against the Spanish club on neutral terrain (L1).