Europa League Final : Preview
A NEW ERA AT LIVERPOOL
“When I sit here in four years’ time, I think we want at least one (Premier League) title.”
Thus began the Jurgen Klopp era at Liverpool. A little over six months later, after the highs and lows and everything in between, Klopp’s first season at Anfield is heading to its conclusion with the Europa League final against double defending champions Sevilla.
The season before, Brendan Rodgers failed to recreate the magic of the 2013/14, following the departure of Luis Suarez to Barcelona and a disappointing transfer window. The 2014/15 campaign thus ended with Liverpool finishing 6th, and despite the speculation surrounding his job, Rodgers stayed on for another season. £80 million in transfers later, there was little improvement, and after a series of disappointing results (1 win in 10), Rodgers was axed. The owners were swift to move, and within days confirmed the Northern Irishman’s replacement in Jurgen Klopp, who was out of a job since leaving Borussia Dortmund in the summer. The swashbuckling German may have been on a sabbatical, but when Liverpool came calling, he cut short his break to move to Merseyside.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing, and Klopp urged patience from the fans, but his impression on the side is clear – fast full throttle football. It didn’t take long for his hallmark Gegenpressing to become a standard of the Reds’ style, with Liverpool outrunning the super-fit Tottenham in his very first game.
In the following week, Klopp began his Europa League campaign against Rubin Kazan. The Reds had drawn both of their previous games in Group B, and were held again to a 1-1 draw, despite Rubin playing most of the game a man short. 2 wins and a draw meant Liverpool topped their group, unbeaten. The following round saw a first return to Germany for Klopp, who maintained his impressive record against Augsburg (1 defeat in 10) as a James Milner penalty at Anfield settled the tie 1-0 in his favour. No one could’ve written a script for the draw that followed, as rival of rivals Manchester United were the Reds’ next opponent. This was the English giants’ first meeting in Europe, and Liverpool triumphed 3-1 on aggregate. A fantastic display meant there was little doubt about the result. The ‘Klopp effect’ was beginning to take place.
No one could’ve written a script for the draw that followed, as rival of rivals Manchester United were the Reds’ next opponent. This was the English giants’ first meeting in Europe, and Liverpool triumphed 3-1 on aggregate.
If the previous round’s draw grabbed all the headlines, those looking for an exciting match up in the Quarter Finals were not to be disappointed, as Liverpool drew Klopp’s former side Borussia Dortmund. The Germans were competition favourites, having dismantled English title challengers Tottenham 5-1 in the previous round and enjoying a fine domestic season under Klopp’s successor, Thomas Tuchel. The first leg at the Signal Iduna Park ended 1-1, Divock Origi goal cancelled out by Dortmund captain Hummels. 
The tie was enticingly balanced heading to Anfield, and what followed was perhaps the game of the season. Liverpool looked dead and buried with Dortmund up 3-1, but a 25-minute spell saw them score 3 goals, the last of which was an injury time header from Dejan Lovren to plunge Anfield into bedlam. Liverpool won 4-3 on the night and 5-4 on aggregate, completing another great European comeback.
Having booked a semi-final place against Villarreal, Liverpool headed to Spain looking to come away with a clean sheet. Klopp picked a surprisingly defensive side, which almost did the job but for Adrián López scoring with the last kick of the game for the Yellow Submarine. Deflated, but not to be undone, Liverpool delivered another European masterclass at Anfield, dismissing Villarreal with a 3-0 win to progress to their 12th European final.
THE ANDALUSIANS
Like Liverpool, Sevilla have endured a disappointing domestic season. An underwhelming campaign sees them languishing in 7th, and the final remains their only hope for a Champions League spot.
Spain’s oldest football club began the season in the Champions League, but a group featuring Manchester City and Juventus proved too tough as they finished in 3rd in Group D to drop down to the Europa League. For their first game in the competition, the Andalusians played Danish side Molde, and came away with an easy 3-1 win on aggregate. They showed no signs of stopping, repeating the result against the hosts of the final, FC Basel. Defensive organisation, relentless pressing and seamless transitions, all hallmarks of Emery’s coaching style, were on display for everyone to see as Sevilla showed why they were tournament favourites.
They stormed into the quarter finals, setting a date with domestic rivals Athletic Bilbao. In the first leg at the San Mamés, Sevilla came from behind to win 2-1. Home comforts were key for them, and they started the 2nd leg as favourites. The result of the previous encounter was repeated, only this time in Bilbao’s favour, and the match progressed to penalties, where Sevilla edged it 5-4 in front of a rapturous home crowd.
Defensive organisation, relentless pressing and seamless transitions, all hallmarks of Emery’s coaching style, were on display for everyone to see as Sevilla showed why they were tournament favourites.
Up next were 2008/09 winners Shakhtar Donetsk. In a highly entertaining, topsy-turvy first leg, the pendulum swung both ways countless times, the game ending 2-2. Taking back two away goals to the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán meant everyone expected Sevilla to complete the job, and complete it they did. A goal inside the first ten minutes was cancelled out by Shakhtar on the cusp of halftime, but frontman Kevin Gameiro put them back ahead soon after the break, before Mariano Ferreira killed off the tie on the stroke of the hour.
Gameiro, who scored a brace in the second leg and the decisive equaliser in the first, has been the talisman for Sevilla en route to the final. His 7 goals in 8 Europa League games account for half of his team’s tally. The team as a whole is as well-drilled as can be, and for some it is their third consecutive appearance at this stage, hardly making them strangers to the occasion. Of course, this isn’t Klopp’s first European final either, the heartache of Wembley from three years ago bound to be on the back of his mind at St. Jakob Park.
Both sides will have key personnel missing through injuries. Sevilla will be without the services of Benoît Trémoulinas, Michael Krohn-Dehli and José Antonio Reyes, a sizeable blow considering all three would have been favourites to start the game. For Liverpool, skipper Jordan Henderson and striker Divock Origi face a race against time to be fit for the game, but Klopp has hinted they could make the squad. With the Euros on the horizon, however, risks will be taken at a premium.
2015/16 is the first season which will see the winner of the Europa League gain automatic qualification to the Champions League. It may be the second tier of European football, but it is second to none in terms of its significance. The stakes are as high as ever. For Sevilla, a chance to complete an unprecedented hat-trick of European triumphs. For Liverpool the opportunity to join their opponents as the most successful team in the competition’s history with 4 titles. In Basel, it’s all eyes on the prize.