It was a thrilling Thursday night for European football! After the two great Champions League games, the Europa League semifinals were full of goals in one game and tension in the other.
Benfica Holds Off The Old Lady
Let's start with the tension from the Juventus stadium as the Old Lady needed to win to clinch a spot in the final. However, Benfica had other plans and fought until the end to hold a well-deserved 0-0 draw.
Down to 10 men at the 60th minute, the Portuguese side showed strength and discipline to stop the ever-flowing wave of Juventus attacks. Benfica even had to play the last 10 minutes with only nine players after an overhead kick by Pogba ended up in Garay's face and Benfica did not even any subs left.
Juventus had trouble creating opportunities to score despite a world-class Paul Pogba. The French man was all over the pitch and was with no doubt the best Italian player last night. But Pogba's tricks and efforts were not enough, especially since Juventus' strikers were not in good form. Tevez tried a lot, but never found the target. As for Llorente (substituted by Osvaldo at the 75th), he wandered around the box for most of the game, never being able to pull free from Luisao's marking.
Juventus should have regrets after this game as they had all the cards in hand. They won't have the opportunity to play the final in their own stadium on May 14. Benfica will play their second consecutive final.
M'Bia Saves Sevilla From Disgrace
Arriving in Valencia with a two-goal lead, Sevilla had made a big step toward the final. They probably believed they were already in Turin when the referee blew the kick-off. Maybe they had also forgotten that Valencia had recovered from a three-goal deficit against Basel in the quarterfinals!
Valencia had no options, they had to score. And they did. They had a 2-0 lead at halftime, already making it 2-2 on aggregate.
The third goal from Matthieu at the 69th minute were the Graal to the final and Valence held it until the 94th minute!
The minute chose by Stephane M'Bia to put on the savior suit and head the winning goal into the net! M'Bia, goal scorer in the first leg, will probably have a statue of himself in Sevilla tomorrow.
The final will then showcase two footballs that are fairly similar. One team from Portugal, another one from Spain. Two Spanish teams in the Champions League final. In other words, proof that the Iberian football is a la mode!
Who will win the UEFA Europa League title?
