Liverpool looking to deny Sevilla third consecutive Europa League title

It was a beautiful night of football at Anfield in the Europa League semifinal that saw Liverpool FC pull off a comeback from the first leg to beat Villarreal 3-1 on aggregate and book a place in the 2015/2016 UEL final where they’ll come up against defending champions and record winners Sevilla after the Spanish side saw off Shakhtar Donetsk 3-1 at the Sanchez Pizjuan to qualify for the final in Basel thanks to a 5-3 aggregate score line.Villarreal came into the game with a 1-0 advantage from the first leg courtesy of a late goal from Adrian but they couldn’t contain the pressure exerted on them by Liverpool at Anfield. The atmosphere was electric with the fans playing a major role in boosting the Morales of the reds. It didn’t take long for Klopp’s men to take the lead after Daniel Sturridge forced an own goal from Bruno to make it 1-0 with just 7 minutes played.Liverpool continued to pile the pressure but couldn’t get the second in the first half as they went to halftime with a satisfactory 1-0 lead. The goal would come 20 minutes after the restart and Daniel Sturridge was involved once again, the striker who was left out of the starting XI in Spain was on hand to put the reds in a 2-goal lead with 25 minutes left to play.Liverpool knew that conceding just once would send them out of the tournament but they took the pressure perfectly. It was double woe for Marcelino’s men after Ruiz was sent off minutes later which let the floodgates open for Adam Lallana to score a third that gave Liverpool a deserved 3-0 win.In the other semifinal, Sevilla knew they needed just a win to get to the final after a 2-2 draw in Ukraine a week ago. They got it easily as expected with star striker Kevin Gameiro giving them the lead with just 9 minutes played. Shakhtar Donetsk fought hard and got their reward on the stroke of halftime after former Arsenal man Eduardo got the equalizer. It was 1-1 at halftime.The second half started and Sevilla started pressuring immediately and they got back into the lead 3 minutes after the restart through Kevin Gameiro once again. Shakhtar Donetsk kept on working hard for the equalizer but it wasn’t meant to be as Mariano killed the tie for Sevilla to give them a superb 3-1 win and a chance to secure their third straight Europa league trophy.Liverpool will come up against Sevilla in Basel on May 18 and would be aiming to stop the record winners from getting their 3rd straight title. The game promises a lot of excitement as the winner gets an automatic spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League group stage and with both teams not among the top four in their respective leagues, the game would be war.

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