Sevilla won a penalty shoot-out to lift the UEFA Cup for the second successive season on a heartbreaking night for Espanyol.
Goalkeeper Andres Palop stopped three of Espanyol's four spot-kicks to spark wild celebrations from the red and white half of Hampden Park, and back home in Seville where fans were watching on giant screens.
"He is a machine. The best goalkeeper in the world ... but his greatest strength is his personality," Sevilla sports director Ramon "Monchi" Rodriguez was quoted as saying in the daily El Mundo.
PHOTO: AP
When a long-range equalizer by Brazilian substitute Jonatas leveled the match at 2-2 at the end of extra-time, the script appeared to have been written for Barcelona's lesser-known club to clinch their first European trophy after playing for almost an hour with 10 men.
But it was not to be, Sevilla winning an edgy shoot-out 3-1.
The outcome was hard on the Catalans, who had defied the odds to equalize for a second time with five minutes of extra-time to play.
After the 90 minutes had finished with the sides tied at 1-1, Fredi Kanoute's strike appeared to have killed the contest.
But the Andalucians were left stunned when Jonatas let fly from 25m and found the bottom corner to send the match to penalties.
It was a goal from nowhere, but no more than Espanyol deserved on a night when they had looked to be on track for victory until they had midfielder Moises Hurtado sent off with just over 20 minutes of regulation time remaining.
Up until then, Espanyol had looked the more likely winners, despite requiring a 28th-minute strike from Albert Riera to cancel out a stunning opening goal by Sevilla's Brazilian midfielder Adriano.
Sevilla's status as short odds favorites to overcome opponents struggling in the bottom half of La Liga was justified by an opening in which Enzo Maresca fired narrowly over the angle of bar and post and Freddie Kanoute went close with a near post header.
Espanyol soon provided a reminder of the dangers of complacency however, after Hurtado was allowed to advance unchecked from midfield to inside 30m of goal. The midfielder's drive skidded treacherously off the sodden Hampden turf and Palop did well to gather it low to his right.
With Raul Tamudo jinking to the byline immediately afterwards, Espanyol suddenly looked the more dangerous of the two sides, but their momentum was about to be halted in exhilarating fashion by Adriano.
The corner that Tamudo had won was gathered cleanly by Palop, who immediately sent Adriano racing clear down the left with a huge throw of immaculate accuracy.
The Brazilian's gear changes were too much for a short-staffed Catalan back four and he was unchallenged as he cut into the box and placed a right-foot finish beyond the hopelessly exposed Gorka Iraizoz and into the far corner.
The brutal simplicity of the goal appeared to underline the perceived gulf in class between the two sides.
Yet within 10 minutes, Riera had put Espanyol back on level terms, albeit with the help of a deflection off the boot of Liverpool target Daniel Alves.
Riera had gone past the centerback with ease, cutting in from the left flank, but his hesitation allowed the defender to recover his ground sufficiently to get a touch on the ball, ensuring Palop could not get enough of a contact to push it round the post.
Palop did well to keep out another Tamudo strike at close range after Christian Poulsen had conceded possession in midfield and the Sevilla goalkeeper had to produce an even better save to deny Riera a second goal from a shot that was destined for the top corner.
But Palop saved his best till last as he blocked spot-kicks from Luis Garcia, Jonatas and Marc Torrejon in the shootout to help Sevilla retain the cup they won last year in Eindhoven.
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev was the only athlete to “beat” a world record on Sunday at the Enhanced Games, winning the men’s 50m freestyle at the divisive competition where athletes were free to take performance-enhancing substances. His time of 20.81 seconds — which is not considered official — came in the final event of the night in Las Vegas, sparing the blushes of organizers who made claims that multiple world records would be surpassed due to a sophisticated doping regime. Gkolomeev, who was wearing a synthetic “supersuit” long banned at events such as the Olympics, outpaced Australia’s Cameron McEvoy’s 20.88 set in
VICTORY ABROAD: The team took home a fistful of medals and secured spots for the autumn’s Asian Games, scheduled for September in Nagoya Taiwan’s women’s team captured the overall title at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Mongolia on Sunday, finishing with two golds, one silver and one bronze medal. The strong showing, led by gold medalists Wang Chieh-ling and Chang Jui-en secured the full quota of available spots for Taiwan at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, in September. Wang opened Taiwan’s medal run by winning gold in the women’s under-46kg class on Thursday, the first day of competition. Liu Yu-yun later earned a silver in the under-49kg class. On the final day on Sunday, Chang won Taiwan’s second gold medal in the under-62kg event, and
The manager of the Yomiuri Giants, one of Japan’s most popular baseball teams, resigned yesterday after he was arrested for allegedly physically attacking his teenage daughter. Shinnosuke Abe allegedly grabbed the 18-year-old and forced her to the floor at their home in central Tokyo on Monday evening, reported national broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News, citing unnamed police sources. “Leaving like this really means I’m causing you a lot of trouble, and I feel truly sorry about that,” Abe told a hastily arranged news conference, his eyes red with tears. The former star catcher, who is among baseball-obsessed Japan’s most recognized sports figures,
Taiwanese tennis star Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the second round of the mixed doubles at the French Open, after she and German partner Mark Wallner defeated Slovenian Andreja Klepac and Briton Lloyd Glasspool in straight sets, despite temperatures exceeding 32°C in Paris, while Taiwan’s top men’s doubles player Ray Ho also reached the second round. Hsieh, who made it to the semi-finals in the mixed doubles at Roland Garros in 2024, and Wallner defeated Klepac and Glasspool 6-3, 7-5 in just more than an hour, converting three of five break points, while holding their opponents to just one conversion
RSS