Sevilla to face Dnipro in Europa League final
May 14, 2015
Fiorentina 0-2 Sevilla (0-5 on aggregate)
(Bacca 22', Carrico 26')
Sevilla could become the most successful club in UEFA Europa League history after booking their place in the final for the second successive year.
The Andalusians made no mistake in Italy, dispatching Serie A's Fiorentina 2-0 on the night - a 5-0 win on aggregate - with strikes from Carlos Bacca and Daniel Carrico.
Sevilla has won UEFA's second major tournament three times since 2006 - level with Liverpool, Juventus and Inter Milan who succeeded under the 'UEFA Cup' banner. One more would make the Spanish club outright record-holders with four victories.
But even with a 3-0 deficit, the Florence locals believed they could turn this tie around, despite leaving German international Mario Gomez on the bench. Within 20 minutes, the fans were left reeling as Unai Emery's side scored at a decisive point in the game to take the sting out of Fiorentina's efforts.
Colombian striker Bacca battered the ball into the net from close range, the 28-year-old snapping up his sixth European goal of the campaign. Four minutes later, Sevilla doubled their lead through Carrico whose touch in the six-yard-box beat the Fiorentina goalie Neto.
La Viola seemed to throw in the towel after the break, but was presented a chance to salvage some pride from the clash. Josip Illicic ballooned one from the penalty spot on 66 minutes, but had he scored, it would have been little more than a footnote.
Emery's men march on to become Spain's fifth Europa League finalist in the past six seasons.
Dnipro 1-0 Napoli (2-1 on aggregate)
(Seleznyov 58')
Meanwhile, Ukrainian side Dnipro booked their place in a historic first European final with a 2-1 on aggregate against much-touted Napoli.
More than 500 kilometers from their home of Dnipropetrovsk in Kyiv, Myron Markeyvch's underdogs secured a 1-0 win on the night with Yevhen Seleznyov firing the decisive goal in the second-half.
Olympiakos, Ajax and Club Brugge have gone down at the hands of Dnipro this season, but Serie A side Napoli, coached by Rafael Benitez, was expected to take the win in the Ukrainian capital and progress.
But Benitez's men were wasteful - Gonzalo Higuain should have finished better on seven minutes when one-vs-one with the keeper. Goal scorer Seleznyov tested Mariano Andujar in the first half but chances generally were limited as the wet surface forced both sides to play direct football.
On 49 minutes, Seleznyov charged through on goal before being dispossessed at the last minute. Nine minutes later, however, he'd have his moment of glory, scoring his third goal of the competition and his second against Napoli in this round.
As Napoli pushed at the other end, Dnipro was presented with a handful of golden chances to make the win beyond doubt, but a combination of Andujar and poor finishing put the champagne on ice for a few extra minutes.
Amid conflict in Ukraine, UEFA have successfully managed to avoid any Russia-Ukraine encounters in the last four and FC Dnipro has the chance to write their name in its country's football folklore on May 27 in Warsaw.