No football club has made the European Cup more impressively part of its brand essence over the past two decades than Sevilla FC. The club from Andalusia – only a better middle class club in the Spanish Primera Division – won the UEFA Cup or the successor Europa League competition seven times between 2006 and 2023. And they also used the tricks of the rules with the opportunity to start in the Champions League, be eliminated there and then succeed in the Europa League.
This time that’s exactly what didn’t work. After a 1-2 defeat at RC Lens on matchday six of the group stage, Sevilla FC remained at the bottom of Group B. With only two points from six games, progress was not possible. The plan looked different. Arsenal and Eindhoven were ahead of the group. But with a win in Lens, the survivors from Seville would have saved themselves in third place in the group – and thus into the play-off round of the Europa League.
This was exactly the path the Andalusians took last year. After a mediocre premier class campaign with just one win against Copenhagen and a total of five points, they were one of the better representatives of their guild one class lower and played their way to the final. Sevilla won on penalties against AS Roma, which meant they qualified for the Champions League again.
The placement in the Spanish league would not have been nearly enough for this: eleventh place was even a disappointment for the minimalists from the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán. Nobody here dreams of winning titles against the superior forces of Barcelona or Madrid anyway. The last Spanish championship title came in 1946.
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In the decisive game on Tuesday evening in Lens, hope remained alive until the sixth minute of added time. Then Angelo Fulgini scored the final goal for the French. Przemyslaw Frankowski (63′) had previously made it 1-0 with a penalty. Veteran star Sergio Ramos (80th) managed to equalize with a penalty kick in his second attempt: he failed in the first attempt, but goalkeeper Brice Samba had moved too early.
A special record remains as a consolation prize: Ramos, who was active for Real Madrid for many years, scored his 17th goal in a Champions League game. That’s a record for defenders – and somehow typical for Sevilla FC.
