Sevilla, already well-versed in success in the Europa League (albeit in its old guise of the UEFA Cup), began their second period of command over the tournament, under the tutelage of Unai Emery, with victory against Benfica at the Juventus Stadium in the 2014 final.
The Spanish side triumphed on penalties after a 0-0 draw, Kevin Gameiro slotting home the winning kick, to commence an era of supremacy.
CHANGES
The defending champions from the previous season, Chelsea, were not able to defend their crown as they featured in the Champions League and reached the knockout stages. Prior to the draw for the group stage, the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld UEFA’s ban on Fenerbahce and Besiktas, meaning the two clubs were banned from the tournament due to the 2011 Turkish sports scandal. UEFA decided to replace Beşiktaş in the Europa League group stage with Tromso, who were knocked out in the playoff round previously, while APOEL replaced Fenerbahce via a draw. Metalist were also banned from Uefa competition for match-fixing, meaning that PAOK would move to the Champions League playoff round, giving Maccabi Tel Aviv gaining a place in the Europa League.
SUMMARY
When Chelsea successfully progressed from their group in the Champions League, it was confirmed that we would see a new champion in this season’s Europa League, and the favourites started circling.
An impressive 12 teams made it through the group stage unbeaten – Lazio, Tottenham, and Lyon among them – and the biggest win came when Valencia humbled St. Gallen 5-0 at the Mestalla.
The Round of 32 draw allowed many of the tournament big guns straightforward progress. Tottenham knocked out Dnipro (who would make it to the final in 2015), while Napoli eliminated Swansea 3-1 on aggregate. Juventus, whose stadium would be hosting the final, took care of Trabzonspor, while Ludogorets impressively ended the tournament of Serie giants Lazio. The biggest shock, however, came from Red Bull Salzburg, who destroyed Ajax…
Source link : https://www.footballcritic.com/season-reviews/sevillas-dominance-begins-the-2013-14-europa-league/37
Author : editors@footballcritic.com (Martin Macdonald)
Publish date : 2024-07-20 09:00:00
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