Sevilla join Boro in final
Sevilla set up a date with Middlesbrough in Eindhoven next month in the final of the UEFA Cup after beating Schalke 1-0 in extra time at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium.
There was nothing between the two sides over the regular 180 minutes, meaning extra-time was required to settle the tie.
And it took the fresh legs of Sevilla substitute Antonio Puerta to break the deadlock and put the Spaniards in the final, creating the second Anglo-Spanish European final after Barcelona 24 hours earlier joined Arsenal in the final of the Champions League.
After a tense first leg in Germany, there were no signs of nerves on either side in an open first 45 minutes.
The home side pushed for the opener while Schalke tried to control the ball in midfield and look for openings on the wing.
Kevin Kuranyi almost put Schalke ahead from a Rafinha cross, but he was in an offside position when his header was saved at the second attempt by Andres Palop.
Sevilla’s main threat came from the boot of Jose Marti, whose set-pieces were causing panic in the Schalke penalty area.
His first on the half-hour mark needed just a minor touch from Javier Saviola and it would have probably beaten Frank Rost, but the Argentinian could not get his head to the ball and the Schalke goalkeeper collected the ball with relief.
Shortly afterwards, and from an identical position, another curling Marti free-kick bypassed everyone and a fumble by Rost was almost punished, but he collected the ball cleanly before the onrushing strikers could get a foot in.
While Marti was showing his precision from the set piece, Saviola showed an excellent technique to volley Marcelo Bordon’s headed clearance at goal from 20 yards, but watched it land comfortably in Rost’s grasp just before the interval.
If either side were to make it to the final, they would have to score at some point and, as time ran out for both sides, it was Schalke who began to show more urgency.
Indeed, for them, an away goal would have significantly relieved the pressure and forced Sevilla to require two goals to go through.
Gerald Asamoah drilled in his first shot of the evening and the long-lasting whistles from the home fans would have been music to the ears of the Schalke players.
It meant they were getting on top.
But there were still holes at the back and Bordon had to make a desperate clearance over his own crossbar to prevent Saviola from having an easy nod-in at the far post.
There was nothing easy about Rost’s diving one-handed save from Saviola with 15 minutes remaining, even if his acrobatic volley from the edge of the area was heading wide of the post.
As the game entered its final 10 minutes, Mirko Slomka took a gamble by introducing Danish striker Soren Larsen for full-back Dario Rodriguez.
But he could not make the difference in normal time as the 90 minutes expired without any goals being scored.
It was going to take something special to break the deadlock, and it came for the home side through substitute Puerta.
Rafinha had drifted out of position, leaving Puerta free to the left of goal and he provided a deadly finish with his left foot, curling his shot back inside the far post for the winner after 191 goalless minutes.
There was a late scare when Bordon headed Lincoln’s cross at Palop, but the Sevilla goalkeeper held on to the ball to secure his side’s passage into the final.
Sevilla’s reward is a tie with Middlesbrough as England and Spain prepare to battle it out for Europe’s top two club competitions next month.
