Europa League: Sevilla vs Roma! Mourinho's dark magic faces its nemesis, will it be tough to win in 90 minutes?

Let's start today’s discussion with the Europa League final: Sevilla vs Roma!

One is the "King of the Europa League" with six finals and six wins, the other is the "King of European Competitions" with five finals and five wins — both undefeated champions. Whose "mysticism" will be broken?

Ferguson once said:“Attack wins matches, defense wins championships.”The latter part perfectly describes Mourinho.

In Mourinho’s last four European finals, his teams kept clean sheets throughout, totaling 423 minutes without conceding in European finals.

Although his teams were stronger than their final opponents, maintaining such a long clean sheet streak is still impressive.

Roma captain Pellegrini said: “We analyzed all opponents’ attacking styles and figured out how to control their strengths.”

This is not boasting; in the last round against Leverkusen, they had 23 shots to 1 and 71% possession to 29%, yet Roma managed a clean sheet despite such a disadvantage, which wouldn't be possible without fully understanding the opponent's attacking tactics.

However, this also highlights a problem for Roma: their attack is too weak.

No matter how defensive they are, having only one shot in the entire match is excessive.

In fact, they have the worst attack among the top 8 Serie A teams, especially worse when their star scorer and assist leader Dybala is absent.

Today Mourinho said Dybala can play 20 to 30 minutes, which means Dybala might only come on late when the opponent is heavily fatigued.

Most of Mourinho’s previous European finals featured teams with strength advantages or at least strong attacking capabilities.

Having a weak attacking setup like Roma now, and the key player unable to start, is a first for him.

Last year’s final against Feyenoord yielded only one goal; facing a strong, experienced opponent like Sevilla today, can they score more?

It seems very difficult, right?

Also, I noticed Sevilla training specifically to counter Roma’s defensive style.

What’s Roma’s defensive style? Lots of disruptive challenges and fouls, even willing to risk yellow cards to snuff out opponents’ attacking sparks.

They also use various time-wasting tactics to break the opponent’s rhythm and frustrate their emotions.

That’s why, back in 2003 during Mourinho’s first European final, opposing fans kept shouting “cheating,” and Celtic’s coach accused them of using “dark magic,” basically expressing disbelief at Mourinho’s unprecedented defensive approach being a bit “unsportsmanlike.”

How is Sevilla preparing to counter this?

They have been intensely practicing quick one-touch passing in training.

If you can avoid holding onto the ball and release it quickly, Roma’s disruptive challenges won’t have time to take effect.

Although this is very difficult, technically skilled Sevilla can manage it; after all, they’ve played possession football for years. If Barcelona is the Peking University among possession teams, Sevilla is at least the equivalent of a top-tier university.

In La Liga, Getafe has a similar approach to Roma: parking the bus plus "dark magic," the lowest possession and most yellow cards in the league.

Sevilla has beaten Getafe seven times in a row before and is not afraid of this “entry-level Roma.”

So, what about facing the top-tier version of Getafe tonight?

If Roma attacks, does Mourinho really have the confidence to keep a clean sheet for the fifth consecutive European final?

Although Roma is the favorite with a squad value 50% higher than Sevilla’s and Sevilla missing key players like Acuña.

However, Sevilla’s last two titles came against Liverpool and Inter Milan, both stronger teams, demonstrating their ability to win as underdogs.

If a coach can lead a team to a title, maybe the coach is great.

But with so many coaches like Ramos, Emery, and Lopetegui also winning titles, perhaps the team’s tactics are just very well suited for the Europa League. Are they really opponents that can be easily beaten within 90 minutes?

An experienced defensive coach like Mourinho probably won’t underestimate the opponent. Given Sevilla’s quick passing ability, if Roma pushes forward, no matter how many fouls they commit, it might be too late to stop Sevilla.

And with Dybala only able to come off the bench for a short time, Mourinho may choose to use his best resources wisely: first wear down Sevilla’s stamina, then launch the decisive attack.

After all, Sevilla’s starting players average over 30 years old; the longer the game drags on, the more advantageous it is for Roma. So Roma may opt for a more conservative strategy during regular time.

And if Roma is determined to defend stubbornly, anyone would find it tough. Even with 71% possession, Leverkusen was kept scoreless. If Roma doesn’t come out, there’s little you can do.

Considering all factors, is it really easy for either side to settle the match in regular time? What do you think?I don’t believe Sevilla will lose in regular time; if it’s a one-on-one, I expect the match to at least go into extra time.

Alright, for today’s other games, I’ll still send you written analysis in the evening. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. “Watch football clearly,” see you then!

If you like it, please tap to follow and like!