2023 Europa League Fixtures: Sevilla won a record seventh UEL title

Top Ten Fixtures of the Season

The Europa League culminated in Sevilla’s penalty shootout victory over AS Roma. Sevilla won a record seventh UEL title in an action-packed campaign. While Sevilla played in some of the season’s best matches, we’ll look back at some of the best 2022-2023 Europa League fixtures. Let’s review the ten best matches of the UEL season between comebacks, extra time winners, and outrageous goals.

Ferencvaros 3-2 Trabzonspor

It didn’t take long for Europa League action to get interesting. On the first Matchday, Ferencvaros scored five minutes in, and the hosts’ Eldar Civic got sent off just over ten minutes later.

A man down, Ferencvaros still scored two more times in the first half. Trabzonspor were down 3-1 heading into the second half, and Umut Bozok brought the match within a goal with 20 minutes left. Still, 10-man Ferencvaros managed to hold on for a win.

Union Saint-Gilloise 3-3 SC Braga

Braga’s Vitinha, who now plays for Marseille, scored a first-half hat trick at Union Saint-Gilloise last October. He found the net in the 15th, 36th, and 41st minutes. Victor Boniface also scored in the 20th minute for USG, and the hosts entered halftime at 3-1 down.

Dante Vanzeir found the net for USG shortly after halftime ended, and Boniface tied the game on a header from a Loic Lapoussin cross. Boniface was a joint leader in the Europa League stats, along with Marcus Rashford, with six goals in the competition.

Fenerbahce 3-3 Rennes

Two weeks after Union Saint-Gilloise and SC Braga drew 3-3, Fenerbahce and Rennes did the same. The circumstances were a bit different as Fenerbahce went 3-0 down in the first 30 minutes of the match. In one of the most exciting 2022-2023 Europa League fixtures, Fenerbahce clawed their way back as Enner Valencia got a goal before the half.

At 3-1 down with under ten minutes to play, Fenerbahce scored twice before the final whistle. Miha Zajc and Emre Mor scored in the 82nd and 88th minutes, respectively.

Monaco 2-3 Leverkusen (agg. 5-5, PK: 3-5)

Bayer Leverkusen blew a 2-1 lead at home in the first leg of the playoff vs. Monaco to lose 3-2. That meant they needed a win on the road in the second leg to stay alive. Leverkusen led 2-1 just over 20 minutes in, as Florian Wirtz and Exequiel Palacios got on the scoresheet. Wissam Ben Yedder also scored a penalty for Monaco.

With Amine Adli’s 58th minute goal, it appeared Bayer Leverkusen would advance to the round of 16. Then, Breel Embolo leveled the score on aggregate in the 84th minute and the fixture went into extra time. Neither team scored in extra time but all of Leverkusen’s PK takers converted to send them through to the round of 16.

Manchester United 2-1 Barcelona (agg. 4-3)

Fans were incredibly excited when they saw Manchester United vs. Barcelona on the Europa League schedule. Heading into the first leg, Man United had lost their last three games at the Camp Nou. Still, they salvaged a 2-2 draw heading into the second leg.

Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring for Barcelona in the reverse fixture, but United came storming back. Fred leveled the score just after halftime, and Antony’s half-volley powered United to a win over the tournament favorites.

Union Berlin 3-3 Union Saint-Gilloise

Union Berlin and Union Saint-Gilloise combined for six goals in the first leg of their round of 16 fixture. Victor Boniface continued his excellent form in the Europa League and scored twice for USG on the road.

New signing Josip Juranovic opened the scoring for Union Berlin as Sven Michel’s 89th-minute equalizer preserved a draw. USG went on to win the second leg 3-0 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Arsenal 1-1 Sporting (agg. 3-3, PK: 3-5)

Both legs of Arsenal and Sporting CP’s round of 16 fixture were thrillers. The Gunners and the Portuguese giants drew 2-2 in the first leg in Lisbon. Back at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal opened up the scoring through Granit Xhaka.

However, Sporting refused to give in and put together some excellent attacking moves. It was a moment of absolute brilliance that leveled the score, though. Pedro Goncalves saw Aaron Ramsdale off his line from the center circle and chipped Arsenal’s keeper from nearly half field. Sporting went on to win the match in penalties and knock out Arsenal early.

Roma 4-1 Feyenoord (agg. 4-2)

Like in the round of 16, Roma lost the first leg of the quarterfinal 1-0 to Feyenoord. That meant Jose Mourinho’s side needed a big effort in the second leg to go through. With the score tied at 1-1 through 88 minutes, it looked like Feyenoord would send Roma packing.

In one of the most stunning 2022-2023 Europa League fixtures, Paulo Dybala scored in the 89th minute to send the tie into extra time. Stephan El Shaarawy and Lorenzo Pellegrini got the job for Roma, who eventually advanced to the final.

Sevilla 3-0 Manchester United (agg. 5-2)

Both legs of this fixture could easily be on this list, but the second leg of Sevilla vs. Manchester United’s quarterfinal was shocking. It was bad enough for United that they conceded two late own goals in the first leg to allow Sevilla back into the match.

Then, Sevilla thumped the Red Devils 3-0 in the second leg to advance to the semifinal. Youssef En-Nesyri scored a double in the match and is no stranger to scoring big goals. He also scored the game’s only goal vs. Portugal that sent Morocco to the semifinal of the FIFA World Cup.

Sevilla 2-1 Juventus (agg. 3-2)

Youssef En-Nesyri also scored the opener in the first leg for Sevilla at Juventus in the semifinal. However, Federico Gatti scored a 97th minute equalizer for Juve to level proceedings heading into the second leg.

Things looked bleak for Sevilla as Juve’s Dusan Vlahovic came on and scored as a substitute. With the aggregate score at 2-1 to Juve, Sevilla substitute Suso leveled the score in the 71st minute. In a nervy extra time period, Sevilla’s Erik Lamela scored the winning header to send Los Sevillistas through to their seventh final. There, they stayed perfect in Europa League finals and beat Roma in penalties to become 2022-23 Europa League champions.

Can’t get enough? Here’s more!

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• UEFA Conference League Finals Odds, Preview: Rare Meeting Between the Two Sides
• Europa League Finals Odds & Preview: Sevilla Clash with Roma in Budapest