The 2016 UEFA Europa League final was a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

match between

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

of England and

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

of Spain on 18 May 2016 at

St. Jakob-Park St. Jakob-Park () is a Swiss sports stadium in Basel. It is the largest football venue in Switzerland and home to FC Basel. "Joggeli", as the venue is nicknamed by the locals, was originally built with a capacity of 33,433 seats. The capacity w ...

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, Switzerland. The showpiece event was the final match of the

2015–16 UEFA Europa League The 2015–16 UEFA Europa League was the 45th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the seventh season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The final was played between Liverpoo ...

, the 45th season of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

's secondary club

tournament organised by

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

. Liverpool were appearing in their fourth final, after their appearances in

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

and

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, all of which they won. Sevilla were appearing in their fifth final and third in succession. They had appeared in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, as well as the previous two finals in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, winning all four. Liverpool entered the competition in the group stages, while Sevilla started in the round of 32 after finishing third in their Champions League group. Liverpool's ties in the knockout phase ranged from close affairs to comfortable victories. A last-minute goal against

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

of Germany secured a 5–4 aggregate victory in the quarter-finals, while they beat

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...

of Spain 3–1 over two legs in the semi-final. Sevilla's matches were similar. They beat the Swiss team

FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Basel, in the Basel-Stadt, Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been List of Swiss footba ...

3–0 on aggregate in the Round of 16, but their quarter-final match with fellow Spanish team

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

went to a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

, which they won 5–4 after the tie had finished 3–3 over two-legs. Watched by a crowd of 34,429, Liverpool took the lead in the 35th minute when striker

Daniel Sturridge Daniel Andre Sturridge Johnson (born 1 September 1989) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. Since 2023, he has worked as a television pundit for Sky Sports. Sturridge was scouted by Aston Villa and played for ...

scored. However, they conceded within the first minute of the second half when Sevilla striker

Kevin Gameiro Kevin Dominique Gameiro (born 9 May 1987) is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was a strong striker known for his clinical finishing, which compensated for his relatively light frame. Gameiro began his football ...

levelled the match. Sevilla took the lead in the 64th minute when captain Coke scored. They extended their lead six minutes later when Coke scored his second of the match. Liverpool were unable to respond during the remainder of the match which meant Sevilla won the match 3–1 to win the competition for the fifth time, and third in succession. Sevilla earned the right to play against the winners of the

2015–16 UEFA Champions League The 2015–16 UEFA Champions League was the 61st season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 24th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Barcelona were th ...

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, in the

2016 UEFA Super Cup The 2016 UEFA Super Cup was the 41st edition of the UEFA Super Cup, an annual football match organised by UEFA and contested by the reigning champions of the two main European club competitions, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. ...

. They also qualified for the group stage of the

2016–17 UEFA Champions League The 2016–17 UEFA Champions League was the 62nd season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 25th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was pla ...

, as Real Madrid also qualified for the group stage through domestic performance, that meant the berth reserved for the Champions League title holders was not used and passed to the Europa League title holders.

Venue

The

was announced as the venue of the final at the UEFA Executive Committee meeting in

Nyon Nyon (; historically German language, German: or and Italian language, Italian: , ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in Nyon District in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilometer ...

, Switzerland, on 18 September 2014. This was the first European club final hosted at the stadium, although the previous stadium of the same name, the

St. Jakob Stadium The St. Jakob Stadium was a football (soccer), football stadium in Basel, Switzerland and the former home of Swiss club FC Basel. It was built in view of the 1954 FIFA World Cup, and as well as serving as a club stadium, it hosted several import ...

, which opened in 1954 for the

1954 FIFA World Cup The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the 5th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June ...

and closed in 1998, hosted four

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

finals in

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. The current St. Jakob-Park, nicknamed "Joggeli" by fans, was built in 1998 and opened in 2001, and is the home stadium of

. It hosted six matches at

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...

, including the opening match and a semi-final. Its current capacity is 38,512, but is reduced to nearly 36,000 seats for UEFA competitions. After Basel got transferred to the Europa League after conceding to

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv () is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such as football, basketball, j ...

by away goals, Basel had the chance to become the first team to win the competition in home ground since

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, and the first to win it under the Europa League banner. This possibility ended after Basel was eliminated in the round of 16 by

Background

The

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

was an annual football club competition organised by

since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualified for the competition based on their performance in their national leagues and cup competitions. It was the second-tier competition of European club football, ranking below the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

. In 2010, the UEFA Cup evolved into the Europa League. Liverpool's first appearance in

European football UEFA competitions (), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur association football and futsal. T ...

was in the

1964–65 European Cup The 1964–65 European Cup was the tenth season of the European Cup, UEFA's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Inter Milan for the second time in row, beating 1–0 two-time former champions Benfica in a final at San ...

, when they reached the semi-finals. Since then, they had appeared in eleven European finals with five European Cup triumphs (

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

), two losses in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

and

, three UEFA Cup victories in

and

and defeats in the final of the European Cup Winners's Cup in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

. Sevilla had first appeared in European competition in the

1957–58 European Cup The 1957–58 European Cup was the third season of the European Cup, Europe's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Real Madrid, who beat Milan 3–2 in the final, in extra time following a 2–2 draw after 90 minutes. This ...

when they reached the quarter-finals. This represented Sevilla's best performance until they won the first of their four Europa League victories in

. They had subsequently won in

, and

. This was their third final in succession. Victory would secure a record fifth success in the competition, while victory for Liverpool would see them join Sevilla as the most successful team in the competition with four victories. This was the first time the two sides had met each other in European competition. The

goal-line technology In association football, goal-line technology (sometimes referred to as a Goal Decision System) is the use of electronic aid to determine if a goal has been scored or not. In detail, it is a method used to determine when the ball has completely ...

system

Hawk-Eye Hawk-Eye is a computer vision system used to visually track the trajectory of a ball and display a profile of its statistically most likely path as a moving image. It is used in more than 20 major sports, including cricket, tennis, Gaelic foo ...

was used for the match. This was the first UEFA competition match to employ goal-line technology, following approval by the UEFA Executive Committee in January 2016.

Route to the final

''Note: In the table, the score of the finalist is given first (H = home; A = away).''

Liverpool

Liverpool were drawn in Group B along with

Rubin Kazan FC Rubin Kazan (; ) is a Russian professional football club based in the city of Kazan. They play in the Russian Premier League. Founded in 1958, Rubin played its first-ever top flight season in 2003. It has remained there through the 2021–2 ...

of Russia,

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

of France, and

Sion Sion may refer to * an alternative transliteration of Zion People * Sion (name) or Siôn, a Welsh and other given name and surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Shion or Sion, a Japanese given name Plac ...

of Switzerland. Their first match was away against Bordeaux at the

Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux The Matmut Atlantique, also known as the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux (, "New Bordeaux Stadium"), is a football stadium in Bordeaux, France. It is the home of Championnat National 2 club FC Girondins de Bordeaux and seats 42,115 spectators. The spon ...

Adam Lallana Adam David Lallana ( ; born 10 May 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club Southampton, and is also interim assistant manager at the club. Lallana began his youth career with AFC Bournemouth b ...

scored for Liverpool in the 65th minute but Bordeaux equalised in the 81st minute when Jussiê to secure a 1–1 draw. Their next match again at their home ground, Anfield against Sion finished by the same scoreline. A fourth minute goal by Lallana was followed by an

Ebenezer Assifuah Ebenezer Kofi Assifuah-Inkoom (born 3 July 1993) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Malaysia Super League club Kedah Darul Aman. Before moving to Swiss club Sion, he played for Liberty Professionals in his home ...

goal for Sion in the 18th minute. Liverpool's next match was against Rubin Kazan at Anfield. Before the match, manager

Brendan Rodgers Brendan Rodgers (born 26 January 1973) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who is manager of Scottish Premiership club Celtic. Rodgers began his career as a defender at Ballymena United, where he stayed until h ...

had been sacked and replaced by

Jürgen Klopp Jürgen Norbert Klopp (; born 16 June 1967) is a German football executive and former Manager (association football), manager and Football player, player. He is widely regarded as one of the best football managers in the world. Klopp has been ...

. Despite being the more attacking of the two teams, Liverpool 35 shots to Kazan's 5, the match finished in another 1–1 draw. Liverpool faced Kazan again in the return match at the

Kazan Arena Ak Bars Arena (; , formerly known as Kazan Arena (; )) is a stadium in Kazan, Russia. It was completed in July 2013, and hosts football matches, especially FC Rubin Kazan's home games in the Russian Premier League. The stadium has the largest o ...

. A goal by Jordan Ibe in the 52nd minute secured their first win of the season in the competition. Liverpool faced Bordeaux at anfield in their next match. they went behind in the 33rd minute when

Henri Saivet Henri Grégoire Saivet (born 26 October 1990) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Clermont. Although initially a France youth international, he played for the Senegal national team from 2013 to 2019. Sa ...

scored but a

Penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

James Milner James Philip Milner (born 4 January 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Brighton & Hove Albion. A versatile player, Milner has played in multiple positions, including on either wing, in midfield and ...

and a goal by

Christian Benteke Christian Benteke Liolo (born 3 December 1990) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club D.C. United. Benteke began his career at Standard Liège, playing a part in their 2008–09 Belgian Firs ...

in first-half stoppage time secured a 2–1 victory which meant Liverpool would progress to the knockout stages of the competition. Their final match in the group stage, away at Sion, finished in a 0–0 draw. The result meant Liverpool finished top of Group B with 10 points. Liverpool were drawn against

FC Augsburg Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg (), is a Football in Germany, German professional football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. T ...

of Germany in the round of 32. The first leg was held at Augsburg home ground, the

Augsburg Arena Augsburg Arena, currently known commercially as the WWK Arena (; officially stylised as WWK ARENA, also "Schwabenstadion"), is a football stadium in Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany. It is used mostly for football matches and hosts the home matches of ...

, finished 0–0 in what Andy Hunter, writing in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', described as a "tame goalless draw." Liverpool won the second leg at Anfield 1–0 courtesy of a penalty from Milner. Liverpool were drawn against domestic rivals

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in the round of 16. Liverpool went ahead in the first leg at Anfield in the 2oth minute when

converted a penalty after

Nathaniel Clyne Nathaniel Edwin Clyne (born 5 April 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back or right wing-back and occasionally centre-back for club Crystal Palace. A Crystal Palace academy graduate, Clyne made his senior debu ...

was fouled in the United penalty area by

Memphis Depay Memphis Depay (; born 13 February 1994), also known mononymously as Memphis, is a Dutch professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Sport Club Corin ...

Roberto Firmino Roberto Firmino Barbosa de Oliveira (born 2 October 1991) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward or attacking midfielder for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli, which he captains. After starting his career with Figueiren ...

scored in the 73rd minute to secure a 2–0 victory. The second leg at United's home ground,

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

, saw United go ahead in the 32nd minute when

Anthony Martial Anthony Jordan Martial (; born 5 December 1995) is a French professional footballer who plays for Super League Greece club AEK Athens. After playing youth football for Les Ulis, Martial began his professional career at Lyon, before transferri ...

scored a penalty following a foul by Clyne. Liverpool equalised in the 45th minute when

Philippe Coutinho Philippe Coutinho Correia (born 12 June 1992) is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or left winger for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club CR Vasco da Gama, Vasco da Gama, on loan fr ...

scored and with no further goals, the match ended 1–1 with Liverpool's progression to the quarter-finals with a 3–1 aggregate victory. Their next opponents were

of Germany, the team Liverpool manager Klopp had managed the season before. The first leg at Dortmund's home ground, the

Westfalenstadion Westfalenstadion (, ) is a football stadium in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, which is the home stadium of Borussia Dortmund. Officially called Signal Iduna Park for sponsorship reasons and BVB Stadion Dortmund in UEFA competitions, ...

, saw Liverpool take the lead in the 36th minute when

Divock Origi Divock Okoth Origi (born 18 April 1995) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for club AC Milan. Following 8 July 2024, he is no longer part of their first team squad, and currently trains with and is listed in the squad ...

scored. The lead was shortlived as

Mats Hummels Mats Julian Hummels (; born 16 December 1988) is a German former professional Association football, footballer who played as a centre-back. Known for his well-timed tackles, accurate long passes from the back, aerial ability and strength, he is r ...

equalised for Dortmund in the 38th minute to secure a 1–1 draw. Dortmund scored two early goals in the second leg at Anfield courtesy of

Henrikh Mkhitaryan Henrikh Mkhitaryan ( ; born 21 January 1989) is an Armenian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Inter Milan. Mkhitaryan won four Armenian Premier League titles with Pyunik, and joined Metalurh Donetsk in 2009; he moved ...

and

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Pierre-Emerick Emiliano François Aubameyang (born 18 June 1989) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Saudi Pro League club Al Qadsiah FC, Al-Qadsiah and Captain (associat ...

. The first half finished with Dortmund two goals up which meant Liverpool needed to score three to progress due to the

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

. Liverpool scored early on in the second half when Origi, the lead was shortlived as

Marco Reus Marco Reus (; born 31 May 1989) is a German professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy. Reus spent his youth career at Borussia Dortmund, prior to l ...

scored for Dortmund nine minutes later. Once again, Liverpool needed to score three goals to progress. Coutinho scored in the 66th minute and Liverpool levelled the match 11 minutes later when

Mamadou Sakho Mamadou Sakho (born 13 February 1990) is a French professional Association football, footballer who most recently played as a centre-back for Erovnuli Liga club FC Torpedo Kutaisi, Torpedo Kutaisi. Sakho began his career at Paris FC before mov ...

. Still requiring one goal to progress to the semi-finals,

Dejan Lovren Dejan Lovren (; born 5 July 1989) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Super League Greece club PAOK. Lovren began his career at Dinamo Zagreb before moving to Lyon in January 2010. He spent three and a half seas ...

headed in Milner's

cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

in stoppage time to win the match 4–3 and the tie 5–4 on aggregate. The match was described by

Phil McNulty Phil McNulty is an Irish Liverpool-born sports journalist. He has been BBC Sport’s chief football writer since July 2000. Early life McNulty attended Roman Catholic secondary school De La Salle Grammar in Liverpool. Journalism He covered t ...

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC BBC Television, television, BBC Radio, radio and BBC Online, online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadc ...

, as "one of the most dramatic comebacks Anfield has seen." Liverpool faced

of Spain in the semi-finals. The first leg at Villarreal's home ground, El Madrigal, was on course to finish goalless until

Adrián López Adrián López Álvarez (; born 8 January 1988), known simply as Adrián, is a Spanish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward, currently assistant coach at La Liga club Rayo ...

scored in the last minute to secure a 1–0 victory for Villarreal. Liverpool went ahead in the seventh minute of the second leg at Anfield when

Bruno Soriano Bruno Soriano Llido (; born 12 June 1984) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He spent his entire career with Villarreal since making his first appearance with the first team in 2006, and played 42 ...

scored an

own goal An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net. In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...

. Sturridge extended their lead in the 63rd minute and a goal from Lallana in the 81st minute, following a

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or di ...

for Víctor Ruiz, secured a 3–0 win and Liverpool's progression to the final.

Pre-match

Ambassador

Former

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and

striker

Alexander Frei Alexander Frei or Alex Frei (born 15 July 1979) is a Swiss professional football coach and a former player who played as a forward. He was most recently head coach of FC Aarau in the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of Swiss football. Fr ...

was named the ambassador for the final.

Identity

UEFA unveiled the brand identity of the final on 28 August 2015 in

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

ahead of the group stage draw. The logo features the Basel landmark Marktplatz.

Ticketing

With a stadium capacity of 35,000, a total amount of 27,000 tickets were available to fans and the general public, with the two finalist teams receiving 9,000 tickets each and with 9,000 tickets being available for sale to fans worldwide via UEFA.com from 23 February to 21 March 2016 in four price categories: CHF 180, CHF 120, CHF 90, and CHF 50. The remaining tickets were allocated to the local organising committee, UEFA and national associations, commercial partners and broadcasters, and to serve the corporate hospitality programme. UEFA was forced to defend the choice of St. Jakob-Park, which is the second smallest venue to host the competition's final, as the final competition venue after Liverpool and Sevilla were confirmed as the finalists. Liverpool manager

, who initially told the supporters to travel to Basel even without a ticket, later backtracked from his suggestion.

Officials

In May 2016, Swedish

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

Jonas Eriksson Jonas may refer to: Geography * Jonas, Netherlands, Netherlands * Jonas, Pennsylvania, United States * Jonas Ridge, North Carolina, United States Arts, entertainment, and media * Jonas Brothers, American pop rock band. ** ''Jonas'' (TV serie ...

was selected to supervise the final. He was joined by fellow Swedish officials Mathias Klasenius and Daniel Wärnmark as assistant referees,

Stefan Johannesson Stefan Johannesson (born 22 November 1971) is a Swedish football referee. Johannesson currently resides in Täby. He was a full international referee for FIFA between 2003 and 2017. He became a professional referee in 1994 and has been an Allsve ...

and

Markus Strömbergsson Markus Strömbergsson (born 26 April 1975) is a Swedish football referee. He was a full international referee for FIFA between 2006 and 2012. He became a professional referee in 1996 and has been an Allsvenskan referee since 2003. Strömbergsson ...

as additional assistant referees, Mehmet Culum as reserve assistant referee, and Norwegian official

Svein Oddvar Moen Svein Oddvar Moen (born 22 January 1979) is a Norwegian football referee. He took up refereeing in 1995, and made his debut in the Eliteserien in 2003. He represents SK Haugar. Career He was selected to officiate the final of the 2011 FIFA U- ...

fourth official In association football, an assistant referee (also known as a linesman) is an official who assists the referee in administering the Laws of the Game during a match. Although assistants are not required under the Laws, at most organised levels ...

Match

Summary

In the 35th minute

scored with a shot using the outside of his left foot from out on the left after a pass from

. Seventeen seconds into the second half

made it 1–1 when he scored three yards out after a cross from the right by

Mariano Mariano is a masculine name from the Romance languages, corresponding to the feminine Mariana. It is an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese variant of the Roman Marianus which derived from Marius, and Marius derived from the Roman god Mars (see als ...

who got past

Alberto Moreno Alberto Moreno Pérez (; born 5 July 1992) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for club Como. An academy graduate of local side Sevilla, he made his senior debut for the club's reserve side in 2011 before going on t ...

by putting the ball between his legs. Sevilla missed two more chances to score before they went in front in the 64th minute when Coke scored with a low right foot shot to the corner of the net from twenty yards. Coke got his second in the 70th minute with a right foot shot from six yards out on the right after the ball broke to him via a deflection off a Liverpool player. With this defeat, Liverpool became the second English club and fourth overall – after

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

and

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

– to have been runner-up in all three major European competitions ( European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League, and the now-defunct

Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renamed the UEFA Cup Winne ...

Details

The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the semi-final draw, which was held on 15 April 2016 at UEFA headquarters in

Statistics

References

External links

2015–16 UEFA Europa League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uefa Europa League Final 2016

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

Europa League Final The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the second- ...

Sports competitions in Basel International club association football competitions hosted by Switzerland Liverpool F.C. matches Sevilla FC matches

May 2016 sports events in Europe 21st century in Basel