- Sevilla wins third-straight UEFA Cup
- Coke an unlikely brace hero
- Gameiro also scores
- Sturridge for Liverpool
Coke scored twice in the second half to cap a three-goal span of 20 minutes as Sevilla won its fifth UEFA Cup with a 3-1 win over Liverpool at St. Jakob-Park in Basel on Wednesday.
Kevin Gameiro canceled out Daniel Sturridge’s wonder goal to set the stage for Sevilla’s big finish. Coke entered the game with 13 goals in 170 appearances for Sevilla, but the captain filled the net in Switzerland.
Liverpool fans will be ruing a pair of uncalled first half handballs that easily would’ve set the Reds up for a multi-goal halftime lead. Instead, it finished 1-0.
[ MORE: Watch full PL match replays ]
A first bit of real danger saw Steven N’Zonzi’s header moved away from goal before Kevin Gameiro’s overhead kick went wide of the goal.
Sturridge’s gorgeous tally made it 1-0 in the 35th minute, taking a phenomenal and quick strike with the outside of his left foot. Watch it again, and again, and again.
[ MORE: Latest Premier League standings ]13 - Daniel Sturridge is now the top goalscorer of Liverpool in all competitions this season. Golden.
— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) May 18, 2016
[ MORE: Full lineups, stats, box score ]
Sevilla needed just 15 second half seconds to equalize as Gameiro darted behind Dejan Lovren to tap in Mariano’s cross-six feed. 1-1.
Gameiro should’ve doubled his haul when N’Zonzi headed a long throw onto his plate only for Simon Mignolet to make a critical point-blank stop right on the hour mark.
The two-time reigning champs were feeling their chances at this point, and the dominant Liverpool of the first 45 had gone missing.
Coke gave Sevilla a lead in the 64th minute, taking advantage of a great bit of movement featuring Vitolo as the pivotal piece. Coke feasted on a long touch from Vitolo, bouncing a shot past Mignolet for his first Europa League goal.
Coke added another in the 70th minute, all alone at the back post to hammer a shot off Mignolet and into the side netting. Where was Alberto Moreno?