Heroes without a cup – AS.com

Dignity and pride are almost never enough for this ambitious Seville with a perennial look ahead, but they do summarize in some way the duel that Nervión fought and lost against which once again proved to be the best team in Europe, Bayern Munich. A football machine before which Lopetegui's men had their chances of winning for a long time, more even than any other team (including giants like PSG, Barcelona and Chelsea) in seven and a half months. The Bavarians, who had only needed 90 minutes to win the last 22 games in a row, this time went to extra time to bring down a team that honored their race, caste and courage, and their motto of this century: never be he surrendered, that he even had the Super Cup in En Nesyri's boots when there was no time for anything else. It had to be a Spaniard, Javi Martínez, who in what is possibly his last service to the Bavarian club will execute his compatriots already in extra time, after many minutes of standing up and even having a chance to take the Super Cup home. The nearly 12,000 spectators who attended the Puskas Arena, the first in a European competition tier since the pandemic, experienced it on site.

More Solomonic than Salomón, Julen Lopetegui awarded the base of the eleven who had played the entire final phase of the Europa League, that is, the one that has led him to this Super Cup. They were missing, because they have left, Banega and Reguilón, so the Basque coach threw logic and gallons: Escudero on the left and newcomer Ivan Rakitic but almost captain general in the center of the field. Maybe the seams were noticed by Sevilla because the Valladolid man has lowered the level in recent times and the Croatian, who accuses the poor physical preparation of the last Barcelona, ​​needs some time still to improve his rhythm.

Flick did qualify his most common lineup, or at least the most anticipated. On the left, perhaps fearing the constant increases of the tireless Navas, the Bayern coach decided to line up the Spaniard Lucas Hernández instead of the more offensive Alfonso Davies, who marveled in Lisbon. For Lucas, the Bavarians paid Atlético 80 million euros in the summer of 2019, but a torn ligament in his right ankle at the beginning of the campaign contributed to the fact that he barely added just over 1,000 minutes in all competitions, six only in the final phase. of the Champions.

In Lucas's band the penalty was created that put Sevilla ahead, precisely from Navas' first serious climb. De Jong had lowered the ball masterfully after a good cross from the palace so that Alaba would knock Rakitic down with his hip as he was about to shoot. Ocampos has not failed from 11 meters since he arrived at Sevilla (1-0, 13 '). By the site of Escudero Bayern carried their irrepressible danger in search of a tie. At times in the same state of grace that made him a hero of the Sixth Europa League, Bono had deflected a point-blank shot from Müller and then managed to stoically endure a heads-up from Lewandowski, but he is not Superman. After a magnificent drop in the area of ​​the Polish striker, Goretzka impaled her to the net (1-1, 34 ').

Sevilla endured until halftime with sacrifice behind the ball and as soon as he left the locker room, De Jong scored 2-1, in a shot in tandem with Süle that forced Neuer to stretch. The game had entered very early in that frantic phase, as of extension, of the maximum intensity duels at the beginning of the season, when many of the footballers lack strength. But the frenzy basically belonged to Bayern, capable of putting Lopetegui's team in their area so that the VAR annulled a goal by Lewandowski by millimeter offside and the English Taylor did not grant, due to a previous foul, another goal by Sané.

Sevilla resisted between cramps and even stayed on the edge of victory. But life is a moment, soccer too. With three minutes to go, En-Nesyri had the title on his feet, twice. Before and after the extension. Neuer guessed him a heads-up with two minutes to go to 90 and, just after overtime began, between the German goalkeeper's foot and the post, they ended up with another good gallop from the Moroccan striker. Exhausted before the German push, crouched between shots and feints, Javi Martínez scored after a rejection by Bono (2-1, 104 ') and there were more minutes left than Sevilla's air. It will be safe again, Seville.