2018 UEFA Europa League final

The 2018 UEFA Europa League Final was the final match of the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League, the 47th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 9th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. It was played at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Décines-Charpieu, Lyon, France on 16 May 2018,[5] between French side Marseille and Spanish side Atlético Madrid.[6][7]

2018 UEFA Europa League Final
Match programme cover
Event2017–18 UEFA Europa League
Date16 May 2018 (2018-05-16)
VenueParc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu
Man of the MatchAntoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid)[1]
RefereeBjörn Kuipers (Netherlands)[2]
Attendance55,768[3]
WeatherCloudy night
18 °C (64 °F)
66% humidity[4]
2017
2019

Atlético Madrid won the match 3–0 for their third Europa League title.[8] As winners, Atlético Madrid earned the right to play against the winners of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid, in the 2018 UEFA Super Cup. They also qualified to enter the group stage of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League,[9] but since they already qualified through their league performance, the berth reserved was given to the third-placed team of the 2017–18 Ligue 1, Lyon, as Ligue 1 was the 5th-ranked association according to next season's access list.[10]

Teams edit

In the following table, finals until 2009 were in the UEFA Cup era, since 2010 were in the UEFA Europa League era.

Team Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners)
  Marseille 2 (1999, 2004)
  Atlético Madrid 2 (2010, 2012)

Venue edit

 
The Parc Olympique Lyonnais was renamed to "Stade de Lyon" for the match

The Parc Olympique Lyonnais was announced as the final venue on 9 December 2016, following the decision of the UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Nyon, Switzerland.[5]

Background edit

Marseille reached their third final after a 3–2 aggregate win against Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg, clinched after extra time. They lost the final in both previous occasions (1999 and 2004). This was also their fifth final in all seasonal UEFA competitions, having also played in two European Cup/Champions League finals (winning in 1993; and losing in 1991).

Atlético Madrid also reached their third final after a 2–1 aggregate win against English side Arsenal. They won the final in both previous occasions (2010 and 2012). This was also their ninth final in UEFA seasonal competitions, having played in three European Cup/Champions League finals (losing in 1974, 2014 and 2016) and three Cup Winners' Cup final (winning in 1962; and losing in 1963 and 1986).

The two teams had played each other twice in the Champions League. Atlético Madrid won the first match, while the second was drawn in the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League group stage.

Road to the final edit

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

  Marseille Round   Atlético Madrid
Europa League Champions League
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Qualifying phase (EL, CL) Bye
  Oostende 4–2 4–2 (H) 0–0 (A) Third qualifying round
  Domžale 4–1 1–1 (A) 3–0 (H) Play-off round
Opponent Result Group stage (EL, CL) Opponent Result
  Konyaspor 1–0 (H) Matchday 1   Roma 0–0 (A)
  Red Bull Salzburg 0–1 (A) Matchday 2   Chelsea 1–2 (H)
  Vitória de Guimarães 2–1 (H) Matchday 3   Qarabağ 0–0 (A)
  Vitória de Guimarães 0–1 (A) Matchday 4   Qarabağ 1–1 (H)
  Konyaspor 1–1 (A) Matchday 5   Roma 2–0 (H)
  Red Bull Salzburg 0–0 (H) Matchday 6   Chelsea 1–1 (A)
Group I runners-up

Pos Team Pld Pts
1   Red Bull Salzburg 6 12
2   Marseille 6 8
3   Konyaspor 6 6
4   Vitória de Guimarães 6 5
Source: UEFA
Final standings Group C third place

Pos Team Pld Pts
1   Roma 6 11
2   Chelsea 6 11
3   Atlético Madrid 6 7
4   Qarabağ 6 2
Source: UEFA
Europa League
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Knockout phase Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
  Braga 3–1 3–0 (H) 0–1 (A) Round of 32   Copenhagen 5–1 4–1 (A) 1–0 (H)
  Athletic Bilbao 5–2 3–1 (H) 2–1 (A) Round of 16   Lokomotiv Moscow 8–1 3–0 (H) 5–1 (A)
  RB Leipzig 5–3 0–1 (A) 5–2 (H) Quarter-finals   Sporting CP 2–1 2–0 (H) 0–1 (A)
  Red Bull Salzburg 3–2 2–0 (H) 1–2 (a.e.t.) (A) Semi-finals   Arsenal 2–1 1–1 (A) 1–0 (H)

Pre-match edit

Ambassador edit

 
Eric Abidal was named as the ambassador for the final.

The ambassador for the final was former French international Eric Abidal, who played three seasons at Lyon and later won two UEFA Champions League titles with Barcelona.

Ticketing edit

With a stadium capacity of 57,000 for the final, a total amount of 23,000 tickets were available to fans and the general public, with the two finalist teams receiving tickets (number to be confirmed) each and with the other tickets being available for sale to fans worldwide via UEFA.com from 15 to 22 March 2018 in four price categories: €150, €100, €70, and €45. 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.[11][12]

Opening ceremony edit

French DJ duo Ofenbach performed at the opening ceremony preceding the final.[13]

Match edit

Officials edit

On 7 May 2018, UEFA announced that Dutchman Björn Kuipers would officiate the final. It was the second time he was appointed for a UEFA Europa League final, as he had already been the referee in the 2013 final. He was also the referee for the 2014 UEFA Champions League Final, which Atlético lost to Real Madrid in extra time. He was joined by his fellow countrymen, with Sander van Roekel and Erwin Zeinstra as assistant referees, Danny Makkelie and Pol van Boekel as additional assistant referees, and Mario Diks as reserve assistant referee. The fourth official for the final was Szymon Marciniak from Poland.[2]

Summary edit

In the 21st minute, André-Frank Zambo Anguissa miss-controlled a pass out from goalkeeper Steve Mandanda, the ball came to Gabi who passed into Antoine Griezmann who scored with a low shot into the bottom left corner. Marseille captain Dimitri Payet left the match due to injury in the 32nd minute. It was 2–0 in the 49th minute when Antoine Griezmann dinked the ball past the advancing Steve Mandanda and into the bottom left from inside the penalty area after a pass from Koke.[14] Gabi got the third goal in the 89th minute with a low right foot finish from the right after another pass from Koke.[15]

Details edit

The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the semi-final draw, which was held on 13 April 2018, 12:00 CEST, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.[16]

Marseille  0–3  Atlético Madrid
Report
  • Griezmann   21', 49'
  • Gabi   89'
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Marseille[4]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Atlético Madrid[4]
GK 30   Steve Mandanda
RB 17   Bouna Sarr
CB 23   Adil Rami
CB 19   Luiz Gustavo   75'
LB 18   Jordan Amavi   38'
CM 29   André-Frank Zambo Anguissa
CM 8   Morgan Sanson
RW 26   Florian Thauvin
AM 10   Dimitri Payet (c)   32'
LW 5   Lucas Ocampos   55'
CF 28   Valère Germain   74'
Substitutes:
GK 16   Yohann Pelé
DF 2   Hiroki Sakai
DF 6   Rolando
MF 4   Boubacar Kamara
MF 27   Maxime Lopez   32'
FW 11   Kostas Mitroglou   74'
FW 14   Clinton N'Jie   78'   55'
Manager:
  Rudi Garcia
 
GK 13   Jan Oblak
RB 16   Šime Vrsaljko   23'   46'
CB 24   José Giménez
CB 2   Diego Godín
LB 19   Lucas Hernandez   78'
RM 11   Ángel Correa   88'
CM 14   Gabi (c)
CM 8   Saúl Ñíguez
LM 6   Koke
CF 7   Antoine Griezmann   90'
CF 18   Diego Costa
Substitutes:
GK 25   Axel Werner
DF 3   Filipe Luís
DF 15   Stefan Savić
DF 20   Juanfran   46'
MF 5   Thomas Partey   88'
FW 9   Fernando Torres   90'
FW 21   Kevin Gameiro
Manager:
  Germán Burgos[note 1]

Man of the Match:
Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid)[1]

Assistant referees:[2]
Sander van Roekel (Netherlands)
Erwin Zeinstra (Netherlands)
Fourth official:[2]
Szymon Marciniak (Poland)
Additional assistant referees:[2]
Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)
Pol van Boekel (Netherlands)
Reserve assistant referee:[2]
Mario Diks (Netherlands)

Match rules[18]

  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary.
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.
  • Seven named substitutes, of which up to three may be used.

Statistics edit

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Atlético Madrid manager Diego Simeone was given a four-match touchline ban in UEFA competitions following the semi-final first leg. Assistant manager Germán Burgos filled in as manager.[17]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Griezmann named official man of the match". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Björn Kuipers to referee Europa League final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 7 May 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Full Time Summary Final – Marseille v Atlético Madrid" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  4. ^ a b c "Tactical Lineups – Final – Wednesday 16 May 2018" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Lyon to host 2018 UEFA Europa League final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 9 December 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  6. ^ "All you need to know: UEFA Europa League final". UEFA.com. 3 May 2018.
  7. ^ "Marseille v Atlético: Meet the Europa League finalists". UEFA.com. 3 May 2018.
  8. ^ "Griezmann inspires Atlético to Europa League glory". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  9. ^ "Evolution of UEFA club competitions from 2018". UEFA.com. 26 August 2016.
  10. ^ "Who is in the 2018/19 Champions League group stage?". UEFA.com. 26 May 2018.
  11. ^ "UEFA Europa League final ticket application window". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 12 March 2018.
  12. ^ "General public tickets for 2018 UEFA Europa League final in Lyon go on sale". UEFA.com. 15 March 2018.
  13. ^ "Ofenbach to perform at UEFA Europa League final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 13 April 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  14. ^ "Marseille 0 Atletico Madrid 3". BBC Sport. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  15. ^ "Marseille 0 Atletico Madrid 3: As it happened". Guardian. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  16. ^ "Semi-final and final draws". UEFA.com.
  17. ^ "Diego Simeone handed Europa League final touchline ban". ESPN. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  18. ^ "Regulations of the UEFA Europa League 2017/18 Season" (PDF). UEFA.com. 4 April 2017.
  19. ^ a b c "Team statistics" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.

External links edit