Juventus 1-1 Sevilla: Juventus gained a narrow lead in the first semi-final of the Europa League against Sevilla on Thursday evening. As a result, an all-Italian final is still a realistic option, because AS Roma won against Bayer Leverkusen.
Late comeback for Juventus
Sevilla were still in the relegation zone of La Liga in January. But are now on the rise after Jorge Sampaoli was replaced on the bench by José Luis Mendilibar. And the Andalusians also live up to their reputation in the Europa League under the leadership of the 62-year-old Spaniard. In the previous round, the six-time winner of the UEFA Cup/Europa League eliminated Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United. And Juventus also experienced the strength of Seville.
Ocampos played an important role in this. After his failed rental period at Ajax in the second half of the season, the Argentinian, who returned from Amsterdam in January, proved more than once that he can indeed be of value and underlined this on Thursday evening in Turin. Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny still had an answer to his header, but was beaten when Ocampos served Moroccan striker Youssef En-Nesyri in a counterpunch: 0-1.
For En-Nesyri it was already his sixteenth goal in 2023, numbers that Dusan Vlahovic cannot match. The Juventus striker missed a peach of an opportunity when he had the ball in front of a cross from Filip Kostic. Furthermore, it was disappointing what Juve showed. After the halftime signal, a lashing whistle sounded from the stands. Leonardo Bonucci was also unable to take his team by the hand during his 500th game for the club. As after the break the captain was injured.
Second half
With Arek Milik and a little later Paul Pogba on the line, Juventus tried to avoid its first defeat of this Europa League campaign. Sevilla held on for a long time without the injured Ocampos, but still had to bow well into extra time. Pogba headed the ball in front of goal and Hugo Gatti, Bonucci’s replacement, headed in from close range. As a result, Juventus is still in the race and an all-Italian final is possible.
