The 2023 UEFA Europa League final was the final match of the 2022–23 UEFA Europa League, the 52nd season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 14th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The match was played at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest, Hungary, on 31 May 2023,[5][6] between Spanish club Sevilla and Italian club Roma. Due to the postponement and relocation of the 2020 final, the final hosts were shifted back a year, with Budapest instead hosting the 2023 final.[7]
Sevilla won the match 4–1 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time for their record seventh UEFA Cup/Europa League title.[8][9] As winners, they qualified for the group stage of the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League, and earned the right to play against the winners of the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League, Manchester City, in the 2023 UEFA Super Cup.[10] The final was also noted for controversial refereeing decisions by Anthony Taylor.
Sevilla were aiming for their record-extending seventh UEFA Cup/Europa League title, having won their previous finals in 2006, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2020. Their manager José Luis Mendilibar was seeking the first major title in his managerial career.
Roma were into their fourth European final and seeking their first UEFA Cup/Europa League title, having lost the 1984 European Cup final and the 1991 UEFA Cup final as well as winning the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League. Manager José Mourinho was also looking to win his second consecutive European title with Roma. He could become the first manager since Rafael Benítez in 2005 to win two different major European trophies in consecutive seasons, and the first of the five managers[note 1] to achieve that twice, having done so with Porto in 2004. He also had the chance to become the first manager to win six major European competition titles[note 2] and also the first to have won the UEFA Cup/Europa League with three distinct clubs, having won the 2002–03 UEFA Cup with Porto and the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League with Manchester United.[11]
Both clubs had met in the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League knockout phase round of 16, which was only occurred in a single tie because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. Sevilla won the game 2–0.
In the following table, the finals until 2009 were in the UEFA Cup era, and since 2010 in the UEFA Europa League era.
The match was the first UEFA Cup/Europa League final to be held in Budapest, and the second final in the competition's history to be held in Hungary after the 1985 first leg.[12]The final was also the third UEFA club competition final to be held in the city after the 2019 UEFA Women's Champions League final and the 2020 UEFA Super Cup,[7] making it the fourth overall UEFA club final in Hungary. The stadium was also chosen as a venue for UEFA Euro 2020, where it hosted three group stage matches and a round of 16 fixture.[13]
The Puskás Aréna was selected as the final host by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on 2 March 2020.[14]
On 17 June 2020, the UEFA Executive Committee announced that due to the postponement and relocation of the 2020 final, Budapest would instead host the 2023 final.[7]
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).
The original identity of the 2023 UEFA Europa League Final was unveiled at the group stage draw on 26 August 2022.[15]
The ambassador for the final was former Hungarian international Zoltán Gera, who finished as runner-up in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League with Fulham.
With a stadium capacity of 63,000 for the final, a total amount of 46,800 tickets were available to fans and the general public, with the two finalist teams receiving 15,000 tickets each, and with the other tickets being available for sale to fans worldwide via UEFA.com from 21 to 28 April 2023 in four price categories: €150, €100, €65, and €40. Accessibility tickets for disabled spectators cost €40. The remaining tickets were allocated to the local organising committee, national associations, commercial partners, and broadcasters, and to serve the corporate hospitality programme.[16]
In the 35th minute, Roma went in front when Paulo Dybala slotted the ball low into the right corner of the net after a pass from Gianluca Mancini, but Sevilla equalised ten minutes into the second half when Mancini turned the ball into his own goal after a cross from Jesús Navas on the right to make it 1–1. The game went to a penalties following almost 130 minutes of game time. After two missed Roma penalties in the shootout, one of which was saved by goalkeeper Yassine Bounou and the other of which hit the post, Gonzalo Montiel, who also scored the winning penalty for Argentina in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final against France, scored the winner for Sevilla. His penalty at first was missed but was re-taken owing to encroachment.[17]
The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the quarter-final and semi-final draws.
Steve McManaman told BT Sport that the final had been "really ugly" and "unsavoury". He also stated his belief that the "behaviour and histrionics of both benches" had been "awful", saying that he felt for "the fourth official, Michael Oliver".[17]