Four wins, one painful defeat. As Unai Emery prepares for a sixth Europa League final tonight with Aston Villa against Freiburg in Istanbul, we revisit every one of his appearances in the showpiece event.
No manager has appeared in more Europa League finals than Unai Emery. Tonight he chases a record that would cement his status as the undisputed king of European football’s second tier.
Sevilla 0-0 Benfica – Turin, 2014
Emery’s first Europa League title arrived in the most nerve-shredding fashion. A goalless draw after extra time sent the final to penalties at the Juventus Stadium.
Sevilla held their nerve, winning 4-2 in the shootout. Ivan Rakitic was named man of the match before departing for Barcelona that summer. Emery had only joined Sevilla in January 2013 – making this title one of the most rapid in the competition’s history.
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Sevilla 3-2 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk – Warsaw, 2015
The most dramatic of Emery’s triumphs. Dnipro shocked Sevilla with an early opener before Grzegorz Krychowiak levelled. Dnipro equalised again before Carlos Bacca, who scored twice in the final, fired home a late winner.
A remarkable achievement given star players Rakitic, Alberto Moreno and Federico Fazio had all left that summer. Ever Banega was named man of the match.
Liverpool 1-3 Sevilla – Basel, 2016
The most impressive win of the three. Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool led at half-time through a sensational Daniel Sturridge strike but Emery’s half-time team talk changed everything.
Kevin Gameiro equalised immediately after the break before right-back Coke scored twice to seal a stunning comeback. Three consecutive Europa League titles – a record that has never been matched.
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Arsenal 1-4 Chelsea – Baku, 2019
The one that got away – and it got away emphatically. Arsenal were the better side in a goalless first half before Chelsea produced a devastating second-half display.
Olivier Giroud, returning to haunt his former club, headed in the opener before Pedro doubled the lead. Eden Hazard added a penalty and a fourth before Alex Iwobi’s consolation.
The occasion was overshadowed by controversy from the start. Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan did not travel due to safety fears in Azerbaijan. The stadium, nearly 3,000 miles from London, was barely half full.
Petr Cech played his final professional game in goal for Arsenal. It was the perfect storm of circumstance – and Chelsea took full advantage. Emery was sacked by Arsenal just six months later.
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Villarreal 1-1 Manchester United – Gdansk, 2021
Five years after his last triumph, Emery returned to a Europa League final with a very different kind of club. Gerard Moreno gave Villarreal the lead before Edinson Cavani equalised for United.
The shootout went to 22 penalties – 11-10 – before David De Gea missed the only spot-kick of the entire sequence. Emery became the first manager in history to win the UEFA Cup or Europa League four times.
Photo: REUTERS/Michael Sohn
