ANKARA
Sevilla from Spain and Benfica from Portugal have qualified after the UEFA Europa League semis played on Thursday night.
Spanish team Sevilla, who had won the UEFA Europa League trophy twice in their history, will meet Benfica from Portugal in the final stage of the tournament to be played on May 14 at Juventus Stadium, Turin.
Portugal's Benfica managed to advanced to the final stage as a result of a draw 0-0 against Italian giants Juventus in a tough match at Juventus Stadium, Turin last night. The Portuguese team qualify for the final because of their previous win against "Juve" 2-1 in Lisbon.
Benfica played in a defensive way as expected during the whole game . After their Argentine midfielder Enzo Perez's was sent off in the 67th minute of the play, they decided to close down in their half of the pitch.
Juventus worked and pumped the ball in the box but Benfica avoided a Juventus' score by staying on the defensive in front of their goal. Juventus' Argentine centre-back Ezequiel Garay had to leave the pitch due to an injury when he collided with Juventus' French wonderkid Paul Pogba in the last minutes of the game. The nine men team of Benfica rigidly defended their goal until the final whistle.
Meanwhile, two players from both teams were sent off - Benfica's Serbian forward Lazar Markovic and Montenegrin forward of Juventus Mirko Vucinic were both sent off after a quarrel in the last minutes of the match.
In the final, Benfica may lack three players. In addition to Argentine midfielder Enzo Perez and Serbian forward Lazar Markovic who were sent off last night, Argentine wing forward of Benfica, Eduardo Salvio will be ineligible for the next game due to a yellow card suspension.
In the other game of the semi final, Valencia was knocked out of the tournament dramatically by Sevilla despite toppling their opponents 3-1 on Thursday night in Mestalla Stadium. Sevilla qualified for the final on away goals.
Home team Valencia were off to a flying start in the early minutes when their Algerian midfielder Sofiane Feghouli found the net, 1-0. They managed to double the score in the 26th minute when Sevilla's goalkeeper Beto scored an own goal. Valencia, dictating the tempo of the match, scored their third goal with their French defender Jeremy Mathieu in the 69th minute. 3-0 score was enough for Valencia to eliminate Sevilla in the semis, however, they could not prevent Sevilla's goal in the 94th minute. French defender of Sevilla, Stephane Mbia got his team off the hook in the last minutes of the game.
The results of the matches in the semis are as follows:
Juventus 0 Benfica 0 (Aggregate: 1 - 2)
Valencia 3 Sevilla 1 (Aggregate: 3 - 3, Sevilla won on away goals)
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