UEFA Europa League 2019/20: Season in numbers
Sevilla FC beat Inter Milan 3-2 in a thrilling final on Friday to secure their sixth Europa League title. Romelu Lukaku had a mixed night, as his own goal in the second half sealed the victory for rivals Sevilla. The newly crowned champions Sevilla maintained their perfect record in the Europa League finals. Let us take a look at the season's key numbers.
Sevilla registered their sixth Europa League title, more than any other team in the history of the competition. Notably, Inter Milan, Liverpool, Juventus, and Atletico Madrid have won the competition three times each. The Spanish side also continued their terrific streak in the Europa finals. They have a perfect record in finals, winning their Europa League finals in 2006, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016.
Inter's Diego Godin is the sixth player to score in both Champions League final and Europa League final after Steven Gerrard, Hernan Crespo, Dmitri Alenichev, Allan Simonsen, and Pedro. He had scored in the 2014 Champions League final for Atletico. Besides, Romelu Lukaku became the first player to score in six consecutive knockout stage matches, in a major European competition since Cristiano Ronaldo (2012-2013).
AZ Alkmaar equaled the record margin of victory for a Dutch side in a major European competition, this century when they beat Astana 6-0 at home. This is the highest goal-scoring affair this season. Interestingly, Alkmaar scored four second half goals to complete the rout.
Manchester United lost a European match after taking the lead for the first time in 25 games, against Astana on matchday 5. They also failed to have a shot on target in a UEFA Europa League fixture for the first time in their history against Alkmaar. Furthermore, United finished without a major trophy for a third consecutive season.
Ludogorets' Claudiu Keseru scored the first hat-trick of the group stage in their 5-1 win against CSKA Moskva. It was also the first hat-trick by a player from a Bulgarian side in a group or knockout match in any European competition in the last 21 years. Georgi Borisov achieved the feat for Levski against Vitebsk in the 1998 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.
Espanyol's 0-1 defeat to CSKA Moskva on matchday 6 was their first reverse since a 0-3 UEFA Cup loss to Schalke in February 2006. It ended their 26-match unbeaten run in the European competition, the longest ever streak.
A total number of 548 goals were scored in 197 matches this Europa League season, at an average of 2.78 goals per game. Notably, Sevilla hold the record for scoring most goals (129) in the UEFA Europa League era. They eclipsed the joint-record of Villarreal (124) and Salzburg (124), in their 2-1 semi-final victory against Manchester United.
