The 2018 UEFA Europa League Final was the final match of the

2017–18 UEFA Europa League The 2017–18 UEFA Europa League was the 47th season of Europe's secondary club association football, football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 9th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The 2018 UEFA Europ ...

, the 47th season of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

's secondary club

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

tournament organised by

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

, and the 9th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

. It was played at the

Parc Olympique Lyonnais Parc Olympique Lyonnais, known for sponsorship reasons as Groupama Stadium, is a 59,186-seat stadium in Décines-Charpieu, in the Lyon Metropolis. The home of French football club Olympique Lyonnais, it replaced their previous stadium, Stade de ...

Décines-Charpieu Décines-Charpieu (; frp, Dessines) is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. The name of the city is often shortened and simply called Décines. Geography Décines is located near Grand Large res ...

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, France on 16 May 2018, between French side

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

side

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

. Atlético Madrid won the match 3–0 for their third Europa League title. As winners, Atlético Madrid earned the right to play against the winners of the

2017–18 UEFA Champions League The 2017–18 UEFA Champions League was the 63rd season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 26th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was pla ...

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

, in the 2018 UEFA Super Cup. They also qualified to enter the group stage of the

2018–19 UEFA Champions League The 2018–19 UEFA Champions League was the 64th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 27th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. For the first tim ...

, but since they already qualified through their league performance, the berth reserved was given to the third-placed team of the

2017–18 Ligue 1 The 2017–18 Ligue 1 season, also known as Ligue 1 Conforama for sponsorship reasons, was the 80th season since its establishment. The season started on 4 August 2017 and ended on 19 May 2018. Monaco were the defending champions. On 15 April, Pa ...

, as Ligue 1 was the 5th-ranked association according to next season's access list.

Teams

''In the following table, finals until 2009 were in the UEFA Cup era, since 2010 were in the UEFA Europa League era.''

Venue

The

was announced as the final venue on 9 December 2016, following the decision of the UEFA Executive Committee meeting in

Nyon Nyon (; outdated German language, German: or ; outdated Italian language, Italian: , ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in Nyon District in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilomet ...

, Switzerland.

Background

reached their third final after a 3–2 aggregate win against

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

side Red Bull Salzburg, clinched after extra time. They lost the final in both previous occasions (

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

). This was also their fifth final in all seasonal UEFA competitions, having also played in two European Cup/Champions League finals (winning in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

; and losing in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

also reached their third final after a 2–1 aggregate win against

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

side

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. They won the final in both previous occasions (

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

). This was also their ninth final in UEFA seasonal competitions, having played in three European Cup/Champions League finals (losing in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

) and three

Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

final (winning in

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

; and losing in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

). The two teams had played each other twice in the Champions League. Atlético Madrid won the first match, while the second was drawn in the

2008–09 UEFA Champions League The 2008–09 UEFA Champions League was the 54th edition of Europe's premier club football tournament and the 17th edition under the current UEFA Champions League format. The final was played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on 27 May 2009. It was ...

group stage.

Road to the final

''Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).''

Pre-match

Ambassador

The ambassador for the final was former French international

Eric Abidal Eric Sylvain Abidal (; born 11 September 1979) is a French former professional footballer who played as a left-back or centre-back. In his career, he played mainly for Lyon and Barcelona, winning 18 trophies with both teams combined, including t ...

, who played three seasons at

and later won two UEFA Champions League titles with

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Ticketing

With a stadium capacity of 57,000 for the final, a total amount of 23,000 tickets were available to fans and the general public, with the two finalist teams receiving tickets (number to be confirmed) each and with the other tickets being available for sale to fans worldwide via UEFA.com from 15 to 22 March 2018 in four price categories: €150, €100, €70, and €45. The remaining tickets were allocated to the local organising committee, UEFA and national associations, commercial partners and broadcasters, and to serve the corporate hospitality programme.

Opening ceremony

French DJ duo Ofenbach performed at the opening ceremony preceding the final.

Match

Officials

On 7 May 2018, UEFA announced that Dutchman

Björn Kuipers Björn Kuipers (; born 28 March 1973) is a former Dutch football referee. He has been a FIFA listed referee from 2006 to 2021 and an UEFA Elite group referee from 2009 to 2021. He was assisted during international matches by Sander van Roekel ...

would officiate the final. It was the second time he was appointed for a

final, as he had already been the referee in the 2013 final. He was also the referee for the

2014 UEFA Champions League Final The 2014 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League, the 59th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 22nd season since it was renamed from the European Champion ...

, which Atlético lost to

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

. He was joined by his fellow countrymen, with Sander van Roekel and Erwin Zeinstra as assistant referees, Danny Makkelie and

Pol van Boekel Paulus Hendrikus Martinus van Boekel (born 19 September 1975) is a Dutch international referee, who refereed at the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, beginning with the match between Moldova and England. Van Boekel became a FIFA referee in 20 ...

as additional assistant referees, and Mario Diks as reserve assistant referee. The fourth official for the final was

Szymon Marciniak Szymon Marciniak (Polish: ; born 7 January 1981) is a Polish professional football referee. He is considered one of the most highly rated international referees of his generation. He refereed the 2022 FIFA World Cup final between Argentina and ...

from Poland.

Summary

In the 21st minute,

André-Frank Zambo Anguissa André-Frank Zambo Anguissa (born 16 November 1995) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Napoli and the Cameroon national team. Club career Zambo Anguissa joined Marseille in 2015 from Stade de Reims. H ...

miss-controlled a pass out from goalkeeper

Steve Mandanda Steve Mandanda Mpidi (; born 28 March 1985) is a French professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ligue 1 club Rennes. Mandanda spent most of his professional career with Marseille, making over 600 appearances across all competition ...

, the ball came to Gabi who passed into

Antoine Griezmann Antoine Griezmann (; born 21 March 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the France national team. A versatile player, Griezmann is known for his attacking, passing, and supportiv ...

who scored with a low shot into the bottom left corner. Marseille captain

Dimitri Payet Dimitri Payet (; born 29 March 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays for Ligue 1 club Marseille. A set-piece specialist, known for his accurate, bending free kicks, he primarily plays as an attacking midfielder, and is described a ...

left the match due to injury in the 32nd minute. It was 2–0 in the 49th minute when Antoine Griezmann dinked the ball past the advancing Steve Mandanda and into the bottom left from inside the penalty area after a pass from Koke. Gabi got the third goal in the 89th minute with a low right foot finish from the right after another pass from Koke.

Details

The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the semi-final draw, which was held on 13 April 2018, 12:00

CEST CEST or cest may refer to: * Central European Summer Time (UTC+2), daylight saving time observed in the central European time zone * Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory * Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer, a subset of Magnetization transfer in ...

, at the UEFA headquarters in

, Switzerland.

Statistics

Notes

References

External links

UEFA Europa League
(official website)

UEFA.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Uefa Europa League Final 2018

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

Europa League Final International club association football competitions hosted by France Olympique de Marseille matches Atlético Madrid matches Europa League Final Sports competitions in Lyon May 2018 sports events in France