 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Luke de Jong may have netted the 78th minute winner to put Sevilla through to the Europa League final, but it was goal-keeper Yassine Bono who made all the difference against Manchester United in the Europa League semi-final on Sunday night in Cologne.
Bono, who is usually Sevilla's No 2 'keeper, was brought into the side for La Liga after regular shot-stopper Tomas Vaclik was sidelined with a knee injury.
And boy, did Bono make the most of the opportunity!
Before being beaten by Fernandes's early penalty in the Europa semi-final, Bono had conceded just once in six games.
On Sunday, he kept like a man possessed -- making six saves to keep Manchester United at bay.
The Moroccan denied Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Mason Greenwood and Anthony Martial in either half of the match to keep the match alive.
'Compliments to Bono, who saved us so many times at 1-1,' Dutchman De Jong, who put Sevilla one win away from a sixth title in the UEFA Cup/Europa League, said.
Bono, who was brought from Girona, is now looking forward to the final.
'I'm very happy because we know Manchester United are a big club,' the Canada-born, 29 year old, said.
'We were clever and in the bad moments we were strong. When they had difficult moments, we scored the goals. This team has good motivation, and now we have a beautiful final.'
'Our goal-keeper put in a good performance,' Sevilla Coach Julen Lopetegui said. 'Bono in the second half was very important for us.'
Sevilla will take on either Inter Milan or Shakhtar Donetsk in the final in Cologne on Friday.