2022-23 Europa League Final – Betis 3-2 Roma

Lore & Background

The 2021-22 season began with cautious optimism under Pellegrini, but by the winter the Betis project had become something special. The team's identity was clear: possession-based, technically gifted, and unafraid to play their game against anyone. In the Europa League, they dismantled opponents with a blend of Canales's vision, Fekir's improvisation, and a back line that played with a confidence unusual for a club of their stature. Reaching the final was not a surprise to those who had followed the campaign; winning it at Sánchez Pizjuán, however, felt almost fated.

The final itself was a rollercoaster. Canales's early penalty gave the home side the lead, but Dzeko's penalty just before the break kept Roma alive. Then, in the second half, Fekir restored the advantage and Canales added a second to seal it — only for Ibañez's own goal to briefly reignite Roma's hope before the final whistle. The narrative was chaotic, thrilling, and perfectly Betis: a team that could be rattled, that could concede, but that always, always found a way to find the net.

The lasting memory is not just the trophy. It is the image of the Sánchez Pizjuán packed to the rafters, the green and white shirts swaying as one, the sound of 'Olé, olé, olé' rolling off the concrete. It is the memory of a city that had been told, year after year, that their club was 'almost there.' That night, they were there. And they stayed.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights at the Sánchez Pizjuán had been switched on an hour before kickoff, but the noise had started long before that. You could feel it in the ground, in the way the concrete vibrated under your feet as you squeezed through the turnstiles with a half-empty bottle of San Miguel and a scarf that had been passed down from your father. The air smelled of grilled sardines from the food stalls on the Avenida, mixed with the sharp tang of the freshly cut grass.

When Canales stepped up to the spot, the stadium didn't just go quiet — it held its breath. You could hear the ball strike the inside of the net, a soft *thwip* that was swallowed by the eruption that followed. I remember looking at the woman next to me, a stranger, and she was crying. Just crying, with her hands over her mouth, and I understood that for her, for thousands of us, this was not a 3-2 scoreline. It was a promise kept. It was the night Seville stopped being the city that almost.

We stayed until the last confetti had settled on the pitch. We did not want to go home. We did not want it to be over.

Reader's Guide

Look, imagine this: it's late May, the Seville heat is still building, and the Sánchez Pizjuán is absolutely *full*. Not the half-empty ghost we'd seen in the pandemic years — no, every single seat is occupied, every balcony is packed, and the noise is a physical thing pressing against your chest. Roma are good. Roma are *really* good. Dzeko is in the room. You know this is going to be ugly.

And it is ugly. Canales slots the penalty early and we're up, but Dzeko answers right at the break and suddenly your stomach is in your throat. You think, *not again, not this close, not this time.* Then Fekir does something Fekir does — a touch, a turn, a strike — and the stadium detonates. Canales adds his second and for a moment you actually believe it's done.

Then Ibañez puts it in his own net and Roma are back on. The last few minutes are pure white-knuckle football. You are not sitting. You are not breathing. You are gripping the armrests of the plastic seat and praying.

Full-time. 3-2. And the Sánchez Pizjuán sounds like the sea. Like the whole city is exhaling at once. You turn to your mate, he's got beer down his shirt, and he's just laughing. You're both laughing. You don't even need to say anything. You just know.

Twenty years of 'almost.' Gone. Replaced by one night in Seville where it was enough.

Did You Know?

• It was the first UEFA Europa League final to be played at one of the competing teams' home stadiums, with the match held at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán in Seville.
• The victory gave Real Betis their first major trophy since the 2005 Copa del Rey, ending a 17-year wait for a significant honour.
• Álex Canales scored twice in the final, including an early penalty, making him the match's defining figure in front of his home supporters.
• The final was the first major European final to be played in front of a full stadium since the pandemic-era restrictions, amplifying the emotional weight of the occasion.