The 2022 UEFA Europa League final was the final match of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League, the 51st season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 13th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. It was played at Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán in Seville, Spain, on 18 May 2022, between German club Eintracht Frankfurt and Scottish club Rangers.
The final was originally scheduled to be played at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest, Hungary. However, due to the postponement and relocation of the 2020 final, the final hosts were shifted back a year, with Budapest instead hosting the 2023 final.
Eintracht Frankfurt won the match 5–4 on penalties, following a 1–1 draw after extra time, for their second UEFA Cup/Europa League title after 1980. That 42 years of await broke the record of the longest gap between two UEFA Cup/Europa League titles, which was held by Feyenoord before, with 28 years (1974-2002). Frankfurt became the first German side since Schalke 04 in 1997 to win the competition. As winners, they earned the right to play against the winners of the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid, in the 2022 UEFA Super Cup, and qualified for the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League group stage.
Venue
This was the first Europa League final to be held at the stadium. It previously hosted the 1986 European Cup final. The city of Seville hosted the 2003 UEFA Cup final at the Estadio de La Cartuja. Spain had hosted four other UEFA Cup finals (holding a leg in 1977, 1985, 1986, and 1988).
Host selection
An open bidding process was launched on 28 September 2018 by UEFA to select the venues of the finals of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Women's Champions League in 2021. Associations had until 26 October 2018 to express interest, and bid dossiers must be submitted by 15 February 2019.
UEFA announced on 1 November 2018 that three associations had expressed interest in hosting the 2021 UEFA Europa League final, and on 22 February 2019 that two associations submitted their dossiers by the deadline.
+Bidding associations for final Association Stadium City Capacity Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena Tbilisi 54,202 Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Seville 43,883
The following associations expressed interest in hosting but eventually did not submit bids: Austria: Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna Czech Republic: Sinobo Stadium, Prague Hungary: Puskás Aréna, Budapest
The Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán was selected by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting in Ljubljana, Slovenia on 24 September 2019.
On 17 June 2020, the UEFA Executive Committee announced that due to the postponement and relocation of the 2020 final, Seville would instead host the 2022 final.
Background This was Eintracht Frankfurt's third final in a major UEFA competition, having lost the 1960 European Cup final to Real Madrid and won the 1980 UEFA Cup final. Having become the first German team in a major European final since Bayern Munich in the 2020 UEFA Champions League final and the first UEFA Cup/Europa League finalist from Germany since Werder Bremen in 2009, they were seeking to become the first German side since Schalke 04 in 1997 to win the competition. Their manager Oliver Glasner was seeking to become the first Austrian to win a European trophy since Ernst Happel in the 1983 European Cup final and the first Austrian to win the UEFA Cup/Europa League.
This was Rangers' fifth final in a major UEFA competition, having won the 1972 European Cup Winners' Cup final and lost both the 1961 and 1967 Cup Winners' Cup finals as well as the 2008 UEFA Cup final. Having become the first Scottish club in any European final since themselves in 2008, they were seeking to become the first Scottish club since Aberdeen in the 1983 European Super Cup to win a European trophy and the first Scottish side to win the UEFA Cup/Europa League. Their manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst was seeking to become the first Dutch to win a European trophy since Dick Advocaat with Zenit Saint Petersburg in the 2008 UEFA Super Cup; they were qualified after defeating Rangers in the year's UEFA Cup final.
The two sides previously met twice in European competitions, in the 1959–60 European Cup semi-finals, with Eintracht Frankfurt winning both legs.
Previous finals In the following table, finals until 2009 were in the UEFA Cup era, since 2010 were in the UEFA Europa League era.
TeamPrevious final appearances (bold indicates winners) Eintracht Frankfurt1 (1980) Rangers1 (2008)
Route to the final
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away). Eintracht FrankfurtRound RangersEuropa LeagueChampions LeagueByeQualifying phase (EL, CL)OpponentAgg.1st leg2nd legThird qualifying round Malmö FF2–41–2 (A)1–2 (H)Europa LeaguePlay-off round Alashkert1–01–0 (H)0–0 (A)OpponentResultGroup stageOpponentResult Fenerbahçe1–1 (H)Matchday 1 Lyon0–2 (H) Antwerp1–0 (A)Matchday 2 Sparta Prague0–1 (A) Olympiacos3–1 (H)Matchday 3 Brøndby2–0 (H) Olympiacos2–1 (A)Matchday 4 Brøndby1–1 (A) Antwerp2–2 (H)Matchday 5 Sparta Prague2–0 (H) Fenerbahçe1–1 (A)Matchday 6 Lyon1–1 (A)Group D winnersFinal standingsGroup A runners-upOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd legKnockout phaseOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd legByeKnockout round play-offs Borussia Dortmund6–44–2 (A)2–2 (H) Real Betis3–22–1 (A)1–1 (H)Round of 16 Red Star Belgrade4–23–0 (H)1–2 (A) Barcelona4–31–1 (H)3–2 (A)Quarter-finals Braga3–20–1 (A)3–1 (H) West Ham United3–12–1 (A)1–0 (H)Semi-finals RB Leipzig3–20–1 (A)3–1 (H)
Pre-match
Identity The logo of the 2022 UEFA Europa League Final was unveiled at the group stage draw on 27 August 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey.
Ambassador The ambassador for the final was former Sevilla goalkeeper Andrés Palop.
Officials
On 11 May 2022, UEFA named Slovenian official Slavko Vinčić as the referee for the final. Vinčić had been a FIFA referee since 2010, and was previously an additional assistant referee in the 2017 UEFA Europa League Final and the fourth official in the 2021 UEFA Europa League Final. He also worked as an additional assistant referee in the 2012 UEFA Super Cup. He officiated ten matches in the 2021–22 Champions League season, with two matches in qualification, five in the group stage and three knockout fixtures. He served as a referee at UEFA Euro 2020, where he officiated two group matches and a quarter-final. He was joined by three of his fellow countrymen, with Tomaž Klančnik and Andraž Kovačič as assistant referees, and Jure Praprotnik as one of the assistant VAR officials. Srđan Jovanović of Serbia served as the fourth official, while Dutchman Pol van Boekel was appointed as the video assistant referee. Spaniards Alejandro Hernández Hernández and Roberto Díaz Pérez del Palomar served as the other assistant VAR officials.
Match
Details The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the quarter-final and semi-final draws.
GK 1 Kevin TrappCB 35 Tuta CB 18 Almamy TouréCB 2 Evan Ndicka RM 36 Ansgar KnauffCM 8 Djibril Sow CM 17 Sebastian Rode (c) LM 10 Filip KostićAM 29 Jesper Lindstrøm AM 15 Daichi KamadaCF 19 Rafael Santos BorréSubstitutes:GK 31 Jens GrahlDF 22 Timothy ChandlerDF 24 Danny da CostaDF 25 Christopher Lenz MF 6 Kristijan Jakić MF 7 Ajdin Hrustic MF 20 Makoto Hasebe MF 27 Aymen BarkokFW 9 Sam LammersFW 21 Ragnar AcheFW 23 Jens Petter Hauge FW 39 Gonçalo PaciênciaManager: Oliver Glasner GK 1 Allan McGregorRB 2 James Tavernier (c)CB 6 Connor GoldsonCB 3 Calvin BasseyLB 31 Borna Barišić CM 8 Ryan Jack CM 4 John LundstramRW 14 Ryan KentAM 23 Scott Wright LW 18 Glen Kamara CF 17 Joe Aribo Substitutes:GK 28 Robby McCrorieGK 33 Jon McLaughlinDF 26 Leon BalogunDF 43 Leon KingMF 9 Amad DialloMF 10 Steven Davis MF 16 Aaron Ramsey MF 19 James Sands MF 37 Scott Arfield MF 51 Alex LowryFW 25 Kemar Roofe FW 30 Fashion Sakala Manager: Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Man of the Match: Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Assistant referees: Tomaž Klančnik (Slovenia) Andraž Kovačič (Slovenia) Fourth official: Srđan Jovanović (Serbia) Video assistant referee: Pol van Boekel (Netherlands) Assistant video assistant referees: Jure Praprotnik (Slovenia) Alejandro Hernández Hernández (Spain) Roberto Díaz Pérez del Palomar (Spain)Match rules 90 minutes 30 minutes of extra time if necessary Penalty shoot-out if scores still level Twelve named substitutes Maximum of five substitutions, with a sixth allowed in extra time
Statistics
+First halfStatisticEintracht FrankfurtRangersGoals scored00Total shots113Shots on target31Saves13Ball possession41%59%Corner kicks42Fouls committed73Offsides01Yellow cards00Red cards00
+Second halfStatisticEintracht FrankfurtRangersGoals scored11Total shots63Shots on target11Saves01Ball possession53%47%Corner kicks50Fouls committed47Offsides21Yellow cards02Red cards00
+Extra timeStatisticEintracht FrankfurtRangersGoals scored00Total shots58Shots on target04Saves40Ball possession46%54%Corner kicks20Fouls committed70Offsides00Yellow cards00Red cards00
+OverallStatisticEintracht FrankfurtRangersGoals scored11Total shots2214Shots on target46Saves54Ball possession47%53%Corner kicks112Fouls committed1810Offsides22Yellow cards02Red cards00
See also 2022 UEFA Champions League final 2022 UEFA Europa Conference League final 2022 UEFA Women's Champions League final 2022 UEFA Super Cup Eintracht Frankfurt in European football Rangers F.C. in European football 2021–22 Eintracht Frankfurt season 2021–22 Rangers F.C. season
Notes
References
External links