Spanish side Sevilla played Portuguese side Benfica today in the Europa League final. It was the worst match ever.
We don't cover much of the Europa League on this site for basically the same reasons we don't cover the preseason NIT, NAIA baseball, or Major League Soccer. This was the final, though, and these teams are very good, so we (sorta) expected a good show. We were disappointed.
Benfica just finished their season on top of Portugal's Liga last weekend, and Sevilla have their last match in Spain's La Liga on Sunday. No matter what they do, Sevilla will be back in the Europa League next year.
Needless to say, these teams didn't give it their all, and bad defense that led to missed breakaways and terrible passes that rolled to nobody at all were the main hallmarks of this match. Twenty minutes in, we already knew the game would end scoreless. After 90, it was, and so as punishment for our past sins, we had to watch Sevilla and Benfica chill for another half hour in extra time. They didn't score there, either. So, penalties.
Penalties, if nothing else, are usually exciting. These weren't. But Benfica missed theirs, and Sevilla didn't, so they won. Benfica have now lost two straight Europa League finals. (Last year, they lost to Chelsea, 2-1, after a 93rd-minute goal.)
This is what the Europa League is—an event so irrelevant that even our reliable video department didn't want any part of it. No one wants to be there, especially on a Wednesday in May. No one wants to witness it. No one wants anything to do with it. But here we are.
Photo of sad clown via Getty