TWO goals from Coke saw Sevilla come from behind to win a third consecutive Europa League with a 3-1 victory over Liverpool in Basel.

    Unai Emery’s men, outplayed in the first half, responded with an emphatic second 45 minutes to leave Liverpool reeling and condemn Jurgen Klopp to a fifth straight defeat in a major final.

    Liverpool, which had dispatched Villarreal so impressively in the second leg of the semifinal, was the better side in the first half and deservedly took the lead when Daniel Sturridge curled in a superb finish from the edge of the area.

    But Sevilla, which came from behind to beat Dnipro in last year’s final, responded seconds after halftime with Kevin Gameiro’s 29th goal of the season, before Coke capped a fine team move to put the holders ahead.

    Klopp, whose side also lost the League Cup final to Manchester City in February, introduced Divock Origi in a bid to find a response but Coke struck a crucial blow 20 minutes from time, steering the ball beyond Simon Mignolet from close range despite Liverpool’s appeals for offside. Liverpool produced a memorable comeback against AC Milan to win its last European trophy in 2005, but there was to be no repeat of those Istanbul heroics as Sevilla ensured a spot in next season’s Champions League.

    Sevilla started with more control in a cagey opening 10 minutes, although Emre Can brought the first save of the match out of David Soria with a low effort from the edge of the area.

    Daniel Carrico made a timely intervention to hook Sturridge’s header off the line as Liverpool began to look threatening on the break, and Roberto Firmino felt he should have earned a penalty when he diverted the ball into the arm of the Sevilla center-back.

    Gameiro got his first sight of goal, hooking a bicycle kick narrowly wide of the near post following a corner, but Sturridge produced a moment of magic to open the scoring 10 minutes before the break.

    Philippe Coutinho found Sturridge on the edge of the area and the England striker bent a sublime finish beyond Soria with the outside of his left foot.

    Lovren thought he had made it 2-0 with a towering header four minutes later, but the assistant referee flagged for offside after Sturridge had stuck out a foot to intercept the ball.

    The Liga side would have been glad to go into the break just a goal behind but it produced a fine response just 17 seconds into the second half. Mariano skipped easily past the challenge of former Sevilla fullback Alberto Moreno and squared across goal for Gameiro, who tapped into an unguarded net.

    Sevilla missed two chances to take the lead through Gameiro before the hour mark. The Frenchman was first denied by a block tackle from Kolo Toure after racing in behind the Liverpool back line, before he scuffed a volley straight at Mignolet after Steven N’Zonzi’s header found him completely unmarked six meters out.(SD-Agencies)