Tuesday evening was a disappointing one for Wolves, as their Europa League dream came to an end against Sevilla.
The club are masters of the competition and the Spanish media are keen to point out today that every time Sevilla has reached the quarterfinals they’ve gone on to win the competition.
Wolves had the chance to go ahead in the first half when Adama Traore was brought down in the penalty area and they were awarded a spot-kick. Raul Jimenez stepped up and the majority of Wolves fans, although watching through their fingers, will have been confident that he’d convert it.
Instead, Yassine Bono managed to keep it out, and despite the possibility the Premier League club could feel hard done to, given the goalkeeper perhaps being off his line and an encroachment, it’s unlikely any of that was decisive in the save. It was an uncharacteristically poor penalty from Jimenez.
After the match, Bono spoke to the Spanish media and explained what helped him make the save. Sport quote the Sevilla player as saying he “knew” the Wolves player from their “time at Atletico” together.
Knowing how Jimenez takes penalties, Bono decided Lucas Ocampos was the most similar in Sevilla’s squad, so practised with him to be ready if the situation arose. It did, and the practice worked, with Ocampos then going on to score the winner.
