Sevilla’s Bounou: Europa League final save is best in my career

BetOdds African All Stars Sevilla Yassine Bounou

A year ago, the Morocco international produced a standout performance as Julen Lopetegui's men saw off the Nerazzurri in Cologne

Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou has chosen his save against Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku during the 2019-20 Europa League final as the best in his career so far.

With the score 2-2 at the RheinEnergieStadion, the 30-year-old produced a moment of brilliance to stop Lukaku from beating him for a second time after the Belgian star had earlier converted a penalty in the fifth minute.

The save helped Sevilla from going behind in the encounter as the former Manchester United forward later deflected Diego Carlos's strike in the 74th minute which turned out to be the match-winning effort.

Prior to the heroics, the Morocco goalkeeper had played a vital role in Sevilla's run to the final after saving a penalty against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the quarter-final and he also produced man-of-the-match performances against Manchester United in the last-four stage.

He continued with the impressive displays this season and he was close to matching a club record after playing seven games without conceding a goal but they lost 3-2 to Borussia Dortmund back in February.

“It is difficult to choose between the most difficult saves, it is possible that I chose this one because it came in a final, and at this moment Seville won a new title and I of course, so I chose it as my best save,” Bounou told Goal.

He also reserved praise for his compatriot Youssef En-Nesyri who became the highest-scoring Moroccan player in a La Liga season with 18 goals for the Rojiblancos in the 2020-21 campaign.

Bounou, however, stated that the 24-year-old should not be compared to the Liverpool star and two-time African Footballer of the Year, Mohamed Salah.

“He is a young player who is growing a lot in Seville and has really incredible potential and is developing rapidly, but we should not compare him with Salah because they do not play in the same position, and I believe in En-Nesyri's potential and know that he can score for many years,” he added.

The 30-year-old who has spent his entire career in Spain after leaving Wydad Casablanca in 2012, recalled his experiences with two of the best players in the world.

“Messi is in a completely different class, he is the best for many years, an exceptional footballer in this era of football,” Bounou said.

“Ronaldo is a great and great player, no one wins the best in the world without doing something, and he is at a very high level despite his age.”

2021-06-10 23:00:07

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