How Mendilibar rejuvenated Sevilla's season and got them into Europa League final

In his 11 matchdays in charge of Sevilla FC, he has won six games, drawn three and lost two, making Los Hispalenses one of the most in-form teams in Spanish football.

In two months on the job, José Luis Mendilibar has managed to change the mood at Sevilla FC entirely. When the 62-year-old was hired to replace Jorge Sampaoli and to become the Andalusian club’s third coach of the season, Sevilla FC sat just two points above the LaLiga Santander relegation zone and the threat of dropping out of the division was a real one.

Now, they are in 11th place and already safe. In his 11 LaLiga Santander games in charge of Sevilla FC, Mendilibar has won six, drawn three and lost two. If just looking at the matchdays since Mendilibar’s debut, Sevilla FC would be fourth with 21 points from 11 games, which is even more than champions FC Barcelona have collected in this time.

Now, Sevilla FC could even qualify for European football for next season, as they are only one point behind CA Osasuna, who are seventh and who currently hold the last European ticket, that of the Conference League.

Tactically, Mendilibar has made changes and installed a 4-2-3-1 system in which every player fully understands his role. This formation is unlocking Lucas Ocampos’ potential down the right wing, while Youssef En-Nesyri is causing problems for opposition defences as he plays as a natural No.9. At the other end, a goalkeeping change was made and Marko Dmitrović – who Mendilibar knows from his time at SD Eibar – has been starting in LaLiga Santander, while Bono has been playing in the Europa League.

“I don’t ask players to do square roots, I ask them to do addition and subtraction. The players have seen that simplicity also brings results,” commented Mendilibar in a press conference ahead of the Europa League semi-final second leg against Juventus. This is how he has managed to imprint his model in record time, with almost unbeatable results.

Sevilla FC are dreaming of a seventh Europa League

Never before in his career had Mendilibar coached in UEFA competitions, but he was able to lead Sevilla FC to a 5-2 aggregate victory over Manchester United in the Europa League quarter-finals. The 3-0 second leg win at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán was particularly impressive.

Then, Los Hispalenses overcame Juventus in the semi-finals to reach another final of the competition they have already won six times. With the score at 2-2 after 180 minutes, Erik Lamela scored in extra time to mean that this 2022-23 campaign could yet be one to remember.

The Andalusian side can now look up the standings and target a top-seven finish, while they’ll also give their all to try to win the Europa League final against Roma. Every other time Sevilla FC have made it this far in that competition they have gone on to win it. Given their improvement under Mendilibar, they can dream.