 Match programme cover | |||||||
| Event | 2017–18 UEFA Europa League | ||||||
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| Date | 16 May 2018 (2018-05-16) | ||||||
| Venue | Parc Olympique Lyonnais,Décines-Charpieu | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Antoine Griezmann(Atlético Madrid)[1] | ||||||
| Referee | Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)[2] | ||||||
| Attendance | 55,768[3] | ||||||
| Weather | Cloudy night 18 °C (64 °F) 66%humidity[4] | ||||||
←2017 2019 → | |||||||
The2018 UEFA Europa League Final was the final match of the2017–18 UEFA Europa League, the 47th season ofEurope's secondary clubfootball tournament organised byUEFA, and the 9th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to theUEFA Europa League. It was played at theParc Olympique Lyonnais inDécines-Charpieu,Lyon, France on 16 May 2018,[5] betweenFrench sideMarseille andSpanish sideAtlético Madrid.[6][7]
Atlético Madrid won the match 3–0 for their third Europa League title.[8] As winners, Atlético Madrid earned the right to play against the winners of the2017–18 UEFA Champions League,Real Madrid, in the2018 UEFA Super Cup. They also qualified to enter the group stage of the2018–19 UEFA Champions League,[9] but since they already qualified through their league performance, the berth reserved was given to the third-placed team of the2017–18 Ligue 1,Lyon, as Ligue 1 was the 5th-ranked association according to next season's access list.[10]
TheParc Olympique Lyonnais was announced as the final venue on 9 December 2016, following the decision of the UEFA Executive Committee meeting inNyon, Switzerland.[5]
Marseille reached their third final after a 3–2 aggregate win againstAustrian sideRed Bull Salzburg, clinched after extra time. They lost the final in both previous occasions (1999 and2004). This was also their fifth final in all seasonal UEFA competitions, having also played in twoEuropean Cup/Champions League finals (winning in1993; and losing in1991).
Atlético Madrid also reached their third final after a 2–1 aggregate win againstEnglish sideArsenal. They won the final in both previous occasions (2010 and2012). This was also their ninth final in UEFA seasonal competitions, having played in threeEuropean Cup/Champions League finals (losing in1974,2014 and2016) and threeCup Winners' Cup final (winning in1962; and losing in1963 and1986).
The two teams had played each other twice in theChampions League. Atlético Madrid won the first match, while the second was drawn in the2008–09 UEFA Champions League group stage.
In the following table, finals until 2009 were in the UEFA Cup era, since 2010 were in the UEFA Europa League era.
| Team | Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners) |
|---|---|
 Marseille | 2 (1999,2004) |
 Atlético Madrid | 2 (2010,2012) |
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).
The ambassador for the final was former French internationalEric Abidal, who played three seasons atLyon and later won two UEFA Champions League titles withBarcelona.
With a stadium capacity of 57,000 for the final, a total amount of 23,000 tickets were available to fans and the general public, with the two finalist teams receiving tickets (number to be confirmed) each and with the other tickets being available for sale to fans worldwide via UEFA.com from 15 to 22 March 2018 in four price categories: €150, €100, €70, and €45. The remaining tickets were allocated to the local organising committee, UEFA and national associations, commercial partners and broadcasters, and to serve the corporate hospitality programme.[11][12]
On 7 May 2018, UEFA announced that DutchmanBjörn Kuipers would officiate the final. It was the second time he was appointed for aUEFA Europa League final, as he had already been the referee in the2013 final. He was also the referee for the2014 UEFA Champions League Final, which Atlético lost toReal Madrid inextra time. He was joined by his fellow countrymen, with Sander van Roekel and Erwin Zeinstra as assistant referees,Danny Makkelie andPol van Boekel as additional assistant referees, and Mario Diks as reserve assistant referee. The fourth official for the final wasSzymon Marciniak from Poland.[2]
French DJ duoOfenbach performed at the opening ceremony preceding the final.[13]
In the 21st minute,André-Frank Zambo Anguissa miss-controlled a pass out from goalkeeperSteve Mandanda, the ball came toGabi who passed intoAntoine Griezmann who scored with a low shot into the bottom left corner. Marseille captainDimitri Payet left the match due to injury in the 32nd minute. It was 2–0 in the 49th minute when Antoine Griezmann dinked the ball past the advancing Steve Mandanda and into the bottom left from inside the penalty area after a pass fromKoke.[14] Gabi got the third goal in the 89th minute with a low right foot finish from the right after another pass from Koke.[15]
The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the semi-final draw, which was held on 13 April 2018, 12:00CEST, at the UEFA headquarters inNyon, Switzerland.[16]
          Marseille[4] |      Atlético Madrid[4] |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[2] | Match rules[18]
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