Gonzalo Montiel Wins Europa League With Twice-Taken Penalty 164 Days After Scoring Decisive Spot-Kick In World Cup Final Shootout

Gonzalo Montiel scored the winning spot-kick as Sevilla beat Roma 4-1 in a penalty shootout to triumph in Wednesday's UEFA Europa League final.

Montiel had scored an even bigger penalty 164 days earlier.

It was he who converted the decisive kick to seal Argentina's victory over France in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final.

But Montiel had not taken a penalty since that famous night in Qatar.

Perhaps out of practice, he produced a poor initial effort against Roma and keeper Rui Patricio made a simple save.

Montiel was given a second chance though, as a VAR review found Patricio guilty of stepping too far off his line.

The Sevilla right-back made no mistake with his second attempt, which he placed into the opposite side of the goal, before celebrating by grabbing his crotch.

Montiel is not a regular penalty-taker for Sevilla but he had been for previous club River Plate.

Gonzalo Montiel pictured grabbing his crotch after scoring the winning penalty in Sevilla's shootout victory over Roma in the 2023 UEFA Europa League final

IMAGO/GEPA pictures/Csaba Doemoetoer