Carrico dedicates Europa League win to Sevilla´s ´star´ Puerta

Daniel Carrico dedicated Wednesday’s Europa League triumph to Sevilla’s “star” Antonio Puerta.

Puerta died at the age of 22 after collapsing during a La Liga match against Getafe in 2007, having helped Sevilla to consecutive UEFA Cup triumphs.

Unai Emery’s current crop went one better as a 3-1 win over Liverpool in Basle secured Europa league glory for the third year in a row.

Portugal defender Carrico was delighted with victory, sealed by captain Coke’s double, and said the memory of Puerta was a driving force for the club.

He told BT Sport: “It is three seasons in a row now and it is our competition.

“We have won and our star Antonio Puerta is up there, he is helping us.

“Liverpool played a good first half but the manager told us we need to change the game, we needed to believe and we did what he said. Scoring easily in the second half helped us and Liverpool did not have any chances.

“Next season we will be in the Champions League and it is another challenge for us. We will see what happens next season but it is now time to celebrate.”