Often overlooked, the UEFA Cup has at times provided a better show than the Champions League (at least for those who are paying attention). Certainly, this season’s finale in the UEFA Cup was a lot more interesting than in the Champions League, as Liga rivals Sevilla and Espanyol battled into extra time and a PK shootout in Glasgow before the holders from Sevilla prevailed. Melancholy observers could be excused for feeling bad after Espanyol fell short, which it painfully did in the same competition way back in 1988, when the finale was conducted over two legs. In that year, Espanyol squandered a 3-0 edge it had built after the first leg in an eventual PK shootout loss to Bayer Leverkusen.

The hero of this year’s UEFA Cup was undoubtedly Sevilla GK Andres Palop (left), who saved three of four Espanyol PKs in the shootout. But his biggest contribution of the competition might have been his unlikely exploits on the offensive end in the second leg of a round of 16 matchup with Shakhtar Donetsk. Trailing 2-1 and Sevilla on the brink of elimination at the death of the match, Palop ventured forward into the box as a desperate last roll of the dice, and remarkably headed home a Daniel Alves corner in the 4th minute of stoppage time (on likely the last play of regulation time!) to force overtime, where Sevilla prevailed on a Ernesto Chevanton goal.