May 18, 2007	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 01, 1428

GLASGOW, May 17: Sevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop saved three penalty kicks Wednesday to give his team a 3-1 shootout win over Espanyol in the UEFA Cup final after a 2-2 draw.

Sevilla is only the second team to win back-to-back UEFA Cup titles.

The teams were tied 1-1 after 90 minutes and 2-2 following 30 minutes of extra time before Palop saved penalties from Luis Garcia, Jonatas and Marc Torrejon at Hampden Park.

Sevilla had come close to winning the game in extra time when Frederic Kanoute scored to make it 2-1, but substitute Jonatas hit a swerving shot with five minutes left to send the game to a shootout. Kanoute, Ivica Dragutinovic and Antonio Puerta scored in the shootout for Sevilla, while only Walter Pandiani scored for Espanyol.

Sevilla, which matched Real Madrid's 1986 feat of retaining the trophy, can now go for an unprecedented treble in Spanish soccer by adding the Spanish league and Copa del Rey titles. The team is third in the league and has reached the final of the cup tournament.

The defending UEFA Cup champions withstood heavy pressure in the second half at Hampden Park but imposed themselves after Espanyol's Moises Hurtado was sent off in the 68th for a second yellow card.

Sevilla took the lead in front of a raucous crowd at the tournament's first all-Spanish final when Adriano Correira scored in the 18th minute. Albert Riera made it 1-1 in the 28th, and Espanyol created several good chances after that but failed to convert.—AP