It was another fairy-tale finish at Craven Cottage.
Fulham rallied to earn their first-ever appearance in a major European cup final, defeating Hamburg 2-1 (2-1 agg.) in the second leg of the Europa League semifinal series. They will face Spain's Atlético Madrid—who defeated Liverpool in the other semifinal—in the championship game on May 12.
The Cottagers' Bobby Zamora and Simon Davies scored two unanswered second-half goals after Mladen Petric gave Hamburg an away-goal advantage. That was enough to cap a miserable week for Hamburg, who saw their head coach fired after a 5-1 thrashing in league action this past weekend.
Hamburg also missed the opportunity to host the final, which will be held at their HSH Nordbank Arena.
"After going a goal down against the run of play, I think we made a major piece of history here tonight in a very special atmosphere," Fulham manager Roy Hodgson told reporters after the match. "We have beaten a very good team and I'm drained after the emotional rollercoaster."
Fulham started the match brightly and came close to taking an early lead when Zamora played a one-two with Zoltan Gera at the edge of the box before firing a low shot. However, Hamburg goalkeeper Frank Rost got down low to block the effort, and Zamora whiffed the rebound.
Hamburg were equal to the hosts' pressure and found penetration through the flanks, twice feeding forward Mladen Petric and forcing Fulham into some steely defending.
And the visitors found their breakthrough in the 22nd minute when Danny Murphy hacked down Zé Roberto 30 yards from the Fulham goal.
Petric stepped up and curled his shot around the wall and into the top left corner of the frame, though Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer could have done better to prevent the effort.
Hamburg continued to dominate possession and torment Fulham in the final third, but the German side could have been reduced to 10 men when Jerome Boateng made a two-footed tackle on Gera in the second half. The defender, however, escaped with a caution, and though Fulham did their best with the resulting free kick, Damien Duff diverted the restart wide of the far post.
But Duff & Co. continued to work the midfield, and in the end it was classic route-one soccer that earned the equalizer in the 69th minute. Murphy gathered the ball just ahead of the center circle and poked a pass deep into the Hamburg box, where it was collected by Davies. The midfielder created space with a single touch, and then buried his shot with his left foot.
With the visitors' still holding the advantage thanks to the away-goals rule, Fulham still needed another score—and they would eek one out just seven minutes later after Davies' corner caused havoc in the Hamburg box. Gera found himself in possession after some sloppy defending before pounding home the winner.
Hamburg continued to pressure and Ruud van Nistelrooy came close top spoiling the Cottagers' party in the dying minutes, but Fulham held on to book themselves a ticket to Hamburg.
Clint Dempsey entered the match in the second half, replacing Zamora, who had been a "major doubt" to start due to an Achilles injury. Should Dempsey make an appearance in the final, he'll become the first American to play in a major European cup final.
"You never give up man," Demspey said. "We knew if we got one, the second might come and when Simon's goal went we had 20 minutes left to score and we worked hard to get it."
Liverpool 2-1 Atlético Madrid (2-2 agg., Atlético progress on away goals)
Though defeated on the night, Atlético Madrid dismissed any talk of an all-English Europa League final by bouncing Liverpool with a decisive away goal in extra time.
Having started the fixture with a 1-0 advantage, Atlético succumbed to a first-half goal from Alberto Aquilani that put Liverpool level with the Spanish club.
The game remained balanced after 90 minutes of regular time, despite Liverpool enjoying possession. And just five minutes into extra time, the EPL side became favorites to progress when Yossi Benayoun dinked home a half-volley from Steven Gerrard's beautifully weighted pass.
But two former EPL players proved to be the Reds' undoing.
Former Arsenal winger José Antonio Reyes played in a cross with the outside of his cleat to Diego Forlán, who was left unmarked at the far post. The onetime Manchester United striker coolly finished the move to earn the clinching away goal.
