Rakitić's impressive form continued in the season, with several assists and goals from February to May, including two assists in the Europa League 2–2 away draw against Maribor, an assist in the 2–1 home win over Real Madrid and a goal against Porto in a 4–1 home win. He also assisted in the semi-final first leg 2–0 win over Valencia, which they won on aggregate (3–3), thus qualifying for the Europa League Final. He was man of the match as Sevilla won the Final 4–2 on penalties over Benfica at Juventus Stadium in Turin. He was the first player to captain a team to victory in the UEFA Europa League Final and also pick up the official man of the match award. He was included in the UEFA Europa League Team of the Season. By the Spanish national football league association, Rakitić was chosen in La Liga first XI in both first round, and team of the season. He finished the season scoring 15 goals, and recording 17 assists. At the season's LFP Awards, Rakitić won the Fair Play Award and was nominated for Best Midfielder, an award ultimately given to Barcelona's Andrés Iniesta.