Yep, surprised. Liverpool in European finals is usually a safe bet. Sevilla have won the Europa 3 years running now and 5 times since 2006. Weird they can't quite break into the next tier.
They'll be in Pot 2 for the Champions League next season, so that should significantly increase their chances of getting out of group stages - and if they do, they've shown they're quite handy in knock out matches.
By the way, this means that the of the last 6 available European titles (Champions League and Europa League), all 6 are going to go to Spanish clubs. That's quite staggering.
Do Europa league winners automatically get in pot 2 or is based, as other qualifiers, on Sevilla's uefa coefficient (which is pretty good after the past 3 seasons)?
During that spell of La Liga teams winning, quite a few have been in finals against other La Liga opposition. Since 2000, 9 UCL wins 4 runner ups; 8 Europa League wins 3 runner ups. Probably the best period of domination since Serie A from the late 80s to late 90s.
It's based on coefficients. Europa League winners aren't even assured of being placed directly in the group stages under the competition regulations (although at the minimum they enter at the play-off stage), but since whoever wins this year's Champions League will have already qualified through their domestic league, the Europa League winner gets through directly to the group stage.
Sevilla now have a very good coefficient (in the 90s from memory) and are guaranteed Pot 2.