AAt the end of the suspense, Villarreal defeated Manchester United in their first Europa League final and won the final (1-1 AB, 11 tab to 10) on Wednesday in Kdansk, Poland, where his coach Unai Emery was presented with a fourth crown. When both teams were neutral with each other, Edinson Cavani (55th) responded to Gerard Moreno (29th) with no extra time, the penalty shootout was breathtaking: every shooter won in his attempt, and until the final defeat of goalkeeper David, Mancunian. 11th sniper to join.
The Red Devils, who have dominated most of the tournament, can blame themselves, so they will not give Monaco a direct place in the C1’s group stage next season. For Emery, it will be the fourth coronation in five finals, having scored a hat-trick with Sevilla (2014, 2015, 2016) and losing to Arsenal in 2019. He is the first coach to win the trophy four times and is taking a good revenge after losing to Paris SG and the Gunners.
For Ole Gunner Soulscare, on the other hand, defeat is bitter, and he will not escape some questions about how he will manage this final. He promised it would be a tough choice for his winger between Paul Pogba, Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford. Norway’s intention was that he overcame this fall by pushing the French to the position of left central midfielder. But the disappointing performance of Rashford, who did not achieve much, underscored the lack of alternatives for him on the bench, the persistent evil and the urgent need to adjust in the Red Devils.
Moreno offers himself a record
In the absence of the ankle-injured Harry Maguire, we also learned of the Red Devils’ defense, whose hinge Victor Lindelf-Eric Bailey was weakened. The first half hour was largely dominated by the British, but the center faced a very dense vicarious, but with its offensive changes captured, it was not surprising that the score opening suddenly stepped on.
When Gabriel Moreno touched the unattainable Gabriel Moreno, the very loose mark of the English restoration, the right race and recovery, benefited the yellow (1-0, 29th). It was the 30th goal of the season in all competitions for the Spanish striker, with Giuseppe Rossi of Italy joining the top directors in the history of the Valencian club with 82 goals.
If the discussions had been rescheduled until the break, the start of the score would not have been enough to bother United, who were accustomed to chasing after the score. In the Premier League this season, it has happened 17 times, on 10 occasions they have won with a draw and six defeats.
Di Jia, the sad hero
They began to hit the opposite goal again, kicking behind a corner, but were caught by Rashford at the entrance to the venue, the ball was deflected by a defender and returned to Gavani’s feet, who only had to push the ball back (1-1, 55th) for VAR and French referee Clement Turbin. Before waiting for long seconds, he made sure he was not offside rather than explode with joy.
Not helped by their manager’s willingness to wait until the first half of extra time to make the first change, when Emery made his last two at 88, United settled themselves into sterile dominance in the second half. In extra time, Villarreal seemed to deliver a dangerous blow, but went 0-0 five times in the previous five meetings between the two teams, with no wins in the game.
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Penalty shoot-out was endless, with eleven Spaniards knocking down David de Gea, so he aimed for the last 36 penalties or shots. The height of misfortune for the goalkeeper, who has an eventful season, was easily diverted by his very gentle strike to the left of his replacement Ego Geronimo Rally, who has lost his team to the trophy since 2017. It was a win in the Europa League. Under the orders of Jose Mourinho. As for Villarreal, his first major trophy gives him a place in the C1 instead of the Europa League conference. Deserving.
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