Final in Gdansk
23 goals! Villarreal wins Europa League after a furious penalty shoot-out
Jubilation in yellow: Villarreal FC celebrates their victory over Manchester United in the Europa League final
© Kacper Pempel / Getty Images
What a thriller! The Europa League final between Villarreal FC and Manchester United goes to penalties – and a Spaniard becomes a tragic figure.
The overjoyed professionals of Villarreal FC celebrated with the silver trophy in the yellow confetti rain and cheered their record coach, a few meters further David de Gea could not be comforted. In a dramatic Europa League final, the Spanish national goalkeeper from Manchester United had missed the decisive, the 22nd penalty – and had to endure how his compatriots ushered in a long night of partying.
The Spanish club celebrated the first European Cup title in club history after 11:10 (1: 1, 1: 1, 1: 0) on penalties in the final crime thriller in Gdansk, but it was the fourth for coach Unai Emery.
9500 fans ensure the mood for the final
De Gea missed shortly before midnight after his opponent Gerónimo Rulli had transformed, which caused high spirits among the Spanish football fans who had traveled with him. The 9,500 spectators admitted to the stadium almost created a real final atmosphere. When the Villarreal players celebrated with the trophy in front of their own fans, all Corona distance rules fell and tears of joy flowed.
Gerard Moreno (29th) scored for Villarreal in regular time, while Edinson Cavani (55th) managed to equalize for coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team. After three successes with Sevilla FC, Emery was able to raise the heaviest of all Uefa trophies again. United, on the other hand, has to wait for the next big trophy after losing four semifinals.
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The game was largely determined by Manchester. The star-studded table runner-up of the Premier League season made the game wide and kept looking for old star Cavani in the center. Scott McTominay fired the first warning shot (7th). Solskjaer, who made United the Champions League winner with his winning goal in the legendary final against FC Bayern 22 years ago to the day exactly, looked relatively relaxed in the dugout for almost 30 minutes in a fine suit.
With character against the favorite
“Manchester are the favorites, but we can hold out with our character for over 90 minutes,” Emery said shortly before kick-off. Villarreal FC played their first European final, for United, which had been accompanied to Poland by their iconic coach Sir Alex Ferguson, it was the 14th final of a UEFA competition.
