At the end of a seemingly never-ending penalty shootout, the Yellow Submarines celebrated the first major trophy in the club’s history.
Villarreal beat Manchester United 11-10 on penalties to become the 2020/21 Europa League champions.
The game was forced into penalty shootout with the scoreline tied at 1-1 after a pressure-packed 120 minutes of action. Gerard Moreno had opened the scoring, putting the ball into the net with a right-footed flick to score his 30th goal of the season, before Edinson Cavani fired home from close range to level things up.
All 10 Villarreal and Man United outfield players found the back of the net in what proved to be a nerve-tingling last couple of minutes in Gdansk. When the time finally came for the two goalkeepers to try their luck, it was David de Gea who stumbled as his lame shot was parried away by Geronimo Rulli.
Unai Emery has now won more Europa League (4) trophies than any other manager in the competition’s history while Villarreal experience European glory for the very first time in their entire history.
Player Ratings
Man United: De Gea – 5, Wan-Bissaka – 6, Bailly – 4, Lindelof – 4, Shaw – 6, McTominay – 7, Pogba – 6, Greenwood – 6, Fernandes – 6, Rashford – 3, Cavani – 7, Fred – 6, James – N/A, Tuanzebe – N/A, Telles – N/A, Mata – N/A
Villarreal: Rulli – 6, Foyth – 5, Albiol – 7, Torres – 7, Pedraza – 7, Trigueros – 7, Parejo – 6, Capoue – 5, Pino – 6, Moreno – 7, Bacca – 5, Coquelin – 5, Alcacer – 6, Gomez – 6, Gaspar – 6, Moreno – 6, Raba – N/A