The Europa League has reached its ultimate juncture as Manchester United have stomped their way to the final, beating AS Roma 8-5 on aggregate, despite losing 2-3 in the second leg of the semi-final last night. Now, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men will meet Unai Emery’s Villareal, who scraped past Arsenal 2-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals.
Solskjaer will be a happy man as he steered Manchester United, who are at number 2 in the Premier League table, to their first major final in three years. But here’s a statistic that can widen the smile on his face -- Solskjaer is the first man to reach a major European Cup final for United both as a player and manager. Not to forget Manchester United have reached a major European final for the 13th time in history. The only other Premier League team to have more final appearances than United are Liverpool.
After United made it to the summit showdown, here’s what he had to say:
Face To Face
Manchester United and Villareal have met in major leagues in the past, and all the contests have gone neck and neck. Their last four encounters ended in goalless draws. They met twice in 2005 and twice in 2008. But this time around, Solskjaer is faced with a seasoned Europa League contender in Unai Emery, who will eye his fourth UEL title in his fifth appearance. He won his other three titles with Spanish club Sevilla in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
A Century To Remember
On Thursday, 19-year-old Mason Greenwood went past the legendary George Best, to become the youngest ever English player to clock 100 appearances for United. This season, Greenwood has scored six goals in his last eight games, and has four goals to his name in the Premier League.
United’s next Premier League outing is against Aston Villa on May 9, and they will hope to keep their winning momentum going. And United and Villareal will square off with each other on May 27 at the Stadion Energa Gdańsk, previously the Baltic Arena, in Poland. A high-voltage clash awaits.
