David De Gea missed the all-important penalty to hand Unai Emery’s Villarreal an 11-10 shootout victory in the Europa League final against Man United.
Man United started the final brightly as Scott McTominay, Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford all missed half chances.
But it was Villarreal who took the lead just before the half-hour mark. Dani Parejo sent a teasing free-kick into the penalty area. Gerard Moreno got the better of Victor Lindelof to find the net past De Gea.
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United’s response to the goal was lacklustre before the break but they did equalise in the 55th minute. Their corner was cleared to Rashford on the edge.
He fired it back into the danger area and the ball eventually fell to Edinson Cavani, who tapped it home from close range.
Man United piled on the pressure after their equaliser. Rashford shot wide from inside the six-yard box in the 70th minute but the offside flag spared his blushes. Cavani came close moments later as his header was blocked by Pau Torres from a few yards out.
Neither side were able to find a winner before full time so the final in Gdansk headed for extra time.
As to be expected, there was little action of note in extra time. Villarreal were the brighter of the two sides but there were no real chances as they geared up for a penalty shootout.
It proved to be a high-quality shootout as the first 21 (Yes, TWENTY-ONE) kicks were all converted. De Gea was the final player to step up but his effort was stopped by Geronimo Rulli.
More to follow…
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