Villareal beat Manchester United 11-10 on penalties to claim Europa League
Villareal won the Europa League in the first flickerings of Thursday morning following a penalty shoot-out of instant legend.
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Manchester United went into the final at the Polsat Plus Arena in Gdansk as favourites.
But after 120 minutes and a 1-1 stalemate in the driving rain in northern Poland, it came down to the United goalkeeper David De Gea, his Villareal counterpart Geronimo Rulli, nous and nerve.
The latter was on display in dizzying abundance as all 20 outfield players scored with varying degrees of precision or power.
It was then down to the shot stoppers to decide the destination of the silverware.
Rulli, who does not feature in La Liga games, stepped up and thrashed the ball high to the right of De Gea to put Villareal 11-10 ahead.
De Gea failed to emulate the pyrotechnics. Rulli saved the Spain international's kick low down to his left to launch the celebrations.
Resilience
"We had a great match against one of the best teams in the world," left-back Alfonso Pedraza told RMC Sport.
"We did not have many chances and then it was the lottery of penalties. A title for the supporters who are here, who helped us, we obviously dedicate it to all our supporters."
It was Villareal's first major trophy in their 98-year history and coach Unai Emery's fourth success in the tournament after a hat trick of titles with Sevilla between 2014 and 2016.
The win, which propels Emery's side into the group stages of next season's Champions League, came after long periods on the ropes following their 29th minute opener against the English Premier League runners-up
Daniel Parejo flighted a free-kick into the United penalty area and Gerard Moreno muscled his way through the crowd of bodies to stab the ball past De Gea.
The setback spurred United into a perpetual forward groove. But for all their possession, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men could not force their way through the Villareal rearguard.
Work
Emery said before the final that Villareal would have to show character to stand any chance of beating their illustrious adversaries.
And his players followed his demands. They closed down United's flow and defended en masse.
United made it 1-1 following a set piece just after half-time. Luke Shaw’s corner was headed away by Raul Albiol but only as far as Marcus Rashford who thrashed the ball back towards the goal.
In a flurry of ricochets, the ball fell to Edinson Cavani who prodded it home for his sixth goal in the competition.
United appeared more likely to pierce again for the winner but drooped as their 61st game of the season started to take its toll.
"We didn't play as well as we know we can," conceded Solskjaer. "We pushed, we pressed, we got a goal but after we scored we didn't control the game or dominate as we wanted."
Villareal enjoyed more possession in extra-time but could not construct any clear opportunities.
Just as importantly, they did not allow any breaches before the epic denouement.
So are legends born.
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