Villarreal yatwaa Kombe la Europa kwa kuiangusha Manchester United

Klabu ya Villarreal imetwaa Ubingwa wa Ligi ya Europa baada ya kuifunga Klabu ya Manchester United kwa penati 11-10. Ushindi huo umepatikana muda mfupi baada ya mtanange huo wa aina yake kumalizika katika dimba la PGE Arena Gdansk nchini Poland, inaripoti Diramakini (diramakini@gmail.com).

Awali, timu hizo zilifungana goli 1-1 katika dakika 120, hatua iliyofanya mchezo kuamuliwa kwa mikwaju ya penati huku David de Dea akikosa penati yake.

Mchezo huo wa fainali ulifika kwa wenyeji Villarreal kwa kumtoa Arsenal hatua ya robo fainali wakati United waliitoa AS Roma na kujikatia tiketi.

Aidha, licha ya umiliki mkubwa wa mpira kwa kikosi cha kocha Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Villarreal wananolewa na kocha wa zamani wa Arsenal Unai Emery walitangulia kujipatia bao kupitia kwa Gerald Moreno akimalizia mpira wa kutengwa wa Parejo.

Mchezo uliingia hatua ya mapumziko matokeo yakiwa na faida kwa Villarreal ingawa walipokea bao la Edinson Cavani ungwe ya pili akitumia vyema pasi ya kiungo mkabaji Scott McTominay na kukwamisha mpira nyavuni na kuwa 1-1.

Matokeo hayo yalisababisha piga ni kupige mpaka kipenga cha mwamuzi kinapulizwa bado matokeo yaliendelea kuwa sare na hatimaye dakika za ziada sare ikaendela, mikwaju ya penati ndiyo imeamua mchezo huo.

Wachezaji wote 21 wamepata kwa timu zote kasoro mlinda mlango wa Manchester United David de Gea aliyekosa mkwaju huo na kuwapa ubingwa Villarreal. Ole ameendelea kuwa bila taji katika taaluma yake ya ukocha ingawa akiwa mchezaji alibeba mataji mbalimbali kama Ligi ya Mabingwa.

Waliofunga penalti za Villarreal ni Gerard Moreno, Dani Raba, Paco Alcácer, Alberto Moreno, Dani Parejo, Moi Gómez, Fred, Francis Coquelin, Mario Gaspar, Paul Torres na kipa Gerónimo Rulli.

Na Man United zilifungwa na Juan Mata, Alex Telles, Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Edinson Cavani, Albiol, Daniel James, Luke Shaw, Axel Tuanzebe na Victor Lindelof, wakati David de Gea alikosa mkwaju wake ukipanguliwa na kipa mwenzake, Rulli. 

Hata hivyo, Villarreal itacheza na mshindi baina ya Manchester City au Chelsea kwenye UEAFA Super Cup.

Hii ni historia

"Ndoto yetu imekuwa kweli,"amesema Gerard Moreno baada ya mchezo. "Watu wote walitarajia hili, Rais, Makamu wa Rais...tulitaka kuandika historia kwa namna ya kipekee, nasi tumetimiza hilo. 

Bosi wa Manchester United Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

"Tumeumia, lakini huu ndiyo mpira, wakati mwingine shuti moja linaweza kuamua na hiyo ndiyo tofauti kati ya kushinda na kupoteza," amesema Solskjaer wakati akihojiwa na BT Sport kama alivyonukuliwa na DIRAMAKINI Blog.

Bosi huyo amesema kuwa, wamejifunza kwa hili ambalo limewatokea, hivyo wanatarajia kwenda kufanya maboresho kwa ajili ya kufanya vizuri zaidi mbeleni.

"Hatukujituma kama tulivyodhamiria, hatukucheza kama tulivyodhamiria kwamba tunaweza kufanya vizuri, walitupania wakapata bao, tulijisahau tukawapa nafasi wakaitumia, tulijituma kwa kila namna, lakini tulishindwa kuudhibiti mpira, hivyo matokeo yakawa kama yalivyotokea. 

"Waliifanya iwe ngumu kwetu, walifunga nafasi. Tulikuwa na milki nyingi. Walilinda vizuri. Hatukuunda nafasi kubwa za kutosha,"ameongeza kama alivyonukuliwa na Diramakini Blog.

Kiungo wa kati wa Villarreal

Francis Coquelin ambaye ni kiungo wa kati wa Villarreal amesema kuwa, "Ninajihisi vizuri sana," Coquelin aliiambia BT Sport kama alivyonukuliwa na Diramakini Blog.

"Yamekuwa mashindano magumu. Kucheza dhidi ya timu nzuri kama Manchester United, tulijua itakuwa ngumu. "Hatukufanikiwa kufika kwenye Ligi ya Mabingwa ila kupitia Ligi ya Europa tumewapata, ni muhimu sana kwetu na imetupa sifa kubwa kama klabu yetu na ni jambo la kushangaza mno kwa ushindi huu.

"Hii ni njia nzuri ya kumaliza msimu. Unapoanza chini hadi mwisho unajua mshindi anachukua yote. Tulikuwa na mchezo mgumu. Manchester walitupa hofu sana. Tulilazimika kufanya kazi ya ziada.

"Mikwaju ya penati ni bahati nasibu na tuliweza kushinda. Ilikuwa ni kama hadithi ya mashindano. Kuwapiga katika fainali ni jambo muhimu kwetu.

"Tutajaribu kusherehekea kwa sababu hili ni jambo kubwa kwa klabu,"ameeleza Nyota huyo kama alivyonukuliwa na Diramakini Blog baada ya mchezo huo.

Previous meetings

-Villarreal and Manchester United have met in four previous European matches – on each occasion in the UEFA Champions League group stage – and every one ended in a goalless draw.

-The first encounter in September 2005, which marked Villarreal's debut in the UEFA Champions League proper, was notable for the sending-off of visiting United striker Wayne Rooney. 

Another stalemate at Old Trafford two months later turned out to be costly for Sir Alex Ferguson's side as they would ultimately finish bottom of the group, ending a run of nine successive qualifications for the knockout phase, whereas Manuel Pellegrini's debutants finished top – despite scoring just three goals – and went on to reach the semi-finals, where they were beaten by Arsenal.

-Ferguson and Pellegrini were both still in charge as the clubs played out two further 0-0 draws three years later, the first at Old Trafford, where United began the defence of the trophy, the second at El Madrigal, where the outcome ensured both teams qualified for the next stage. 

Villarreal went on to reach the quarter-finals, losing again to Arsenal, while United made it all the way to another final only to lose 2-0 to another Spanish side, Barcelona, in Rome.

-Those two campaigns remain Villarreal's sole ventures into the UEFA Champions League knockout phase. 

-They made it third time lucky against Arsenal in this season's UEFA Europa League semi-final, which made their all-time record against Premier League opposition in five UEFA knockout ties W2 L3, the previous success having come in the first of them, against Everton in the 2005/06 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round (2-1 a, 2-1 h). The other defeat was against Liverpool in the 2015/16 UEFA Europa League semi-final (1-0 h, 0-3 a).

-Villarreal's overall record against English clubs is W5 D7 L5. This is their first encounter at a neutral venue.

-United have won only 16 of their 61 UEFA matches against Spanish opposition (D23 L22), though they are unbeaten in all four this spring (W3 D1), scoring eight goals and conceding none. 

However, their last three European campaigns have all been terminated by Liga opposition – by Sevilla in both the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League round of 16 (0-0 a, 1-2 h) and last season's one-off UEFA Europa League semi-final in Cologne (1-2), and by Barcelona in the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League quarter-final (0-1 h, 0-3 a).

-United's record in UEFA knockout ties against Spanish clubs is W9 L12. This includes a record in finals of W1 L3, with defeats in each of the last three – against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League deciders of 2009 and 2011 (1-3 at Wembley) and by Real Madrid in the 2017 UEFA Super Cup (1-2 in Skopje). Their only victory came in the 1991 European Cup Winners' Cup final against Barcelona in Rotterdam (2-1).
Form guide
 
Villarreal

 -Villarreal finished fifth in the 2019/20 Spanish Liga to return to Europe after a season's absence and participate in the UEFA Europa League group stage for a record-equalling eighth time.
 

-The Spanish club have never finished outside the top two in their eight group campaigns, going through as section winners four times, including this season as Emery's side won Group I at a canter, scoring 12 goals in winning their first three matches before sealing first place with a 1-0 win at Sivasspor on Matchday 5. 

-The subsequent knockout phase wins against Salzburg, Dynamo Kyiv, Dinamo Zagreb and Arsenal have taken Villarreal through to the club's first major European final – though they were twice winners of the UEFA Intertoto Cup, and once runners-up, in the early 2000s.

-Villarreal are unbeaten in their last 12 UEFA Europa League matches outside Spain (W7 D5), keeping clean sheets in all of the last five. Their last defeats in this competition were in the 2018/19 quarter-final against local rivals Valencia (1-3 h, 0-2 a); they are now undefeated by non-Spanish opposition in 23 European matches (W16 D7) including all 13 this season.


Manchester United 

-United finished third in the Premier League last season, when they also lost three semi-finals – in the English League Cup, the FA Cup and the UEFA Europa League. Their league position enabled them to compete in the UEFA Champions League group stage for the 23rd time.

• Solskjær's side got off to a flier in Group H, beating Paris 2-1 away and Leipzig 5-0 at home, but lost three of their last four fixtures – 1-2 at İstanbul Başakşehir, 1-3 at home to Paris and 2-3 away to Leipzig – to drop down into third place.

• UEFA Europa League knockout phase wins against Real Sociedad, Milan, Granada and Roma have taken the Manchester club into the final of the competition for the second time. They were triumphant four years ago, when José Mourinho's side defeated Ajax 2-0 in Stockholm, Paul Pogba scoring the first goal with other current United players Sergio Romero, Juan Mata and Marcus Rashford all starting the game and Anthony Martial coming on as a substitute.

• United have lost just three of their last 17 matches outside Manchester in the UEFA Europa League, winning ten, and have scored at least once in every one of their knockout phase encounters in the competition outside England, a sequence that has now stretched to 16 matches.

• This is United's first visit to Poland since the qualifying round of their triumphant 1998/99 UEFA Champions League campaign, when they drew 0-0 away to ŁKS Łódź after a first-leg 2-0 home win. Their overall record in the country is W1 D2 L1, the sole victory coming in the semi-final of the 1990/91 European Cup Winners' Cup, when they beat ten-man Legia Warszawa 3-1 in the Polish capital prior to a 1-1 draw in Manchester. This is their first UEFA encounter in Gdańsk.
 

Previous UEFA finals

Villarreal (W2 L1)
2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup 1-2 agg v Málaga
2003 UEFA Intertoto Cup 2-1 agg v Heerenveen
2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup 2-2 agg v Atlético de Madrid (aet; 3-1 penalties)

Manchester United (W7 L6)
1967/68 European Cup 4-1 v Benfica (aet)
1968 European/South American Cup 1-2 agg v Estudiantes
1990/91 European Cup Winners' Cup 2-1 v Barcelona
1991 UEFA Super Cup 1-0 v Crvena zvezda
1998/99 UEFA Champions League 2-1 v Bayern München
1999 UEFA Super Cup 0-1 v Lazio
1999 European/South American Cup 1-0 v Palmeiras
2007/08 UEFA Champions League 1-1 v Chelsea (aet; 6-5 penalties)
2008 UEFA Super Cup 1-2 v Zenit
2008/09 UEFA Champions League 0-2 v Barcelona
2010/11 UEFA Champions League 1-3 v Barcelona
2016/17 UEFA Europa League 2-0 v Ajax
2017 UEFA Super Cup 1-2 v Real Madrid
2020 Europa League final highlights: Sevilla 3-2 Inter
UEFA Europa League final focus

• This is the 12th UEFA Europa League final. The previous 11 have yielded 34 goals at an average of 3.09 per game. The biggest winning margin is three goals – 4-1 by Chelsea against Arsenal in 2018/19 and 3-0 achieved twice by Atlético, against Athletic Club (2012) and Marseille (2018). The highest number of goals scored in the fixture is five – Sevilla's 3-2 victory over Dnipro in 2015, that 4-1 win for Chelsea in 2019, and another 3-2 win for Sevilla last season against Internazionale.

• Sevilla have won all four of their UEFA Europa League finals, last season's victory enabling them to move ahead of Atlético, who also boast a perfect record in finals of three out of three.

• There have been eight previous UEFA Europa League finalists from Spain, including runners-up Athletic in 2012, and six from England, with Chelsea winning twice (2013, 2019) and Manchester United once (2017), while Fulham (2010), Liverpool (2016) and Arsenal (2019) have all lost on their sole appearance.

• Villarreal are the 16th different club to have reached the UEFA Europa League final – and would be just the sixth to win the competition. Only three countries – Spain (seven wins), England (three) and Portugal (one) – have provided previous winners.

• This is the third UEFA Europa League final between clubs from Spain and England, the previous two having both been won by the Spanish club – Atlético v Fulham in 2010 (2-1 aet) and Sevilla v Liverpool in 2016 (3-1).

• United are bidding to become the fourth multiple winners of the UEFA Europa League and the fifth team to win it after crossing over in mid-season from the UEFA Champions League after the group stage, following Atlético (2009/10, 2017/18), Chelsea (2012/13) and Sevilla (2015/16).

• In 2018/19 Chelsea became the first UEFA Europa League winners to go through the season undefeated (W12 D3). Villarreal will emulate that feat with victory in Gdańsk.

• There has never been a sending-off in a UEFA Europa League final.

• The only own goal in the fixture was scored by Inter's Romelu Lukaku in last season's defeat by Sevilla.

• Three penalties have been awarded in the UEFA Europa League final, all successfully converted – by Óscar Cardozo for Benfica against Chelsea in 2013, Eden Hazard for Chelsea against Arsenal in 2019, and Lukaku for Inter against Sevilla in 2020.

• The only previous UEFA Europa League final decided by a penalty shoot-out was in 2014, when Sevilla defeated Benfica 4-2 on spot kicks after a 0-0 draw in Turin. The only other final to have gone into extra time was the inaugural fixture in 2010, when Atlético overcame Fulham in Hamburg.

• Seven players have scored twice in the UEFA Europa League final – Diego Forlán (Atlético 2010), Radamel Falcao (Atlético 2012), Carlos Bacca (Sevilla 2015), Coke (Sevilla 2016), Antoine Griezmann (Atlético 2018), Hazard (Chelsea 2019) and Luuk de Jong (Sevilla 2020); there has yet to be a hat-trick.

• Falcao is the only player to have scored in two UEFA Europa League finals, having previously struck Porto's winner in 2011. He is also the only two-time winner of the Man of the Match award (2011, 2012).

• The youngest player to have competed on the winning side in a UEFA Europa League final is Manchester United's Rashford (2017) at 19 years 205 days; the oldest is Chelsea's Frank Lampard (2013) at 34 years 329 days.

• Maurizio Sarri became the UEFA Europa League's oldest winning coach, at 60 years 139 days, when he led Chelsea to victory in 2019. The youngest was André Villas-Boas, aged 33 years 213 days when he oversaw Porto's triumph in 2011.

• Poland is the second nation to host the UEFA Europa League final twice, the 2015 showpiece having been staged in Warsaw. Germany was the first to do so (Hamburg 2010, Cologne 2020).

Links and trivia

• Emery has overseen 92 matches in the UEFA Europa League proper – 32 more than any other coach. This is his fifth final; only two other coaches have served in more than one – Jorge Jesus (twice with Benfica) and Diego Simeone (twice with Atlético).

• Emery replaced long-serving Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger in May 2018 and oversaw 78 matches for the Gunners until his dismissal in November 2019. He was unbeaten in three Premier League games against Manchester United, drawing twice away (2-2 and 1-1) and winning once at home (2-0). However, his Arsenal side were defeated 3-1 at home by Solskjær's United in the fourth round of the 2018/19 FA Cup.

• The two coaches also locked horns in the 2015/16 UEFA Europa League round of 32 as Emery's Sevilla overcame Solskjær's Molde 3-1 on aggregate (3-0 h, 0-1 a) en route to completing their title hat-trick.

• In their five head-to-head contests overall Emery and Solskjær have each won two, drawn one and lost two. More details>>>