Villarreal players celebrate with the trophy / Photo: Collected
Villarreal defeated Manchester United in a marathon penalty shootout on Wednesday to win their first major trophy.
They beat United 11-10 on penalties as goalkeeper David de Gea missed the decisive spot-kick after a 1-1 draw in the Europa League final.
Earlier, Gerard Moreno gave Villarreal the lead 29 minutes into the Spanish club’s first European final, but Edinson Cavani equalized early in the second half before Unai Emery’s team prevailed on spot-kicks, extending United’s four-year trophy drought.
Eric Bailly replaced the injured Harry Maguire in central defense, with the United captain surprisingly named among the substitutes despite suffering ankle ligament damage two weeks ago.
De Gea started ahead of Dean Henderson in goal, while Paul Pogba took up a more orthodox midfield role as Fred was only deemed fit enough for a spot on the bench.
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An early collision between Juan Foyth and Pogba left the former Tottenham defender bloodied but both sides were slow to click into gear on a damp and chilly night on the Baltic coast.
Carlos Bacca’s clever rabona cross created an opportunity for Pau Torres, the center-back linked with a summer move to United, while Marcus Rashford tested Geronimo Rulli with a dipping effort from distance.
Yeremy Pino, who at 18 years and 218 days broke Iker Casillas’ record as the youngest Spanish player to start a major European final, scuffed wide on the counter, but Villarreal were soon ahead.
ARR
