The countdown for the Europa League final has begun, but Manchester United want to avoid a repeat of the 2021 final when they travel to Bilbao.
It has been four years since Manchester United played in a Europa League final. Just five members of that team are playing under Ruben Amorim, hoping for a better result to clinch the trophy and qualification for the Champions League.
United suffered Europa League heartache at the hands of Villarreal as they lost out in an agonising marathon penalty shoot-out.
The final ended 1-1 after extra time in Poland before the penalty shoot-out went against United, after including 22 penalty takers.
Villarreal were managed by Unai Emery at the time when they had taken the lead in the first half with a goal from Gerard Moreno. But United would eventually grow into the tie and equalise through Edinson Cavani after 55 minutes.
A battle unfolded on the pitch, but the teams couldn’t be split without a penalty shootout which didn’t end in the way Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wanted.
Missing out on the Europa League that season will forever be Solskjaer’s biggest regret as United manager. That was the night he could have got his hands on a trophy.
Photo by MAJA HITIJ/AFP via Getty Images
Photo by MAJA HITIJ/AFP via Getty Images
Low point in David de Gea’s career
Several factors went against United in Gdansk, but we can’t take anything away from the Villarreal side that battled hard that night.
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One of the biggest problems United faced was Harry Maguire’s ankle injury suffered ahead of the final. The centre-back was named on the bench but didn’t play in the final.
The spotlight fell on David de Gea after the game because there was a feeling he let United down on the night.
De Gea missed a penalty and didn’t save any of Villarreal’s penalties, which gave the tie to our opponents in the end.
The former United goalkeeper was the only player to miss his spot-kick in the shootout, which ended 11-10 to Villarreal.
At this point, De Gea’s levels started to drop and he was eventually replaced by Andre Onana at Old Trafford.
Andre Onana under pressure in Bilbao
If De Gea was made an example of in Gdansk, we don’t want Onana spoken about in a similar breath when people refer to the final in Bilbao.
Onana has already committed enough howlers this season, with his worst mistakes coming in the 2-2 draw against Lyon in the earlier stages of the Europa League.
It remains to be seen if Onana will play against Chelsea on Friday night, but he will need to be at his best on Wednesday night when he plays in his third European final.
Yet to really win over his doubters since his £43 million move from Inter in 2023, Onana will not recover from a howler in Bilbao.