Man Utd suffered Europa League heartache as David de Gea's missed penalty proved decisive in their shootout defeat to Villarreal; Edinson Cavani had cancelled out Gerard Moreno’s opener in normal time but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s wait for silverware goes on
Thursday 27 May 2021 16:33, UK
David de Gea will bear the brunt of the criticism in the immediate aftermath of the defeat - not just for his missed penalty but for his failure to save any of Villarreal's. The Manchester United goalkeeper has not repelled a spot kick since 2016.
But once the dust has settled and the inquest begins, the spotlight will move from goalkeeper to manager. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer spoke about using this final as a "stepping stone" to "something better". Instead it will go down as a golden opportunity missed.
Solskjaer has overseen progress at Manchester United, undoubtedly. Their league position has improved in each season of his tenure. Young players have blossomed under his management.
But he is well aware that this job demands silverware and that key ingredient is still missing. Reaching a first final felt like a significant moment for him after four consecutive semi-final defeats. But events in Gdansk raise the same old questions.
It seemed his side's powers of recovery may pull them through again when Edinson Cavani cancelled out Gerard Moreno's opening goal shortly after half-time.
Manchester United, listless before the break, suddenly appeared in the ascendency and the omens offered further encouragement. Recovering from a goal down in a European final on May 26? With Solskjaer involved, surely this was only going to end one way.
But the breakthrough never came. In fact, it never really looked close.
Scott McTominay drove them forward from midfield. Marcus Rashford directed their best chance wide. But rarely were Villarreal truly tested and as extra-time wore on, Manchester United looked more like the side trying to take the game to penalties.
They had been similarly ineffective in the first half. Solskjaer had set them up to attack, sacrificing Fred in order to accommodate an extra attacker with Paul Pogba dropping back into the midfield.
"We started with loads of goal scorers, match-winners, and hoped it would give us the upper-hand," said Solskjaer afterwards.
But in truth it was difficult to discern much of a plan beyond that.
United pressed effectively at times, with Cavani leading the way, but it summed up their bluntness that the Uruguayan had fewer touches than any other outfield player on the pitch in the first half - and not a single shooting opportunity either.
There was little cohesion to their attacking play, only a vague hope that individual moments of quality would see them through.
Those moments usually come from Bruno Fernandes, of course, but Villarreal stifled him superbly, closing the space around him, shutting off his supply line and leaving him with no room to work in.
By the end, he had failed to register a shot on target or create a single chance in 120 minutes of action.
Solskjaer had no answer and there were familiar defensive frailties too.
Harry Maguire was of course a big miss. But Manchester United's problems defending set pieces, evident again for Villarreal's opening goal, precede his injury. In fact, only three sides conceded more times from set pieces in the Premier League this season.
That statistic does not reflect well on the man in the dugout and there will be questions, too, over the way in which he managed the game.
Unai Emery had made five changes by the time Solskjaer made his first, replacing Mason Greenwood with Fred in the first half of extra time. Little wonder, then, that Villarreal finished stronger.
The rest of Solskjaer's changes did not come until the final five minutes of extra time. By then, his players were exhausted and there was little time for anyone to make a meaningful impact.
Solskjaer may point to a lack of depth but it is his job to get the best out of the players he has and in Donny van de Beek and Amad Diallo, he had £70m worth of attacking talent in reserve. Neither player made it on at all - even after Rashford cramped up.
The decision to move Pogba from the left side of the attack to central midfield gave the team an exciting feel but it ended up being another decision to invite scrutiny.
The Frenchman had only started two games in central midfield since January and the most recent of those was in the 3-2 reverse to Roma at the Stadio Olimpico in which he struggled badly.
Pogba's performance against Villarreal was not as poor as that but he offered little in the way of creativity or goal threat and his distribution was patchy too. McTominay provided energy and impetus alongside him but they were unfamiliar partners and it showed.
The players will ask themselves if they could have done more but it's Solskjaer who must assume the responsibility. He was Manchester United's hero in Barcelona 22 years ago to the day, but this defeat extends the wait for his first trophy as their manager. An achievement which felt close now feels as far away as ever.
Former Manchester United assistant manager Steve McClaren told Sky Sports:
"I feel there were three key elements to the game which decided it. Unai Emery won the tactical battle with a very compact 4-4-2 and he used his subs all the way through the game so they finished extra time stronger.
"The second thing was that Ole put all his eggs in one basket. All his best players were on the field to begin with. After 95 minutes plus extra time, he had nowhere to go. He nothing on the bench really to change anything. Usually he has Rashford on the bench, or Pogba or Greenwood but he didn't have any of them who could change the game so they ran out of energy.
"They didn't use enough subs but the third and most important thing was that they didn't show up, as Ole said. The big players didn't turn up. Harry Maguire wasn't there, and both Lindelof and Bailly were at fault for the first goal. The key for me was that Fernandes, Rashford and Greenwood didn't turn up. It was a game I expected Manchester United to win so it's a huge disappointment."
