Man United and Villarreal will face each other in the 2021 Europa League final in Gdańsk later this month. Both sides will be eager to secure a major trophy following indifferent domestic campaigns this season.
Route to Final
The two sides had different routes to the final. United had a poor Champions League campaign, finishing third in Group H. As a result of their elimination, United entered the Europa League in the knockout stages. Villarreal competed in the 2021 Europa League from the group stages after finishing fifth in La Liga last season.
Villarreal remains unbeaten in this year’s Europa League, and they have won 12 of their 14 matches in the tournament. Unai Emery’s side have seen some impressive results in the route to the final. They dispatched Salzburg 4-1, Dynamo Kiev 4-0 and Dinamo Zagreb 3-1 in the early knockout rounds before a solid 2-1 aggregate victory over Arsenal in the semi-finals.
United have had a less settled run to the Europa League final. In the round of 32, the Red Devils cruised past Real Sociedad with a 4-0 aggregate victory. They edged past AC Milan with a cagey 2-1 aggregate win in the last 16 round – a resolute 1-0 away win at the San Siro was enough to see Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s side through. A routine 4- win over two legs against Granada followed in the quarterfinals before an enthralling blazing 8-5 aggregate victory over AS Roma. United led 6-2 after an emphatic first-leg performance but fell to a disappointing 3-2 loss at Old Trafford in the second leg. But it was enough to see them through to the final.
Favourites
United and Villarreal are in good form heading into the final. Villarreal will be buoyed by their unbeaten run to the final and their solid results. But United will be confident of scoring plenty after putting eight past Roma in the semi-finals. United are the current favourites, but they will have to be at their best to break down an organised and dangerous Villarreal side. With the recent history of winning the Europa league under former manager José Mourinho in 2017, United are the current favourites heading into the big match by the bookies, but don’t count Vilarreal out as they will be keen to fight for the chance of lifting their only trophy of the season. With that uncertainty it’s difficult to back either team to win, so if you want to stake your money on another game rather than this momentous final, look at an online casino instead.
Key Players
Both sides have relied on several key players in the Europa League. Villarreal have scored 21 goals in 14 matches in the competition, and top scorer Gerard Moreno has been a threat. The Spanish striker has six goals and three assists in 11 appearances in the Europa League and is the club’s leading scorer for the season with 21 goals in all competitions. Moreno’s striker partner Paco Alcácer has also been in good form, scoring six goals in the Europa League, five of which came in the group stages. Midfielder Daniel Parejo has been key to Villarreal’s success this season as a consistent box to box midfielder providing creativity for his side.
For United, midfielder Bruno Fernandes has been in excellent form. The Portuguese international has nine-goal contributions (five goals and four assists) in eight Europa League matches. However, Edinson Cavani was the star in United’s semi-final triumph over Roma. The Uruguayan netted four goals over two legs and provided two assists in the first leg to give United a commanding lead. Paul Pogba has also returned to form in recent months. In four Europa League starts, he has provided two goals and one assist, including the pivotal winner against AC Milan in the last 16.