Wait, pssst, come back! Here’s an impassioned Marcus Rashford talking after the game

“The feeling inside is difficult to explain. We came here to win - we’ve worked so hard all season and this was the opportunity to win a trophy, and it didn’t happen. We have to get rid of the disappointment and then look back at the game to see what we did wrong and where we can improve.

“This team will not give up. There’s no chance that the teams gives up. The manager will not give up, he’ll not allow us to give up. We’ll come next season with a bigger desire. People say a lot about Manchester United: ‘they’re going downhill, blah blah blah blah blah’. For me, the hunger, desire, talent and ability... we have everything to compete at the highest level. We just have to show it to the world and to ourselves, that we belong in the top places.

“We need to be winning finals like this. In the league we finished second. Second doesn’t count for nothing. Villarreal won the Europa League, we finished second. I don’t want to hear it: ‘Oh, they were so close.’ There’s one winner and one loser, and today we lost. We have to find out why and make sure next time we don’t lose.

“I’m 100 per cent sure [we have the right characters to win things]. I’ve seen the sacrifices in the dressing-room. I could walk you in there and show you five, six, seven players, and me as well, who’ve been playing with injuries since September. We all stick together and fight for this club. We have to go away now and clear our heads, and next year we come back fresh.

“When Ole came in there was a process, and we as players believe in that. This isn’t the end of the process. Part of it is having ups and downs, and we’ve had plenty of both. Just because we lost today, I promise the fans we will not give up. There’s no chance. I promise we are close to success. But close isn’t good enough.”

That’s it for tonight’s blog. I’ll leave you with Jamie Jackson’s match report. Thanks for your company and emails, and congratulations to Villarreal on an historic achievement. 26 May 2021 will forever belong to them, and there’s nothing Dominic Cummings or anyone else can do about it. Night!

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer speaks

“The dressing-room is quiet, disappointed. That’s football: sometimes it’s decided on one kick. We’ve got to taste this feeling and make sure we don’t get it again. We didn’t turn up, we didn’t play as well as we can. We started all right; they got the goal with their only shot on target, and we’re disappointed to concede again on a set piece. We pushed, we pressed, we got the goal, but after that we couldn’t control the game.

“They made it hard for us. They closed the spaces and defended well. We didn’t create enough big chances. Now is not the time to discuss what I might have done differently, but when you go home without a trophy you haven’t done everything right.

“We’re getting closer and closer. We were one kick away tonight, but we’ve got to come back next year and make sure we improve again. The only way to get the fine margins on your side is to work harder and better.

“[Can you call this season successful] No. [How do you make the next step?] We need to get better, simple as. We had a difficult start with no pre-season. We got closer to the top and we got the final, but you need to win these finals.

“[Do you have the characters in the dressing-room to win things?] Yes, of course. We missed two big one today with Fred [who wasn’t fit enough to start] and Harry. We’re building a strong, competitive squad, and the spirit is really good. They’re gutted in there. Now isn’t the time to analyse the whole season.”

“Bitterly disappointed but not surprised,” says Ruth Purdue. “Ole is shocking about subs and has been from the start. He talks about momentum but they surrendered all of it. And don’t get me started on changing players from game to game. That’s two seasons now they’ve run out of legs - not just this season. I am not blaming anyone for a penalty shootout at 11-10 either.”

I’m not sure they ran out of legs; they looked much fitter in the second half tonight. The delayed substitutions were fairly hard to understand though, because they got very tired in extra time. But I think that’s an issue within the game rather than over the whole season.

Anyone seen Donny van de Beek?

It turns out that Manchester United’s gate to the shining uplands had a barbed-wire fence behind it. They’ve still had a good season but this is a seriously bitter blow which could - could - stymie them if they don’t start well in August.

Some final defeats come with no regrets. Ten years ago this week, United were hammered by a Barcelona team at their absolute peak. There’s been a bit of talk about Fergie getting his tactics wrong, but in reality that game was unwinnable.

There were regrets against the same team two years earlier, over the suspension of Darren Fletcher, the missed early chances and the concession of such a cheap goal that allowed Barcelona to start the passing carousel. And there will be a lot of regrets tonight - the cheap goal, the delayed substitutions, the lack of intensity for much of the game. They’ve looked a gift trophy in the mouth.

There’s a Villarreal fan, a ruddy-faced fella who looks like he could keep a stiff upper lip at a family funeral, weeping openly as he watches his players, his team, go up to collect the trophy. It’s a beautiful scene, a deluxe version of Leicester’s FA Cup celebrations.

Mario Gaspar, the club captain, and the team captain Raul Albiol are last in line. They accept their medals, grab the trophy and lift it as high in the air as possible to signal that Villarreal have won the Europa League!

The penalties happened so fast, and our system kept freezing, so I didn’t really have time to describe them. Most were excellent, though a couple (Shaw and another that I’ve forgotten) should have been saved. David de Gea, sad to say, had a stinker. I don’t mean his miss; that can happen to anyone and he shouldn’t be in that position anyway. But he barely looked like going the right way on the Villarreal penalties, never mind saving one. In hindsight, Dean Henderson - who has greater presence and arrogance - should have been brought on in the 123rd minute, like Tim Krul at the 2014 World Cup. It’s easy to say that now.

United walk up to collect their losers medals. Bruno Fernandes doesn’t even look at his, Luke Shaw takes his off straight away, as do most of the other players.

“Hello Rob,” says Kári Tulinius. “Considering how much stick Emery got as Arsenal manager, it feels like he’s due a some positive coverage in the anglophone media. Every Villarreal player knew exactly what to do at all times, even when under sustained pressure, which is always a sign of a good manager.”

Agreed. He’s clearly an extremely good manager, especially when it comes to punching up.

Unai Emery outcoached Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as much as anything in his use of substitutes. The tactics were also bespoke, with sometimes as many as eight players in a line on the edge of the area, but United asked for trouble by conceding the first goal. They had a really good spell after Edinson Cavani, when it looked like they would overwhelm a tired Villarreal, but the substitutions (and lack thereof) changed the game and United let extra-time pass them by.

The margins are so fine. For all the regrets and frustration, United would probably have won had Dean Henderson been in goal for the penalty shoot-out. But it was clear after about 94 minutes that United need fresh legs and fresh minds, ideally Juan Mata or Donny van de Beek. Solskjaer has had an extremely good season, but this was a really bad night.

Bruno Fernandes is in tears. He didn’t have his best game, though Villarreal’s dense low block made it very hard for him. It was a poor match, and Villarreal - quite rightly - will not give a solitary toss about any of that. They’ve won their first trophy and, while their defensive performance might not meet Danny Blanchflower’s threshold of glory, it will satisfy most people’s. And Unai Emery has now won four Europa Leagues.

That might be David de Gea’s last kick for United, which is especially cruel - not to mention weird - for a goalkeeper. The United players look a bit numb, while the Villarreal players are having the most euphoric moments of their professional lives. This is a glorious story for a very likeable club, and there are tears on both sides of the advertising boards as their players salute the fans.

I’ll be honest, I was preparing the text for him to miss.

Gerard Moreno walks forward

Here we go, here we go, here we go, here we go, this is it

Villarreal have won the toss and will bat go first

That’s usually a decent advantage.

“It seems a bit late in the season,” says Gerry Scott, “for United to stop taking the Europa League seriously.”

Arf.

123 min Villarreal make their sixth change - Capoue off, Dani Raba on.

123 min United make two substitutions with penalties in mind: Juan Mata and Alex Telles come on for Aaron Wan-Bissaka and the admirable Scott McTominay.

120 min Three minutes of added time. Villarreal look much fresher, which few of us saw coming after 90 minutes.

120 min United have Juan Mata ready to come on for penalties, if the ball goes out of play. Donny van de Beek has reportedly been seen in Selfridges on Oxford Street.

119 min Now Luke Shaw is receiving treatment after being accidentally kneed in the face by Coquelin. He’s had a strong game again, particularly during that second-half spell during which it looked like United would overwhelm Villarreal.

119 min “Oh dear,” says Jim Fulton. “Can’t we break for a nap? Pick up in the morning?”

119 min Spoiler: it’s going to penalties.

118 min If United lose on penalties, they will have regrets over this extra-time period, which has completely passed them by. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been far too passive in my eternally humble opinion.

117 min United now have Rashford left, James right, Fernandes behind Cavani and Mata and van de Beek IN THEIR BLOODY TRACKSUITS.

116 min Two changes for United. Axel Tuanzebe replaces Eric Bailly, who has pulled something I think, and Daniel James is on for Paul Pogba.

NO PENALTY! That Gerard Moreno shot hit Fred’s hand in the area, but he was so close to Moreno and VAR isn’t interested.

114 min: VAR CHECK FOR A VILLARREAL PENALTY!

114 min Cavani is booked for complaining about that challenge on McTominay. It looked like a standard barge, albeit a snide one off the ball.

113 min Alberto Moreno flattens McTominay off the ball. Play continues and Gerard Moreno has a shot desperately blocked! United are suddenly hanging on a wee bit.

112 min Alberto Moreno plays a really good pass into Alcacer in the area. He is about to shoot when McTominay makes a good - and almost exaggeratedly careful - challenge from the side. I think he’s been United’s best player.

111 min Rashford is back on.

111 min A weary Rashford leaves the field limping slightly.

110 min Daniel James is about to come on. Donny van de Beek and Juan Mata are not.

109 min A long angled pass almost falls for Rashford, who gets the wrong side of Albiol but is beaten to the ball by Rulli. Rashford is now down and in need of treatment.

107 min Rulli comes out of his area to beat Cavani to a through ball. One problem for Solskjaer is that the players who he might want to take off, like Rashford and Pogba, are among his penalty takers. But then so is Juan Mata.

106 min Peep peep! Villarreal begin the second period of extra time.

Villarreal’s players get into a huddle before the start of the second period. After a painful second half, they now look the likelier winners.

Many of you predicted Villarreal 1-2 Man Utd. But that was supposed to be the score, not the number of shots on target.

104 min “Evening Rob,” says Stephen Carr. “Alberto Moreno already running the show here.”

He’s been comically wired. If it goes to penalties, I hope he takes one. It’ll be a Pressman or a Stam, nothing inbetween.

103 min Parejo’s corner is headed out and United break. Fernandes launches a dangerous pass towards Rashford, but the last man Capoue comes across to head clear.

101 min This is Villarreal’s best spell of the match by a distance. Bailly fouls somebody in yellow on the left wing, which allows Parejo to address a dead ball once more. His awkward, deep inswinger is slapped behind for a corner by de Gea.

101 min United do make a change, and it’s the one they all wanted: Fred replaces Mason Greenwood. That means Pogba moves to the left and Rashford to the right.

100 min: Half chance for Alcacer! Another warning for United. Pogba loses the ball in a dangerous area, and Moreno slips a good pass through to Alcacer in the area. He sweeps a first-time shot over the bar.

100 min United need to make a substitution or three. They suddenly look really tired and have barely had an attack in the first 10 minutes of extra time.

99 min Gomez runs at a backpedalling defence and finds Alberto Moreno on the left of the area. He sprays a shot wide of the near post. That was a chance to make himself a Liverpool legend all over again.

98 min Thanks to Timn de Lisle for pointing out that it was Rashford, not Fernandes, whose volley led to Cavani’s equaliser. No idea how I mixed them up.

97 min United haven’t got going since the start of extra-time. McTominay tries to push things forward with another terrific run through midfield, but nothing comes of it.

94 min Plenty of Villarreal possession at the start of extra time. Bailly makes an important interception to stop Coquelin’s pass putting Moreno through on goal, but Villarreal win it back and Moreno plays a sharp pass into Alcacer in the area. He takes a touch and has a shot that is well blocked by Bailly.

93 min For all United’s dominance, especially in the second half, they have only had two shots on target in the match.

92 min Fernandes chops away from Coquelin on the left edge of the area and hits a shot that is headed away by the indomitable Albiol.

92 min “Has Rashford played himself out of Southgate’s first XI?” says Max Williams. “It’s been a tough night for him.”

I’m not sure he was in it anyway. I think the front three might be Sancho, Kane and Foden. Rashford’s form has been iffy for a while now, though we should cut him a bit of slack – for a few different reasons, it’s been an exhausting season.

91 min Peep peep! United begin the first period of extra time. Still no substitutions from United, though we’ll surely see Mata and/or van de Beek at some stage.

90+3 min Alberto Moreno, who looks more than a little pumped up, makes a couple of very strong challenges on Greenwood. And that’s it!

90+2 min Fernandes fouls Moi Gomez 45 yards from goal, which allows Villarreal to work another training-ground set-piece. It’s sprayed very deep and picked up by the unmarked Mario Gaspar near the byline. He plays it back to Torres, who sprays over from 15 yards with his left foot. That was half a chance.

90+2 min Though Rashford has had a poor game on the ball, his work rate off it has been beyond reproach. He and Shaw have won the ball back in dangerous areas on a number of occasions.

90+1 min Three minutes of added time, on the 26th May.

90 min “Hi Rob,” says Michael Guggenheim. “In all MBMs there are always the same people who have a say. Mary Waltz, Charles Antaki, Kari Tulinius. Do these people exist? Do you all just use the same five names for whomever mails in, to make your job easier? Do many more people mail in and you just ignore all the others? Does noone ever mail in, and you just make this all up? Yours, Charles Waltz.”

Definately.

89 min Pogba misses a half chance, heading Shaw’s loopy cross over the bar from 10 yards.

88 min Villarreal make their fourth and fifth substitutions. Alberto Moreno, Liverpool legend, comes on for Alfonso Pedraza at left-back, and Mario Gaspar replaces Juan Foyth on the other side. Villarreal have made five substitutions to United’s none, which tells a story. United still look fresh and hungry, especially McTominay, Rashford and Shaw.

86 min McTominay roars through midfield and plays a good pass out to Rashford. He overruns it and is tackled by Foyth, but United snap at Villarreal to win the ball back.

86 min The free-kick is just outside the area on the left wing. Fernandes floats it deep, Lindelof misses an attempted overhead kick, McTominay controls it with his arm and then Rashford shoots miles wide from distance. Tremendously done.

84 min Rashford plays an excellent pass down the line to Shaw, who fizzes a low cross to the near post. Greenwood and Cavani get in each other’s way, but the referee pulls play back for a poor lunging tackle by Foyth on Shaw. He is booked.

83 min Bailly, who might have been booked early on, gets a yellow card for a foul on Alcacer.

81 min We’re just seeing a replay of Cavani’s goal. The most impressive thing was his awareness of offside; the second the ball was headed clear, he sprinted as quickly away from goal as quickly as possible. Most strikers wouldn’t have bothered, and the goal wouldn’t have counted.

81 min Rashford cuts inside from the left but then shoots wide of the near post. That was the wrong option.

80 min “You just can’t see how this Villarreal side can hurt Manchester United,” says Robbie Savage, whose contact details will be available for a small fee when David Hindle’s scenario (78 min) comes to pass.

79 min Rashford nicks the ball off Foyth and tries to stab a pass through to Cavani. Albiol reads it really well and intercepts. He and Pau Torres have been outstanding. Moments later, McTominay - who has had a terrific game - charges into the area on the right and drives a low cross that is missed by Cavani at the near post and put behind by Albiol. Cavani tried to flick a shot behind his standing leg.

78 min “You have to admit, there is a fair amount of malodorous stuff on a twig in this game,” says David Hindle. “But it’s the Spanish side, 9-1-0 formation and all, producing it. They’ve obviously learnt how to win these European finals. There’s a delicious irony in there, somewhere, isn’t there? Or at least there will be when they get their last-minute winner from a shanked, deflected, shot off the post that rebounds in off the keeper’s head, after eight goalline clearances, lots of ugly blocks and other awfulness of their own.”

77 min They’re making a third change as well: Moi Gomez on, Manu Trigueros off.

77 min Nothing comes of the second corner, so Villarreal make their second substitution: Paco Alcacer replaces the impressive 18-year-old Yeremi Pino.

76 min A corner to Villarreal. Pogba heads clear, but Trigueros’s long-range follow-up spins behind for another.

74 min “Mary Waltz clearly never watched Cavani perform wonders for Napoli when, amongst many other superb goals, he scored a cracker against Man City in a Champions League match,” says Colum Fordham. “He’s a brilliant striker as I was lucky to witness at the San Paolo, now the Maradona stadium.”

I think everyone knew he was brilliant. But they also knew he was 33, had missed lots of football since turning 30 and was signed a split second before the transfer window made that slamming noise.

73 min United have been so much better in the second half. Villarreal have been hanging on for a while now and are starting to look weary. Mind you, we said the same about Romania against England at the 1998 World Cup.

71 min: Great block from Torres! Shaw turns Capoue smartly on the left edge of the area, then hits an optimistic right-footed shot. It’s miles off target but flies straight towards Cavani, whose improvised header is blocked by the head of Torries in the six-yard box. I don’t think Rulli would have saved that.

70 min: RASHFORD MISSES A SITTER! Cavani released Fernandes on the right. He drove a perfect low cross to Rashford, who slid the ball wide from eight yards. It was a terrible miss, an almost nonchalant finish, but I don’t think it would have counted. I’m pretty sure Fernandes was just offside in the build up.

68 min ... and it’s headed away by somebody in yellow.

67 min Capoue, who is a yellow, trips the increasingly influential Fernandes. The free-kick is 25 yards from goal, in line with the left edge of the penalty area...

66 min McTominay’s shot from 20 yards is blocked by Trigueros. Meanwhile, replays show Fernandes’s cross in the 64th minute hit Torres’s elbow, but his arm was by his side and he was trying to move it behind his back. Not even Paddy Crerand would give a penalty for that.

65 min No sign of VAR getting involved in that penalty appeal. United continue to probe - or, as the fans are chanting, “attack attack attack”. The match has been very one-sided in terms of possession, though not chances.

64 min United appeal unsuccessfully for a penalty when Fernandes’s cross hits Torres somewhere near the arm. His arms were by his side so even if it hit one of them, I don’t think that’s a penalty.

64 min It’s been said before, it’ll be said again: the next goal is huge.

63 min Wan-Bissaka enlivens the United fans in the stadium with a storming challenge on Pedraza. Another WB, Wesley Brown, used to make tackles like that at right-back.

62 min “When United signed Cavani I yawned,” says Mary Waltz. “Was there any pundit who predicted the massive effect on United’s fortunes when they landed him?”

Not that I recall. I thought it was a desperate, Glazernomic signing. Turns out he’s still a beautiful, brilliant beast of a centre-forward.

61 min “Rob, what is the point of Paul Pogba?” says Adam Roberts. “Asking for a friend.”

I think he’s been okay tonight, though I much prefer him on the left in this team.

60 min A change for Villarreal: Francis Coquelin, once of Arsenal, replaces Carlos Bacca. That should mean a switch to 4-5-1.

59 min Robbie Savage, on BT Sport, makes the point that McTominay deserves a lot of credit for the goal, as the corner stemmed from his persistence when it looked like Villarreal had cleared the danger.

57 min United are flying now. Fernandes drives well wide from 20 yards after McTominay fresh-airs a shot on the edge of the area.

This is very tight. Cavani really scarpered away from goal after the headed clearance in an attempt to ensure he was onside. And he made it: the goal is given!

VAR CHECK FOR OFFSIDE! Shaw’s corner was headed away to Fernandes Rashford, 25 yards out. His volley took a couple of deflections and fell perfectly for Cavani, who rolled it into the empty net. Rulli had already dived to his right in an attempt to save Fernandes’s volley, so it was essentially an open goal for Cavani.

54 min Shaw’s free-kick is headed back across goal by Pogba to McTominay. He is challenged but does really well to keep the ball alive and hit a shot on the turn that is deflected over for a corner. From which...

54 min Capoue is booked for pulling back Fernandes. We haven’t seen a decent replay of the penalty appeal yet, but there were no real appeals or complaints from United.

52 min: VAR CHECK FOR UNITED PENALTY Greenwood goes down in the area after a challenge from Pedraza. It was a high ball, and there was a clash of boots as the ball was kicked. Pedraza must have got to it just before Greenwood; VAR says no penalty.

50 min Wan-Bissaka, one of the few United players able to find any space in the final third, has a decent low cross cleared by Torres at the near post.

48 min Pedraza’s deflected cross leads to an almighty scramble on the six-yard line before Bailly hacks it clear. Good job he did, because the trouble started when he missed an attempted overhead kick from that Pedraza cross.

47 min “Unai Emery has a face which would suit an evil chuckle, but he never really got the chance for one at Arsenal,” says Charles Antaki. “I’m sure that Arsenal fans wouldn’t begrudge him one here.”

46 min Peep peep! The second half is under way, with no changes on either side.

“If it stays 1-0, at what point does Solskjaer bring himself on?” says Matt Dony, joyously high-fiving everyone in the bar and to hell with Covid guidelines. “And, how many other people have made this same joke?”

Some terrific analysis from Rio Ferdinand on BT Sport, who shows that Villarreal’s goal was straight from the training ground. Moreno delayed his run - he was actually being marked by Shaw at first - and then ran inbetween Lindelof and Bailly, who was distracted by Albiol, to score.

Half-time business

Villarreal lead through Gerard Moreno’s 30th goal of the season, an improvised finish after he escaped the dozy Victor Lindelof at a free-kick. United have had most of the possession but Villarreal’s OBOE defence have been pretty comfortable. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team have come from behind to win 12 games this season. Once more unto the breach, dear Fred, once more.

Yes, yes, I know he’s not playing, but once more unto the breach, dear McTominay simply isn’t going to get the job done.

45+1 min Greenwood roasts Pedraza on the right side of the area and hammers a cross towards the near post. It hits Albiol in a very personal space, a very private space, and ricochets into the arms of Rulli. With Cavani behind him, that was vital defending from Albiol. He didn’t know much about it, though the wince on his face suggests he knows plenty about it now.

45 min Rashford wanders over to the right and slips Pedraza with a lovely piece of skill. Then he slides a low ball into the six-yard box that is cleared by the stretching Torres. The cross wasn’t great actually - there was nobody in there - but the run was thrilling.

44 min Villarreal have eight players in a line on the edge of the area as United probe for an opening. One Bank of Eight is the new Two Banks of Four. But when they win the ball, Yeremi leads the counter-attack and wins a corner. He’s been very good. Actually a goalkick was given but it should have been a corner - the cross deflected onto Shaw’s hand and behind.

42 min United have had 63 per cent of the possession, but it’s a deceptive statistic. The first half has goine exactly as Unai Emery would have hoped.

41 min “Good to see Juan Foyth doing well,” says Matt Dony. “I loved watching him when he first came through at Tottenham. He seemed way too skilful and flaky to be a defender, like he should have been a mercurial winger or something. I can’t imagine truly trusting him in defence, but he was always entertaining.”

He’s only on loan, so you’ll be able to enjoy him again.

40 min Cavani gets a lucky break off Torres on the left side of the area, but his pass to Rashford is poor and Parejo intercepts. He and Fernandes have been very quiet.

39 min Villarreal are defending on the edge of their area, almost with a back six, and United are struggling to get behind them. If it stays like this, Juan Mata and/or Donny van de Beek will be needed to pick a lock in the second half.

38 min Rashford plays in the underlapping Shaw, whose cross is kneed up in the air by Albiol and claimed by Rulli. Rashford’s ball was slightly overhit, which gave Shaw a lot to do.

36 min An excellent cross from Wan-Bissaka is headed away with calm authority by Raul Albiol. McTominay then surges into the area but slices his cross over the bar.

35 min “It’s fine,” says Neil Carter. “I’m not worried, Mary Waltz isn’t worried, it’ll be fine. RIGHT ROB??!”

If I were you, I’d be a bit worried. Villarreal are a streetwise lot, not the sort you want to go behind against.

34 min Solskjaer is off his seat, angrily berating Luke Shaw for something or other. Somewhere in the world, Jose Mourinho smiles knowingly.

33 min United’s tempo is already better. It’s easy to say this is Solskjaer’s fault, but the Treble team, the greatest in United’s history, were the same. Human nature is very strange.

31 min I was just about to type that United looked like a team who needed the usual wake-up call of going 1-0 down. Morning, United! Rise and shine!

It stemmed from that Cavani foul. The free-kick was 40 yards from goal in the inside-left channel. Parejo dropped a beautiful ball over the defence, and Moreno got away from Lindelof to force the ball past de Gea on the half-volley. It was rubbish defending from Lindelof, in truth, but the ball from Parejo was terrific and Moreno did well to control his shot on the stretch.

29 min Cavani is spoken to after a late tackle on Parejo. It’s been a dull, scruffy start to the game.

28 min “Sterile Domination,” says Neil Carter. “Good name for a band?”

They’re a bit too thrash metal for my taste, although that cover of Back for Good by Take That was surprisingly heart-rending.

27 min Yeremi runs at the backpedalling Lindelof and drives wide from 20 yards. The two teenagers, Yeremi and Greenwood, have been the brighest attackers so far.

27 min Pogba’s cross is just too long for Fernandes, who leaves one on Rulli. That was completely unnecessary, though Rulli made nothing of it.

25 min “After reading today in the Guardian quiz that Rashford has performed the most nutmegs this season, I’m keeping an extra special eye out for one tonight,” says Nas Iqbal. “I can’t imagine he’s topped many other metrics this season but what a stage to get out your party piece!”

I knew they should have picked John O’Shea. (Also, Rashford did top one other non-football metric.)

24 min Rashford’s 30-yard shot dips awkwardly in front of Rulli, who holds it confidently. Moments earlier, Greenwood played a superb long pass to find Cavani just inside the area. It was too awkward to volley, even for Cavani, so he tried to push it back jnside to Rashford. Cavani’s touch was too heavy and the ball run through to the keeper.

23 min United struggle to clear the second corner properly. Eventualluy Bacca stands up a rabona cross towards Torres, who heads over from eight yards. It was a difficult chance as he was running away from goal, but Bacca’s rabona cross was nice.

21 min Bailly heads behind for another Villarreal corner. McTominay heads it away as far as Yeremi, whose stinging shot from 20 yards hits McTominay (again) and deflects over the bar.

20 min A cross from the right is headed away as far as Shaw, who whistles a cross-shot wide of the far post. Fernandes, six yards out, almost got a touch on it but was beaten for pace.

19 min United are still having most of the ball, though at the moment their predominance falls under ‘sterile domination’

18 min Foyth is off the field again. United try to take advantage with an attack down their left, but Shaw is well challenged by Moreno.

17 min Foyth’s nose is bleeding again, though the referee is allowing him to continue. Meanwhile, Raul Albiol leaves one on Cavani and is spoken to by the referee.

16 min Pedraza wins Villarreal’s first corner. Parejo plays it short and then drives it beyond the far post to Parejo, who volleys high and wide on the stretch. It was a neat corner, though, and Parejo was in a lot of space when he arrived late in the box.

14 min The left-back Pedraza plays a one-two on the halfway line, surges into space and is fouled by his former teammate Bailly. He could have been booked for that.

13 min Foyth, sporting a headband and some cloth stuck up his nose, returns to the field.

12 min The corner is headed away, and that’s the end of that.

11 min Pogba stabs a majestic outside-of-the-foot pass out to Greenwood, whose cross is put behind by Capoue.

10 min “Bruno has been a godsend for United,” says Mary Waltz. “He is a great footballer. It is an insult to connect his name to John Travolta in any fashion.If you saw Battlefield Earth you wouldn’t do this to Bruno.”

Sorry, I should have made it clearer – Bruno is Pulp Fiction, United are John Travolta. Battlefield Earth is their 6-0 defeat to Accrington Stanley in the 2024 EFL Cup.

10 min A stretcher has been brought on, though I think it’s just a precaution. Foyth is on his feet and has a nosebleed, but he doesn’t look especially groggy.

9 min Foyth slips and falls under Pogba, who accidentally knees him in the head. Pogba immediately waves to the referee to stop play, and Foyth is receiving treatment.

8 min This is a good spell for United, with the last few minutes being played largely in the Villarreal half.

7 min The first shot, in anger or otherwise. Rashford steals the ball on the left wing and lays it back to McTominay, who drags a shot well wide from the edge of the D.

6 min Shaw crosses low to the near post, where Cavani tries to spin away from Raul Albiol. Foyth gets between him and the ball and shepherds it out of play.

5 min Greenwood has made a lively start, regularly coming inside to get involved.

3 min Lots of slow, risk-free passing from both teams in the first few minutes.

2 min Both teams are lining up as expected, 4-2-3-1 for United and 4-4-2 for Villarreal.

1 min Peeeeeeeeeeep peeeeeeeeeeeep! United, in red, kick off from left to right. Both teams are in their home kits.

Tense, nervous headache? Don’t worry, the adrenaline will soon get rid of it. It’s time for the 2021 Europa League final!

Bruno Fernandes, United’s captain in the absence of Harry Maguire, leads them onto the field. He has done for United what Pulp Fiction did for John Travolta; now it’s time to pick up some awards.

The players are in the tunnel. David de Gea is smiling and joking with some of his Spain teammates, a sight to warm the heart of Roy Keane.

In his pre-match interviews, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has implied that Fred would have started if he was fully fit. An alternative interpretation is that Fred’s injury last week allowed Solskjaer to swerve the difficult decision whether to leave out Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford or Mason Greenwood.

Another Fulham email

“Neil Carter says he’s ‘CROSSING EVERYTHING!!!’ for a United win,” begins Jake Shaffer. “That didn’t work out too well under Moyes. Honk!”

‘And it was all yellow...’

Just over twenty minutes to kick off, and Neil Carter is calmness personified

“Evening Rob,” writes Neil. “Attacking line up from Ole. I’ve been asking for this all season. Now I’m going to look stupid aren’t I when we get pumped. CROSSING EVERYTHING!!! Cmon you Reds!!!”

“I can identify with the Villarreal fans tonight,” says Richard Hirst. “Eleven years ago I was entering Hamburg’s stadium with tears in my eyes to watch Fulham (never won anything) in the Europa League final against Atletico Madrid, replete with Aguero, Forlan, De Gea (the very same), Reyes etc. We took it to the last minute of extra time; let’s hope Villarreal can go one better.”

What, lose on penalties?

“Hi Rob,” says Peter Oh. “If the Villareal youngster scores a pearler to leave United in a jam, you could say that Yeremi spoke in class today.”

You could indeed. And what better way to set the mood than with a song about a teenager who killed himself!

The pre-match thoughts of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

“I feel good, looking forward to it. This is the worst time: all the work is done and we’re just waiting for the boys to go out and express themselves. David [de Gea] did really well in the quarters and semis, and I expect him to be ready for this. Unfortunately Fred has been injured in the week leading up to the game - he trained last night and he’s okay to be on the bench. He was disappointed not to start, but that’s the hard bit of being a manager.

“We just have to trust ourselves. This is a reward for all the hard work they’ve done in the last two years. We’ve been getting closer to a final. I want them to play with confidence, play with courage and be the best version of themselves.”

I’m going to take a short coffee break. See you in a peedie while.

I look forward to an English team being sponsored by Heathrow Third Runway next season.

Gerard Moreno is the biggest threat to Manchester United. He will almost certainly start for Spain at Euro 2021, and only Lionel Messi scored more goals in La Liga this season. Santi Cazorla, chatting on BT Sport, says he is “one of the best players in the world”.

United have played in seven European finals, which is pretty modest for such a giant club. They have won five (1968, 1991, 1999, 2008, 2017) and lost two, both to Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona (2009, 2011). Anyway, enough of all that guff - the teams are in!

Of all the things to love about Villarreal, their kit is right up there. This season’s isn’t quite as good as the Aeroport Castello classic, but I’d still be proud to wheeze my way round a five-a-side pitch in it. And if they win tonight, it will have an enduring cachet.

Never happened, Gordon Smith scored.

Of United’s likely starters, the only players with experience of a European final (I think) are David de Gea, Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford. That’s fairly surprising given United won this trophy four years ago. A lot has changed since then. Some of the probable subs have also played in European finals, including Juan Mata, Donny van de Beek and Nemanja Matic.

Here’s Paul Doyle’s Fiver, which includes the best and possibly only Gdansk joke I’ve read.

“It’s funny,” writes Niall Mullen, though he doesn’t appear to be laughing. “Until recently I had no real feelings towards Villarreal but just this morning I got the overwhelming urge to support them. Go figure.”

On today of all days

Cliffs Notes: Villarreal

This is a really brilliant piece from Sid on what this game means to Villarreal. If they do win, only the most one-eyed United fan will begrudge them.

We’ll have a leisurely build up to kick off, including team news at around 6.45pm BST. While United are without Harry Maguire, Villarreal’s exciting Samuel Chukwueze should be fit for at least a place on the bench. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a few decisions to make, as discussed here.

Previously on...

2005-06

Villarreal 0-0 Man Utd

Man Utd 0-0 Villarreal

2008-09

Man Utd 0-0 Villarreal

Villarreal 0-0 Man Utd

The most notable incident in those four games - on reflection, possibly the only incident of any note - was Wayne Rooney being sent off for sarcasm. It really did happen, as demonstrated in the migraine-inducer at the top of this article.