Manchester United played an exciting match against Villarreal at Gdansk Stadium as they hoped to get a win and lift their first trophy of the season.
Villarreal broke the deadlock around the 29-minute-mark as Gerard Moreno headed the ball past David de Gea to score the first goal of the match. Edinson Cavani scored the equalizer for United around the 55-minute-mark, yet it eventually came down to penalty kicks.
After an aggregate of 21 nail-biting penalty kicks from the two sides, David de Gea missed the 22nd penalty, giving Villarreal their first significant European prize.
We should rate how every Manchester United player fared during the match against Villarreal.
David De Gea – 2/10
The Spanish goalkeeper didn’t have a lot to do throughout the game, however, he let his group down with the last kick of the game. Am I being unforgiving with a rating of 2/10? Perhaps.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 6.5/10
The English defender performed his tackles flawlessly and scarcely let the Villarreal attackers make a threat down the left wing.
Victor Lindelof – 2/10
Dreadful and pitiful shielding from the Swedish player. For a defender who is required to maintain everything in control at the core of United’s defense, Lindelof is just not good for the work. He had no idea how he should situate himself and battled to win the ball back in the least complex situations.
Eric Bailly – 5/10
The Ivorian defender made some critical clearances, tackles all through the game, and surprisingly covered for Lindelof when required.
Luke Shaw – 7/10
The English full-back was a consistent danger down the left flank as he continued making chances for the attackers over and over. He conveyed some incredible crosses into the crate that ought to have been changed over easily. His defensive work was master-class too.
Scott McTominay – 7/10
Scott McTominay’s game by numbers vs. Villarreal:
91 touches
15 ball recoveries
14 duels won
6 take-ons
4 tackles
3 shots
2 clearances
2 fouls won
1 assistCan hold his head high. #UELfinal pic.twitter.com/z8EIwJBwGn
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) May 26, 2021
The Scottish midfielder was seemingly United’s best player on the pitch. He played out his role particularly well and was fearless in moving the ball forward. Maybe, he is one of those players who had the right to return home with the winner’s medal around his neck.
Paul Pogba – 6/10
The Frenchman’s general ball distribution was quite good as he could change the channel of play as often as possible with almost zero difficulties, however, he did not have the creativity needed to break Villarreal’s defense.
Greenwood – 3/10
The 19-year-old battled all through the hour to get a touch on the ball. Accordingly, he scarcely had any impact on the game and was not so much as a superior figure in that game.
Bruno Fernandes–6.5/10
The Portuguese playmaker had a fair game as tried to create chances for his teammates but he was still lacking the end product and couldn’t finish his chances.
Marcus Rashford – 2/10
Lost passes, bombed chances, and missed sitters. Basically, the English striker was awful. He lost the ball very often and was looking lost. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should have substituted him with Daniel James from the get-go in the second half.
Edinson Cavani – 7/10
3 – Edinson Cavani has become the third player aged 34 or above to score in a major European final for an English club, after Gary McAllister (36) for Liverpool in the UEFA Cup final in 2000-01 and Didier Drogba (34) for Chelsea in the Champions League final in 2011-12. Leveller.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 26, 2021
The Uruguayan striker scored the crucial equalizer for United, however, his dissatisfaction increased dramatically as the game went on. He was great in his positioning but none of his teammates fed him some good balls to score.
SUBSTITUTES:
Fred – 6/10
Added necessary robustness to United’s midfield.
Daniel James – 6/10
The Welshman didn’t actually have a lot to bring to the table.
Axel Tuanzebe – N/A
Juan Mata – N/A
Alex Telles – N/A
