Man Utd’s campaign ended up being less than what the fans and the team itself were expecting due to the Europa League defeat. Last year’s 74 points helped the team make a slight progression in the league. However, it is far from what has been expected.
As some of Manchester United’s key figures claim, the current position and the second place are definitely not something the team could be proud of. Still, the second place can indeed be seen as a progression in the league.
The 2021 UEFA Europa League Final
The 50th season of the European football tournament ended up with Manchester United and Villareal matched up for the final. This tournament organized by UEFA had its finale on 26th May 2021 at the Stadion Gdańsk in Gdańsk, Poland, and the fantastic game ended with Villarreal’s victory over Man Utd.
Villarreal won their first trophy in history thanks to penalties after the 1–1 draw. This allows the Spanish club to play in the Super Cup against Chelsea, the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League winner. Moreover, the victory made Villareal qualify for the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League group stage.
Their fantastic match against Man Utd started turning in their favor in the 29th minute with a goal by Gerard Moreno. After 26 minutes, the fierce Edinson Cavani equalised, which is why the match had to go to extra time.
Some fans and experts say that the choice of manager is a culprit for this defeat and for other Manchester’s failures. It is possible that Solskjaer made a wrong decision when he decided to break up Fred and Scott McTominay. This might have affected Paul Pogba’s attacking threat and made Bruno Fernandes an easy target. Solskjaer made his first substitution in 105 minutes, which was a reckless decision.
It also seemed that he was relying on the key players too much. The situation could have been different if Solskjaer had more faith in the bench and decided to gamble a bit and did not stick to Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford.
If Only the Form Was Better
The whole season was filled with unforgettable moments, ups and downs, and while we could see some excellent games, there were awful situations as well. The odds at most online sportsbooks and casinos were in favor of Man Utd, meaning that the initial form was, in fact, really good. Anyone who decided to get 25 no deposit free spins on registration could bet on the team with great odds. When speaking about the finals, Manchester United would have risen to its former glory only if they didn’t enter the match with poor form.
They won just two out of six matches prior to that – which was a clear sign that they didn’t enter the finale with all they’ve got. Some of the players, like Marcus Rashford, was low on confidence. He managed to score in one out of nine matches preceding the finals. There was a similar situation with Paul Pogba, who had a significant decrease in his contributions.
More Factors That Affected the Finals
United’s inability to defend set-pieces is another reason why they didn’t go home with the trophy. This might be one area where the team needs much improvement, and what they needed was a new center-back. Victor Lindelof doesn’t seem to have what it takes and cannot compare to Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic – which is why the club is in desperate need of addressing this issue.
Also, Bruno Fernandes’s choice as a captain to go second in the penalties after a coin toss was a bad move. This has proven to be a complete disaster, like the pressure it put on Man Utd was fatal. And we have to mention David de Gea’s inability to save penalties, which has been happening since 2016. And unfortunately, we will never know if the situation could’ve been different if the opposite happened.
Author’s Bio
Leslie Alexander is a Content Lead of the Gamblizard website, making sure to come up with a perfect content strategy that helps get the company’s ideas across. Leslie leads a team of content writers and editors responsible for all the content on the site. Her one true passion remains blogging for the gambling industry.
