2017 UEFA Europa League Final

The 2017 UEFA Europa League Final was the final match of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League, the 46th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 8th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. It was played on 24 May 2017 at the Friends Arena in Solna, Stockholm, Sweden,[5] between Dutch side Ajax and English side Manchester United. Manchester United won the match 2–0 to secure their first title in this competition.[6] With this victory, they joined Juventus, Ajax, Bayern Munich and Chelsea as the only clubs to have won all three major European trophies (European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/Europa League, and the now-defunct Cup Winners' Cup);[7] while, with this defeat, Ajax became the fifth club – after Hamburger SV, Fiorentina, Arsenal and Liverpool – to have lost a final in all these competitions.[8]

2017 UEFA Europa League Final
Match programme cover
Event2016–17 UEFA Europa League
Ajax Manchester United
0 2
Date24 May 2017 (2017-05-24)
VenueFriends Arena, Solna, Stockholm
Man of the MatchAnder Herrera (Manchester United)[1]
RefereeDamir Skomina (Slovenia)[2]
Attendance46,961[3]
WeatherPartly cloudy
19 °C (66 °F)
44% humidity[4]

Manchester United earned the right to play against the winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid, in the 2017 UEFA Super Cup. They also entered the group stage of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, as the berth reserved for the Champions League title holders was not used.[9] Police of Stockholm took measures against potential terrorist attacks which they described as "the new normality", since two had occurred in Stockholm in 2010 and just a month before the final, and also prepared for potential clashes between supporters.[10]

Teams

In the following table, finals until 2009 were in the UEFA Cup era, since 2010 were in the UEFA Europa League era.

Team Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners)
Ajax 1 (1992)
Manchester United None

Venue
The Friends Arena in Solna hosted the final

Friends Arena, located in the Solna Municipality of the Stockholm urban area, was announced as the final venue on 30 June 2015, following the decision of the UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Prague, Czech Republic.[5]

Background

This was Ajax's second final in the UEFA Cup/Europa League, having won in the 1992 UEFA Cup Final over Torino on away goals.[11]

This was Manchester United's first final in the UEFA Cup/Europa League. They were seeking to join Juventus, Ajax, Bayern Munich and Chelsea as the only clubs to have won all three major European trophies (European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/Europa League, and the now defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup).[7][12]

The two sides had previously met four times in European competitions, all in the UEFA Cup/Europa League, with a record of two wins each. However, Manchester United had eliminated Ajax on both occasions, 2–1 on aggregate in the 1976–77 UEFA Cup first round, and 3–2 on aggregate in the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League round of 32.[13][14]

Road to the final

Note: In the table, the score of the finalist is given first (H = home; A = away).

Ajax[15] Round Manchester United[16]
Champions League Europa League
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Qualifying phase (CL, EL) Bye
PAOK 3–2 1–1 (H) 2–1 (A) Third qualifying round
Rostov 2–5 1–1 (H) 1–4 (A) Play-off round
Europa League
Opponent Result Group stage Opponent Result
Panathinaikos 2–1 (A) Matchday 1 Feyenoord 0–1 (A)
Standard Liège 1–0 (H) Matchday 2 Zorya Luhansk 1–0 (H)
Celta Vigo 2–2 (A) Matchday 3 Fenerbahçe 4–1 (H)
Celta Vigo 3–2 (H) Matchday 4 Fenerbahçe 1–2 (A)
Panathinaikos 2–0 (H) Matchday 5 Feyenoord 4–0 (H)
Standard Liège 1–1 (A) Matchday 6 Zorya Luhansk 2–0 (A)
Group G winners
Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Ajax 6 14
2 Celta Vigo 6 9
3 Standard Liège 6 7
4 Panathinaikos 6 1
Source: UEFA
 Final standings Group A runners-up
Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Fenerbahçe 6 13
2 Manchester United 6 12
3 Feyenoord 6 7
4 Zorya Luhansk 6 2
Source: UEFA
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Knockout phase Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
Legia Warsaw 1–0 0–0 (A) 1–0 (H) Round of 32 Saint-Étienne 4–0 3–0 (H) 1–0 (A)
Copenhagen 3–2 1–2 (A) 2–0 (H) Round of 16 Rostov 2–1 1–1 (A) 1–0 (H)
Schalke 04 4–3 2–0 (H) 2–3 (a.e.t.) (A) Quarter-finals Anderlecht 3–2 1–1 (A) 2–1 (a.e.t.) (H)
Lyon 5–4 4–1 (H) 1–3 (A) Semi-finals Celta Vigo 2–1 1–0 (A) 1–1 (H)

Pre-match

Ambassador

The ambassador for the final was former Swedish international player Patrik Andersson, who won the Champions League with Bayern Munich against Valencia in 2001.[17]

UEFA unveiled the brand identity of the final on 26 August 2016 in Monaco during the group stage draw.[18]

Ticketing

With a stadium capacity of 48,000 for the final, a total number of 37,000 tickets were available to fans and the general public, with the two finalist teams receiving 10,000 tickets each and with 17,000 tickets being available for sale to fans worldwide via UEFA.com from 17 to 28 March 2017 in four price categories: €150, €100, €70 and €45. The remaining tickets were allocated to the local organising committee, UEFA and national associations, commercial partners and broadcasters, and to serve the corporate hospitality programme.[19]

Opening ceremony

A minute's silence was observed before the final in memory to victims of the bombing in Manchester which occurred two days before the final; the opening ceremony was thus considerably reduced.[20]

Match
The players during the first half of the game.

Officials

In May 2017, Slovenian referee Damir Skomina was chosen to oversee the final. He was joined by compatriots Jure Praprotnik and Robert Vukan as assistant referees, Matej Jug and Slavko Vinčić as additional assistant referees, Tomaž Klančnik as reserve assistant referee, and Italian official Gianluca Rocchi as fourth official.[2]

Summary

Paul Pogba opened the scoring for Manchester United in the 18th minute when his low left foot shot from just outside the penalty area took a deflection off Davinson Sánchez which wrong footed the goalkeeper before looping over him and into the net.[21][22] Henrikh Mkhitaryan got the second goal three minutes into the second half when with his back to goal he flicked the ball into the net with his right foot from three yards out after the ball had been knocked down to him by Chris Smalling after a corner from the right by Juan Mata.[23] Wayne Rooney, who entered minutes before the final whistle, took the captain's armband and later led the team to lift the trophy in his final game for United; he would return to Everton less than two months later.

Details

The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the semi-final draw, which was held on 21 April 2017 at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.[24] Ajax as the "home" team played with their new home kit which would be used the following season. United wore their outgoing away (European third) kit.

Ajax 0–2 Manchester United
Report
  • Pogba 18'
  • Mkhitaryan 48'
Friends Arena, Solna
Attendance: 46,961[3]
Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)
Ajax[4]
Manchester United[4]
GK24 André Onana
RB3 Joël Veltman 58'
CB5 Davinson Sánchez
CB36 Matthijs de Ligt
LB4 Jaïro Riedewald 78' 82'
CM10 Davy Klaassen (c)
CM20 Lasse Schöne 70'
CM22 Hakim Ziyech
RF9 Bertrand Traoré
CF25 Kasper Dolberg 62'
LF11 Amin Younes 64'
Substitutes:
GK33 Diederik Boer
DF2 Kenny Tete
DF16 Heiko Westermann
MF21 Frenkie de Jong 82'
MF30 Donny van de Beek 70'
FW45 Justin Kluivert
FW77 David Neres 62'
Manager:
Peter Bosz
GK20 Sergio Romero
RB25 Antonio Valencia (c)
CB12 Chris Smalling
CB17 Daley Blind
LB36 Matteo Darmian
DM21 Ander Herrera
RM8 Juan Mata 78' 90'
CM27 Marouane Fellaini 52'
CM6 Paul Pogba
LM22 Henrikh Mkhitaryan 31' 74'
CF19 Marcus Rashford 84'
Substitutes:
GK1 David de Gea
DF4 Phil Jones
DF24 Timothy Fosu-Mensah
MF14 Jesse Lingard 74'
MF16 Michael Carrick
FW10 Wayne Rooney 90'
FW11 Anthony Martial 84'
Manager:
José Mourinho

Man of the Match:
Ander Herrera (Manchester United)[1]

Assistant referees:[2]
Jure Praprotnik (Slovenia)
Robert Vukan (Slovenia)
Fourth official:[2]
Gianluca Rocchi (Italy)
Additional assistant referees:[2]
Matej Jug (Slovenia)
Slavko Vinčić (Slovenia)
Reserve assistant referee:[2]
Tomaž Klančnik (Slovenia)

Match rules[25]

  • 90 minutes
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level
  • Seven named substitutes, of which up to three may be used

Statistics

See also

References
  1. "Herrera named man of the match". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  2. "Damir Skomina to referee Europa League final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  3. "Full Time Report Final – Ajax v Manchester United" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  4. "Tactical Lineups – Final – Wednesday 24 May 2017" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  5. "Stockholm to host 2017 UEFA Europa League final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  6. "Manchester United's Paul Pogba sets up Europa League final win over Ajax". Guardian. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  7. "Ajax 0 Manchester United 2". BBC Sport. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  8. Roberto Di Maggio (18 February 2021). "International Finalists". Record Sport Soccer Statistics Foundation.
  9. "Champions League group place on offer for Ajax or Manchester United". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  10. "Polisen redo för Europa League-finalen efter dådet i Manchester – Nyheter (Ekot)". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  11. "#UELfinal, Ajax v Man. United: all you need to know". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 11 May 2017.
  12. "Manchester United aiming for European clean sweep". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 11 May 2017.
  13. "Ajax v Manchester United: the past meetings". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 18 May 2017.
  14. "Match Press Kit" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  15. "Story so far: Europa League finalists Ajax". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 20 May 2017.
  16. "Story so far: Europa League finalists Manchester United". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 22 May 2017.
  17. "Patrik Andersson the face of Stockholm final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 23 August 2016.
  18. "Stockholm 2017 final identity revealed". UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 26 August 2016.
  19. "Tickets for 2017 UEFA Europa League final in Stockholm on sale". UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 17 March 2017.
  20. "Minute's silence at UEFA Europa League final". UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 23 May 2017.
  21. "Manchester United beat Ajax to claim Europa League title". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  22. "Live Man Utd win Europa League – reaction and latest as Jose Mourinho's side qualify for Champions League". The Telegraph. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  23. "Ajax 0 Manchester United 2: As it happened". The Guardian. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  24. "UEFA Europa League semi-final draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  25. "Regulations of the UEFA Europa League 2016/17 Season" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  26. "Team statistics" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
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