Manchester United will face Villarreal in Gdansk, Poland in the UEFA Europa League final, an opportunity for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to win his first title as the manager of the Red Devils.
The Norwegian tactician who had a beautiful career as a footballer at Old Trafford has not been able to take Manchester United back to the peak of club football since he became the manager of the club in 2018.
However, he has created some beautiful moments at the club which has not resulted in titles yet. For instance, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer led Manchester United to three different semi-finals during the 2019-2020 season.
In the 2020-2021 season, Manchester United showed more improvement even though they didn’t have the opportunity of playing in three different semi-finals like last season.
Solskjaer was able to lead Manchester United to finish second on the Premier League table. And later today, he could win the Europa League title for United.
Unfortunately for the Norwegian coach, he will face Unai Emery who seems to understand how English teams play to a very large extent. Recall that the Spanish tactician who was the coach of Arsenal led Villarreal to knock out Arsenal from the Europa League in the semi-final stage weeks ago.
Even though Villarreal finished 7th in Spanish La Liga, the Unai Emery-led team could give United a tough time in Poland later tonight.
Despite how tough the game could be for Manchester United, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is hoping for a victory over the Spanish side. He said winning the Europa League could be the stepping stone for greater things at the club.
“We have five wins in Europe,” the Solskjaer said. “We’ve lost twice to Barcelona.
“These are big nights for us. It might be the stepping stone for something better to come, a bright future because this team is young.
“It’s a team that we’ve rebuilt over the last couple of years, so hopefully this is the start of something more.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would not be alone in Gdansk tonight. Manchester United’s former coach, Sir Alex Ferguson is scheduled to watch the Europa League final from the stands.
Ole highlights the subtle role that Sir Alex is playing in the United camp ahead of the #UELfinal 🏆#MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 26, 2021
The retired coach is regarded as the greatest coach the club has ever had and he was the last coach that won the last two UEFA Champions League titles in the club’s trophies cabinet.
The first and the last time Manchester United played in a Europa League final was during the 2016-2017 Europa League final under coach Jose Mourinho. United won the title then and they are expected to win tonight.
A very special former Red will be watching the #UELfinal from the stands! 🔴#MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 26, 2021
