Goalies Had To Take Penalties In The Bonkers Europa League Final As Villarreal Beat Manchester United

The Europa League final took place on Wednesday evening, and after 120 minutes of action, things needed to go to penalty kicks between Villarreal and Manchester United. It was at this point that goalies were put into the spotlight, both because they could not stop any outfield player’s attempts and because they had to face one another, which decided things.

Gerard Moreno kicked off the scoring on the evening, slotting one past Manchester United’s David de Gea in the 29th minute.

Villarreal held onto the lead for nearly half an hour, but 10 minutes into the second half, United’s Edison Cavani did what he’s done so well this season, drawing the team level by finding himself in a perfect spot to clean up a mess amid the chaos of a corner kick.

And then, neither team could break through. United kept pushing, Villarreal kept resisting, and neither team was able to break the deadlock. As such, things went to penalties, where all hell broke loose.

The outfield players for both teams were flawless. Villarreal went first, United went second, and every time, the goalies were unable to stop anyone. Each team went 10-for-10 among their outfield players, with neither de Gea nor Gerónimo Rulli able to protect their nets, although in fairness, some of these PKs were extremely good.

Things turned to the goalkeepers, both of whom had to make the walk from the net to the penalty spot, only in passing directions. Rulli went first, slotting a clinical effort past de Gea. Then, it came time for de Gea to step up where this happened.

As a result, Villarreal won the Europa League for the first time in club history.