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Europa League: Manchester United, Villarreal set up final clash

Europa League: Manchester United, Villarreal set up final clash

United went through to the May 26 showdown in Gdansk 8-5 on aggregate despite a 3-2 defeat in Rome while Villarreal held on to their 2-1 first-leg lead to get past the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium.

At the Stadio Olimpico, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reached a major final as United manager. The Norwegian had lost his last four semifinals during his Old Trafford reign and despite yesterday's defeat in Rome, his side progressed comfortably thanks to last week's commanding 6-2 first leg win.

Edinson Cavani fired home a powerful finish after 39 minutes to open the scoring, but Roma found the net twice in the space of three second-half minutes through Edin Dzeko and Bryan Cristante to turn the game on its head.

United had goalkeeper David de Gea to thank for not going further behind as the Spaniard produced a string of superb saves.

Cavani headed the visitors level but 19-year-old debutant Nicola Zalewski's shot took a big deflection off Alex Telles to beat De Gea as Roma secured the win on the night – but it was United who were left celebrating at the final whistle.

But in London it was payback time for Villarreal manager Unai Emery who was sacked by Arsenal in 2019 but got revenge over Mikel Arteta, the man brought in to replace him. The Spanish side side protected their first-leg advantage with a disciplined display, riding their luck at times with Arsenal's Gabonese forward, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang twice hitting the post for the hosts.

Villarreal held Arsenal to a stalemate in London to advance to the final

Villarreal survived five minutes of stoppage time as Arsenal tried in vain to keep their season alive, celebrating wildly at the end as the club reached their first European final.

Emery now has the chance to win the Europa League for a fourth time when Villarreal take on Manchester United in the final later this month.

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