- Goals by Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan sealed a 2-0 victory for Manchester United against Ajax at the Friends Arena as they won the Europa League in Stockholm.
- Reds players paid an emotional tribute to Manchester following victory in Stockholm.
- The Reds will now compete for the European Supercup in Skopje, Macedonia on August 8 with the winners of this season’s Champions League – either Juventus or Jose Mourinho’s former club Real Madrid.
- Winning the Europa League means the Reds become England’s fifth Champions League team in next season’s competition, with two Europa League spots taken up by Arsenal and Everton.
Jose Mourinho was ready for a holiday after his most difficult season as a manager but he has already handed a shopping list of players to Ed Woodward for next season while declaring that Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney still had a role to play at the club despite only getting on in the final minute of a 2-0 win over Ajax that clinched the Europa League in Stockholm.
It was the second time that Mourinho had won the Europa League after victory with Porto in 2003. He also won the Champions League with Porto in 2004 and with Inter Milan in 2010 – and became the first manager to win both of the major European club trophies more than once.
The Portuguese manager was all smiles as he was given the bumps by his staff after the game and celebrated with his players on the pitch. He emerged late from the United dressing room but, unlike Sunday’s final game of the Premier League, the Portuguese had plenty to say.
He said: “It’s the end of a very difficult season but it’s been a very good season.
“We prefer to finish this way than finish fourth, third or second. We go back to the Champions League by winning an important title.
“The club now has every title in world football and we fought hard for this since the beginning.
“We always had in our mind that we could win the Europa League. We are very happy especially since we won the final very intelligently in a comfortable way against a good team but we were much stronger than them.”
Another tactical masterclass from Jose Mourinho
The Portuguese has often had no time for ‘poetic’ football during a trophy laden career, but he was especially pleased with a haul of three in a season plus qualification for next season’s Champions League for Manchester United.
It was definitely a case of men against boys as his experienced campaigners countered the youthful Ajax team.
He explained: “If they want to press the ball all the time you don’t play short. You go long.
“We knew where they were better than us, and we knew where we were better than them.
“We tried to exploit their weaknesses.”
Jose Mourinho ready for a holiday after his ‘most difficult season’ and has already handed a shopping list to Ed Woodward
Mourinho said: “Now from a selfish perspective, I am on holiday.
“It’s been very hard to organise these last months without important players and trying to give players rests.
“The kids were amazing in the help they gave us in the last match [against Crystal Palace] and we managed to finish with some dignity. We won 3 trophies and qualified for the Champions League.
“It’s been my most difficult season as a manager.
Mourinho challenged the club to strengthen for an even harder campaign next season, adding: “Ed Woodward has my analysis and knows what I want and what I would like for more than 2 months. It’s for him and the owners now and I must wait.”
Waiting game for Wayne Rooney.
Wayne Rooney only came on as a substitute right at the end of the match for Juan Mata but Mourinho was adamant that the club captain still had a role to play despite limited game time in the final.
He said: “Wayne was ready to play. He was a big option. The game was important. We had to control the game and delay the changes.
“I don’t need to attack [in the second half] but Wayne was ready. We spoke yesterday and he knew he could be a crucial man in the match.
“He can be here next season because he’s a very important player. If he stays with us next season I am more than happy with that.”
Victorious Manchester United players have their say
Paul Pogba was proud to win more silverware for United after scoring his ninth goal of the season, declaring: “We have three trophies [this season] and we can enjoy it now.”
His fellow goalscorer Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who notched his 11th goal of the season – and 6th in the Europa League, praised his team mates, saying: “Without them I cannot score so many goals. I was every day dreaming to score in the final.”
The Armenian also added a tribute for the people of Manchester following the sad events of Monday night, adding: “People are very sad all over the world. We had to focus and we won for the people of Manchester, and we won it for the country.”
Juan Mata agreed with his United team mate, saying: “It’s a chance to play Champions League football next season and we did it. It means a lot, it was a great final.
“It’s my first European trophy with United and hopefully the first of many.
“It was a very difficult week for our fans and the city of Manchester.”
And Manchester unites after a difficult week…
United players posed with a banner that was allowed into the Friends Arena Stadium.
For Manchester. pic.twitter.com/UgWP5eLQyi
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 24, 2017
Manchester City tweeted out a message for all of Manchester after the game saying simply #ACITYUNITED
— Manchester City (@ManCity) May 24, 2017