EUROPA LEAGUE: DE GEA BREAKS SILENCE

David De Gea has broken his silence after the Europa League final nightmare he experienced in Gdansk earlier in the week. The Spanish national team shot stopper was the villain as Villarreal beat Manchester United in the Europa League final on Wednesday night to win a major European trophy for the first time.

De Gea posted a picture with legendary Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson on his official Twitter handle on Thursday as he vowed to fight back from the disappointment of Gdansk. The Spaniard missed the decisive penalty in the dreaded shootout to hand the Europa League trophy to the Yellow Submarines from his native Spain. Until his penalty miss, Villarreal and Manchester United players had converted 21 spot kicks.

Manchester United were favourites to win the Europa League final ahead of Villarreal but the Spanish club had other ideas as they took the lead through leading goalscorer Gerard Moreno in the first half. The Spanish international produced a smart finish to give the Yellow Submarines a slim lead at the end of the first 45 minutes.

The signing of Manchester United striker EdinsonCavani has been a smart piece of transfer business on the part of the English squad and the Uruguayan international was responsible for the equaliserfor the Red Devils in the second half. Cavani joined Manchester United on a free transfer last summer and his goal against the Spanish team took his tally to five goals in the last three Europa League games.

Marcus Rashford then wasted a glorious chance to put Manchester United ahead for the first time on the night as he diverted the cross from Cavani wide when it was easier to cross. The miss proved costly in the end for Rashford and Manchester United who are now without a trophy for the last four years. Their last trophy came in the Europa League in 2017.