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2017 UEFA Europa League final

2017 UEFA Europa League Final
Match programme cover
Event2016–17 UEFA Europa League
Ajax Manchester United
Netherlands England
0 2
Date24 May 2017 (2017-05-24)
VenueFriends Arena, Solna, Stockholm
Man of the MatchAnder Herrera (Manchester United)[1]
RefereeDamir Skomina (Slovenia)[2]
Attendance46,961[3]
WeatherPartly cloudy
19 °C (66 °F)
44% humidity[4]
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The 2017 UEFA Europa League Final was the final match of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League, the 46th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 8th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. It was played on 24 May 2017 at the Friends Arena in Solna, Stockholm, Sweden,[5] between Dutch side Ajax and English side Manchester United. Manchester United won the match 2–0 to secure their first title in this competition.[6] With this victory, they joined Juventus, Ajax, Bayern Munich and Chelsea as the only clubs to have won all three major European trophies (European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/Europa League, and the now-defunct Cup Winners' Cup);[7] while, with this defeat, Ajax became the fifth club – after Hamburger SV, Fiorentina, Arsenal and Liverpool – to have lost a final in all these competitions.[8]

Manchester United earned the right to play against the winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid, in the 2017 UEFA Super Cup. They also entered the group stage of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, as the berth reserved for the Champions League title holders was not used.[9] Police of Stockholm took measures against potential terrorist attacks which they described as "the new normality", since two had occurred in Stockholm in 2010 and just a month before the final, and also prepared for potential clashes between supporters.[10]

It was United's last trophy for nearly six years until they defeated Newcastle United 2-0 to win the 2023 EFL Cup final.[11]

Venue

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The Friends Arena in Solna hosted the final

Friends Arena, located in the Solna Municipality of the Stockholm urban area, was announced as the final venue on 30 June 2015, following the decision of the UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Prague, Czech Republic.[5]

Background

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This was Ajax's second final in the UEFA Cup/Europa League, having won in the 1992 UEFA Cup Final over Torino on away goals.[12]

This was Manchester United's first final in the UEFA Cup/Europa League. They were seeking to join Juventus, Ajax, Bayern Munich and Chelsea as the only clubs to have won all three major European trophies (European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/Europa League, and the now defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup).[7][13]

The two sides had previously met four times in European competitions, all in the UEFA Cup/Europa League, with a record of two wins each. However, Manchester United had eliminated Ajax on both occasions, 2–1 on aggregate in the 1976–77 UEFA Cup first round, and 3–2 on aggregate in the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League round of 32.[14][15]

Previous finals

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In the following table, finals until 2009 were in the UEFA Cup era, since 2010 were in the UEFA Europa League era.

Team Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners)
Netherlands Ajax 1 (1992)
England Manchester United None

Route to the final

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Further information: 2016–17 UEFA Champions League and 2016–17 UEFA Europa League

Note: In the table, the score of the finalist is given first (H = home; A = away).

Netherlands Ajax[16] Round England Manchester United[17]
Champions League Europa League
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Qualifying phase (CL, EL) Bye
Greece PAOK 3–2 1–1 (H) 2–1 (A) Third qualifying round
Russia Rostov 2–5 1–1 (H) 1–4 (A) Play-off round
Europa League
Opponent Result Group stage Opponent Result
Greece Panathinaikos 2–1 (A) Matchday 1 Netherlands Feyenoord 0–1 (A)
Belgium Standard Liège 1–0 (H) Matchday 2 Ukraine Zorya Luhansk 1–0 (H)
Spain Celta Vigo 2–2 (A) Matchday 3 Turkey Fenerbahçe 4–1 (H)
Spain Celta Vigo 3–2 (H) Matchday 4 Turkey Fenerbahçe 1–2 (A)
Greece Panathinaikos 2–0 (H) Matchday 5 Netherlands Feyenoord 4–0 (H)
Belgium Standard Liège 1–1 (A) Matchday 6 Ukraine Zorya Luhansk 2–0 (A)
Group G winners

Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1 Netherlands Ajax 6 14
2 Spain Celta Vigo 6 9
3 Belgium Standard Liège 6 7
4 Greece Panathinaikos 6 1
Source: UEFA
 Final standings Group A runners-up

Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1 Turkey Fenerbahçe 6 13
2 England Manchester United 6 12
3 Netherlands Feyenoord 6 7
4 Ukraine Zorya Luhansk 6 2
Source: UEFA
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Knockout phase Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
Poland Legia Warsaw 1–0 0–0 (A) 1–0 (H) Round of 32 France Saint-Étienne 4–0 3–0 (H) 1–0 (A)
Denmark Copenhagen 3–2 1–2 (A) 2–0 (H) Round of 16 Russia Rostov 2–1 1–1 (A) 1–0 (H)
Germany Schalke 04 4–3 2–0 (H) 2–3 (a.e.t.) (A) Quarter-finals Belgium Anderlecht 3–2 1–1 (A) 2–1 (a.e.t.) (H)
France Lyon 5–4 4–1 (H) 1–3 (A) Semi-finals Spain Celta Vigo 2–1 1–0 (A) 1–1 (H)

Pre-match

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Ambassador

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The ambassador for the final was former Swedish international player Patrik Andersson, who won the Champions League with Bayern Munich against Valencia in 2001.[18]

Identity

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UEFA unveiled the brand identity of the final on 26 August 2016 in Monaco during the group stage draw.[19]

Ticketing

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With a stadium capacity of 48,000 for the final, a total number of 37,000 tickets were available to fans and the general public, with the two finalist teams receiving 10,000 tickets each and with 17,000 tickets being available for sale to fans worldwide via UEFA.com from 17 to 28 March 2017 in four price categories: €150, €100, €70 and €45. The remaining tickets were allocated to the local organising committee, UEFA and national associations, commercial partners and broadcasters, and to serve the corporate hospitality programme.[20]

Officials

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In May 2017, Slovenian referee Damir Skomina was chosen to oversee the final. He was joined by compatriots Jure Praprotnik and Robert Vukan as assistant referees, Matej Jug and Slavko Vinčić as additional assistant referees, Tomaž Klančnik as reserve assistant referee, and Italian official Gianluca Rocchi as fourth official.[2]

Opening ceremony

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A minute's silence was observed before the final in memory to victims of the bombing in Manchester which occurred two days before the final; the opening ceremony was thus considerably reduced.[21]

Match

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The players during the first half of the game.

Summary

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Paul Pogba opened the scoring for Manchester United in the 18th minute when his low left foot shot from just outside the penalty area took a deflection off Davinson Sánchez which wrong footed the goalkeeper before looping over him and into the net.[22][23] Henrikh Mkhitaryan got the second goal three minutes into the second half when with his back to goal he flicked the ball into the net with his right foot from three yards out after the ball had been knocked down to him by Chris Smalling after a corner from the right by Juan Mata.[24] Wayne Rooney, who entered minutes before the final whistle, took the captain's armband and later led the team to lift the trophy in his final game for United; he would return to Everton less than two months later.

Details

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The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the semi-final draw, which was held on 21 April 2017 at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.[25] Ajax as the "home" team played with their new home kit which would be used the following season. United wore their outgoing away (European third) kit.

Ajax Netherlands0–2England Manchester United
Report
Friends Arena, Solna
Attendance: 46,961[3]
Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)
Ajax[4]
Manchester United[4]
GK 24 Cameroon André Onana
RB 3 Netherlands Joël Veltman Yellow card 58'
CB 5 Colombia Davinson Sánchez
CB 36 Netherlands Matthijs de Ligt
LB 4 Netherlands Jaïro Riedewald Yellow card 78' downward-facing red arrow 82'
CM 10 Netherlands Davy Klaassen (c)
CM 20 Denmark Lasse Schöne downward-facing red arrow 70'
CM 22 Morocco Hakim Ziyech
RF 9 Burkina Faso Bertrand Traoré
CF 25 Denmark Kasper Dolberg downward-facing red arrow 62'
LF 11 Germany Amin Younes Yellow card 64'
Substitutes:
GK 33 Netherlands Diederik Boer
DF 2 Netherlands Kenny Tete
DF 16 Germany Heiko Westermann
MF 21 Netherlands Frenkie de Jong upward-facing green arrow 82'
MF 30 Netherlands Donny van de Beek upward-facing green arrow 70'
FW 45 Netherlands Justin Kluivert
FW 77 Brazil David Neres upward-facing green arrow 62'
Manager:
Netherlands Peter Bosz
GK 20 Argentina Sergio Romero
RB 25 Ecuador Antonio Valencia (c)
CB 12 England Chris Smalling
CB 17 Netherlands Daley Blind
LB 36 Italy Matteo Darmian
DM 21 Spain Ander Herrera
RM 8 Spain Juan Mata Yellow card 78' downward-facing red arrow 90'
CM 27 Belgium Marouane Fellaini Yellow card 52'
CM 6 France Paul Pogba
LM 22 Armenia Henrikh Mkhitaryan Yellow card 31' downward-facing red arrow 74'
CF 19 England Marcus Rashford downward-facing red arrow 84'
Substitutes:
GK 1 Spain David de Gea
DF 4 England Phil Jones
DF 24 Netherlands Timothy Fosu-Mensah
MF 14 England Jesse Lingard upward-facing green arrow 74'
MF 16 England Michael Carrick
FW 10 England Wayne Rooney upward-facing green arrow 90'
FW 11 France Anthony Martial upward-facing green arrow 84'
Manager:
Portugal José Mourinho

Man of the Match:
Ander Herrera (Manchester United)[1]

Assistant referees:[2]
Jure Praprotnik (Slovenia)
Robert Vukan (Slovenia)
Fourth official:[2]
Gianluca Rocchi (Italy)
Additional assistant referees:[2]
Matej Jug (Slovenia)
Slavko Vinčić (Slovenia)
Reserve assistant referee:[2]
Tomaž Klančnik (Slovenia)

Match rules[26]

  • 90 minutes
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level
  • Seven named substitutes, of which up to three may be used

Statistics

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Herrera named man of the match". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Damir Skomina to referee Europa League final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Full Time Report Final – Ajax v Manchester United" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  4. ^ a b c "Tactical Lineups – Final – Wednesday 24 May 2017" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Stockholm to host 2017 UEFA Europa League final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  6. ^ "Manchester United's Paul Pogba sets up Europa League final win over Ajax". Guardian. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Ajax 0 Manchester United 2". BBC Sport. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  8. ^ Roberto Di Maggio (18 February 2021). "International Finalists". Record Sport Soccer Statistics Foundation.
  9. ^ "Champions League group place on offer for Ajax or Manchester United". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  10. ^ Hansell, Bengt (23 May 2017). "Polisen redo för Europa League-finalen efter dådet i Manchester – Nyheter (Ekot)". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  11. ^ McNulty, Phil (26 February 2023). "Manchester United 2-0 Newcastle United: Erik ten Hag's side win Carabao Cup for first trophy since 2017". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  12. ^ "#UELfinal, Ajax v Man. United: all you need to know". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 11 May 2017.
  13. ^ "Manchester United aiming for European clean sweep". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 11 May 2017.
  14. ^ "Ajax v Manchester United: the past meetings". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 18 May 2017.
  15. ^ "Match Press Kit" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  16. ^ "Story so far: Europa League finalists Ajax". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 20 May 2017.
  17. ^ "Story so far: Europa League finalists Manchester United". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 22 May 2017.
  18. ^ "Patrik Andersson the face of Stockholm final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 23 August 2016.
  19. ^ "Stockholm 2017 final identity revealed". UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 26 August 2016.
  20. ^ "Tickets for 2017 UEFA Europa League final in Stockholm on sale". UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 17 March 2017.
  21. ^ "Minute's silence at UEFA Europa League final". UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 23 May 2017.
  22. ^ "Manchester United beat Ajax to claim Europa League title". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  23. ^ "Live Man Utd win Europa League – reaction and latest as Jose Mourinho's side qualify for Champions League". The Telegraph. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  24. ^ "Ajax 0 Manchester United 2: As it happened". The Guardian. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  25. ^ "UEFA Europa League semi-final draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  26. ^ "Regulations of the UEFA Europa League 2016/17 Season" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  27. ^ a b c "Team statistics" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
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