Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
EU DID IT!
Cavani’s double steers United into the final
EDINSON CAVANI confirmed Manchester United’s place in the Europa League final with a double strike in Rome.
United lost 3-2 on the night but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has his first shot at silverware since taking over as manager.
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER’S semi-final jinx is over and he is within touching distance of his first trophy as manager of Manchester United.
After four exits at the lastfour stage, Solskjaer has cleared that hurdle by leading his team to the Europa League final against Villarreal on May 26 in Gdansk.
But United were indebted to David de Gea for a series of vital saves, particularly in the second-half, to singlehandedly stop Roma from staging another epic European comeback. The 30-year-old, now reduced to playing in this competition with Dean Henderson preferred in the Premier League, provided a timely reminder of his enduring class.
After Roma laid siege to the United goal just after the hour, it took Edinson Cavani’s second goal of the night, in the 68th minute, to ease their nerves and secure their passage to the final.
They will be favourites against Villarreal to lift their first trophy since 2017, the Europa League being the last time they had their hands on silverware, under former boss Jose Mourinho.
The four-year wait is the longest they have endured since 1990, when victory in the FA Cup, Sir Alex Ferguson’s first trophy with the club, ended a barren fiveyear run.
United won the tie against Roma in the first leg at Old Trafford, with a five-goal second-half blitz.
That gave them a commanding 6-2 lead which made this return leg a formality. Despite that huge advantage, Solskjaer was taking nothing for granted, referencing Roma’s remarkable Champions League quarterfinal comeback in 2018.
From 4-1 down against Barcelona after the first leg at the Nou Camp, the Italians won the return leg 3-0 at home, to go through on away goals.
But there was ultimately not to be a repeat of that shock here, as United did enough to make their first final since the 2018 FA Cup defeat to Chelsea.
Solskjaer picked a strong side, including talisman Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba and Cavani, while there was a rare start for midfielder Donny van de Beek.
After the postponement of Sunday’s game against Liverpool following the storming of Old Trafford by anti-glazer protesters, this was the first of four matches in eight days for the Reds.
Roma raced out of the blocks, creating two early chances, De Gea saving well from Gianluca Mancini, with
former United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan heading into the side netting moments later.
De Gea produced a fine save from Lorenzo Pellegrini, while Cavani, who had spurned two early chances, made it third time lucky in the 39th minute.
Fernandes flicked on the ball to Fred, who found Cavani, and he fired the ball into the net for his third goal of the tie.
It was Cavani’s sixth goal in as many games and further evidence of how important it is for United to keep hold of him for next season.
But Roma scored twice in quick succession, Edin Dzeko grabbing the first and Bryan Crisante finding the net with an unstoppable effort.
That gave the hosts fresh hope, with De Gea needing to make three vital saves in quick succession to prevent Roma from making it an anxious finale for United.
Cavani eased any nerves there may have been with his second of the night, which halted Roma’s momentum and saw Solskjaer’s side into the final.
United’s Alex Telles scored an 83rd-minute own goal but that was of little consolation to Roma.