GDANSK: The penalty shootout was going badly for Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea in the Europa League final, beaten by every Villarreal player who stepped up to the spot.

At 11-10, it got dramatically worse in the first European final to be played in front of a crowd in two years amid the Covid-19 pandemic,

The nerve-shredding, seemingly never-ending shootout after a 1-1 draw following extra time went on so long that all of the outfield players took penalties, meaning De Gea and Villarreal goalkeeper Gero­nimo Rulli were the 11th men up.

Rulli sent his penalty into the top corner, but De Gea’s lacked power and was stopped by the Villarreal keeper.

As Rulli lay on the grass after his save, the entire team ran over and piled on top of him. It was an upset to savour as Villarreal a team from a city of about 50,000 people secured the first major trophy in the 98-year history of the club by beating one of European football’s giants.

It also secured a lucrative Champions League spot for next season rather than playing in the new third-tier Europa Conference League after Villarreal only finished seventh in La Liga. And it stopped an English sweep of the two big European competitions before Chelsea and Manchester City play the Champions League final on Saturday.

“It feels really good,” Villarreal midfielder Francis Coquelin said.“When you go down to the end it’s the winner taking it all. It was tough, we had a tough game. Manchester put a lot of pressure on us, especially in the first half.”

For Villarreal coach Unai Emery it was a record fourth Europa League title, and it offered a measure of redemption after he was fired by Arsenal last season. Emery was hoisted aloft by his players before they received their medals. He won three Europa League titles in a row with Sevilla from 2014-16 and lost the 2019 final with Arsenal against Chelsea.

“We worked hard this season and I think we deserved to win and to do something important,” Emery said. “We are going to enjoy each moment but above all we are going to prepare for the next season to prepare in the Champions League and have this opportunity with very big teams.”

Gerard Moreno stretched to reach Dani Parejo’s free kick and steer the ball past De Gea to give Villarreal the lead 29 minutes into the Spanish club’s first European final, but Edinson Cavani poked the ball home after collecting Marcus Rashford’s deflected shot on 55 minutes before Emery’s team prevailed on spot-kicks.

Villarreal’s win also ensured that United went a fourth consecutive season without a trophy for the first time since the 1980s and left manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer still looking for his first title. United’s last silverware was the Europa League in 2017.

“It’s a disappointed dressing room. That’s football for you. Sometimes it’s decided on one kick — and that’s the difference between winning and losing,” said United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Asked if United’s season — runners-up in the Premier League and now the Europa League could be considered a success, Solskjaer said bluntly: “No.”

The marathon shootout had more excitement than the entire 120 minutes of the game.

Emery is renowned for his diligent study of opponents and although United made the stronger start, his side managed to minimise their strengths, ensuring Bruno Fernandes was deprived of space to create danger and Cavani had little wiggle room.

Their only chances in the first half were wayward shots from Scott McTominay and Luke Shaw and while Villarreal did not exactly sparkle, they made their one chance count from a free kick given away by Cavani.

It was Moreno’s 30th goal of the season and saw him become Villarreal’s joint-top scorer of all-time alongside Giuseppe Rossi.

United continued to take the initiative after the interval and levelled with a scrappy goal as Rashford volleyed against a crowd of bodies following a corner and the ball deflected into the path of Cavani, who stroked it into an unguarded net.

Villarreal were the better side in the first half of extra time after Emery made all five changes before fulltime, contrasting with Solskjaer, who did not make his first change until the 100th minute.

The five substitutes he did make all scored their penalties in an enthralling shootout but the 11th kick was a bridge too far for De Gea.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2021