Europa League Final: Manchester United beat Ajax 2-0 in emotional title triumph

Stockholm, May 25: Riding over goals from Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan Manchester United defeated Ajax 2-0 in the final to lift Europa League 2017 here on Wednesday (May 24).

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It was an emotional win for the Red Devils as they remembered 22 innocent lives lost in the Manchester Arena terror attack on Monday (May 23).

Before start of the summit clash, the players observed a moment of silent at Stockholm's Friends Arena for the victims of the cowardly suicide attack that rocked a musical concert.

With this win Man U's new manager Jose Mourinho brought his maiden Old Trafford season to a successful conclusion.

Victory enabled United manager Jose Mourinho, who said prior to the game that he and his players were struggling not to think about the tragedy, to bring his maiden Old Trafford season to a successful conclusion.

He had already guided United to glory in the League Cup and despite a sixth-place finish in the Premier League, success in the Europa League means his side will return to the Champions League next season.

Pogba shot the first goal of the match in the 18th minute as United won the ball after an Ajax throw-in.

Mkhitaryan then gave the Red Devils an 2-0 lead in the second half when he flicked the ball home following a corner.

The chants of "Manchester, Manchester" echoed around the stadium as United held on to win the one European trophy missing from the Old Trafford cabinet.

"We know things like this are very sad all over the world," Pogba was quoted by AFP as saying, referring to the attack.

"We had to focus. Manchester - we won for them. We played for England, we played for Manchester and we played for them - the people who died."

"The goal was to win all the way through this season. We've done it, and we're proud," said Pogba. "People say we've had a bad season but the prize is great and we've done it now. We have three trophies so enjoy it now," he added.

Reminders of the attack were everywhere at Stockholm's Friends Arena, from United's black armbands to the chants of "Manchester!" from their fans, while Pogba, too, was grieving, following the recent death of his father.

United became only the fifth club -- after Juventus, Ajax, Bayern Munich and Chelsea -- to have won the Champions League, the Europa League and the now defunct European Cup Winners' Cup.

Mourinho, a UEFA Cup winner with Porto in 2003 and two- time European champion, has now won all four of the major European finals he has contested.

Talking about the win, Mourinho was quoted by Reuters as saying, "We preferred to reach the Champions League this way than finish fourth, third or second."

"We got the objective, we are back in the Champions League by winning a title, an important title. The club now has every title in world football. We fought hard for this since the beginning," he added further.

Here's how Mancheter United players reacted after win against Ajax:

Ajax were appearing in their first continental showpiece match since the 1996 Champions League decider and fielded a team with an average age of 22 years and 282 days -- the youngest to have ever started a major European final.

Peter Bosz's effervescent team caused United some uncomfortable moments, but without ever threatening to pull off an upset.Defiant chants

Denied a glorious homecoming by a serious knee injury, United's Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was present instead as a spectator to see his current side take on the team where he made his name.

Pogba put a volley fractionally wide in the first minute and in the 18th minute he found the target, albeit with a helping hand.

From Marouane Fellaini's lay-off, the French midfielder let fly with a left-foot shot that flicked off Davinson Sanchez's left foot and looped past Ajax's helplessly wrong- footed goalkeeper Andre Onana.

It was the biggest return yet on United's world-record £89.3 million ($115.8 million, 103.2 million euros) investment in Pogba, who celebrated by pointing to the sky.

Moments later, Antonio Valencia stung Onana's palms after a raid down the United right. The English side then took their foot off the pedal, enabling Ajax to start finding space in dangerous areas, but within three minutes of kick-off in the second half they had tightened their grip on the game.

Juan Mata's corner from the right was headed down by Chris Smalling and with his back to goal, Mkhitaryan held off Joel Veltman to flick the bouncing ball past Onana and claim his sixth goal in the competition.

Onana was called upon to field a header from Fellaini and United goalkeeper Sergio Romero saved from substitute Donny van de Beek. But there was little to worry United's fans, who continued to defiantly chant the name of their grief-stricken city as the final whistle neared.

OneIndia News

(With inputs from AFP)