ManU to face Villareal in the finals

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reached a major final as Manchester United manager for the first time after a 3-2 defeat to AS Roma at the Stadio Olimpico was enough to earn his side an 8-5 aggregate win in the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday.

United will face Villarreal in the final in Gdansk on May 26 after the Spaniards beat Arsenal 2-1 on aggregate. Solskjaer had lost his last four semi-finals during his Old Trafford reign and despite Thursday's defeat in Rome, the Norwegian's side progressed comfortably thanks to last week's commanding 6-2 first leg win. “It's a great achievement to get to the final. We didn't win the game and that's disappointing but we did the hard work in the first leg,” United captain Harry Maguire told BT Sport. “We started the game a bit edgy. It was end-to-end like basketball and we gave them too many chances in second half. Now we've got to go to the final and win it.” Edinson Cavani fired home a powerful finish after 39 minutes to open the scoring, but Roma found the net twice in the space of three second-half minutes through Edin Dzeko and Bryan Cristante to turn the game on its head.

United had goalkeeper David de Gea to thank for not going further behind as the Spaniard produced a string of superb saves. Cavani headed the visitor’s level but 19-year-old debutant Nicola Zalewski's shot took a big deflection off Alex Telles to beat De Gea as Roma secured the win on the night -- but it was United who were left celebrating at the final whistle. “We had some great European nights this season, with some big wins. It’s a pity for that second half in Manchester,” Roma midfielder Bryan Cristante told UEFA. “Tonight we still had a few goals to score, but we exit the competition with our heads held high.” Solskjaer’s team had tripped up in the semi-finals of two League Cups, the FA Cup and the Europa League since he succeeded Jose Mourinho in December 2018, but another exit never looked likely in the Italian capital. Earlier this week Mourinho, who led United to their last trophy by winning the Europa League in 2017, was surprisingly named as Roma’s new coach from next season. 

Joy for Emery as Villarreal holds Arsenal

Villarreal held out for a 0-0 draw on a nerve-jangling night at Arsenal on Thursday to reach the Europa League final 2-1 on aggregate as visiting manager Unai Emery returned to haunt the London club that sacked him in 2019. The Spanish side, who had lost their four previous European semi-finals, one to Arsenal in the 2005-06 Champions League, protected their first-leg advantage with a disciplined display. They will now play Manchester United in the May 26 final in Gdansk in what will be the biggest night in their history.

Arsenal, who now faces the prospect of having no European football next season for the first time in 25 years, looked flat and never managed to exert any sustained pressure. “We are devastated, really disappointed,” said Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, who was dealt a blow in the warm-up when Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka was injured and had to be replaced by full back Kieran Tierney.