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Post by rugbytoffee on May 24, 2017 9:35:56 GMT
In what promises to be a thrilling UEFA Europa League Final, Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United side will take on Peter Bosz’s youthful Ajax outfit at the Friends Arena in Stockholm this evening. The last two days have been difficult to come to term s with for the people from Manchester after the horrific bomb blast at the city's Arena venue, but the club will look to bring much-needed cheer to its people by claiming the only trophy to allude the club in it's distinguished history. Mourinho has put all his eggs in one basket to win this competition and return the Red Devils to the Champions League next season.
Their opponents from the city of Amsterdam have shown glimpses of terrific, free flowing football this season, with youthful exuberance and hunger playing a part. They did miss out on winning the Eredivisie this season to Feyenoord, but will look to redeem themselves in the Europa League. And rightly so, Ajax are competing in their first European final in 21 years. Both sides came through semi-finals that left fans on the edge of their seats till the very end. Ajax did pick up a 4-1 win over Lyon in the first leg of the semi-final in the Amsterdam Arena, but came close to letting it slip in France, finally managing to hold the 3-1 scoreline on the day with ten men. United, on the other hand, held Celta Vigo to a nervous 1-1 draw at Old Trafford after having picked up a solid 1-0 win at the Balaidos a week prior to the second leg. They had a last ditch John Guidetti miss to thank for their entry to Stockholm.
Jose Mourinho has been rotating his squad in the Premier League in recent weeks, fielding a team of eight youth graduates in their final day win over Crystal Palace on Sunday. Their Premier League form in the last five games itself shows where the Portuguese tactician's priorities have lay. They have scored 23 times in the Europa League campaign, which is the sixth-best tally of the season. Ajax though, have gone one better with 24. Young Ajax striker Kasper Dolberg has blown teams away this season, scoring 22 times in all competitions. Amin Younes, who has earned a call up from the German national side for the Confederations Cup, is always a threat down the left. The 22-year-old has scored seven times and has racked as many assists. The likes of Bertrand Traore, Hakim Ziyech and Davy Klaassen will be just as threatening.
It will though, be a special day for 18-year-old Justin Kluivert, who will look to make his dad Patrick proud. The last time Ajax won a European crown, it was an 18-year-old Patrick who had scored for the club against AC Milan in the final under Louis van Gaal. Ajax’s inexperience in pressure situations came to the fore at Parc Olympique Lyonnais and United will look to take advantage of that and the Dutch side could field the youngest ever line-up in a European final, if they play Matthijs de Ligt for the suspended Nick Viergever, who was sent off in the semi-final. Despite that, they will look to play their own way- press high up the pitch and adhere to the five-second rule that Peter Bosz has introduced at the club. Mourinho's men will have to be wary of that. Apart from Viergever, Ajax will also be without the injured former Heerenveen star Daley Sinkgraven, who continues his recovery from a knee injury. Talking of suspensions, United too will have centre-half Eric Bailly suspended after he was sent off following a scuffle with Facundo Roncaglia against Celta at Old Trafford. Marcos Rojo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are also missing. The latest from the United camp suggests that Marouane Fellaini and Chris Smalling can feature after not having played against Palace at the weekend.
The final in the Venice of the North would hand Manchester United the opportunity to bring a smile back to the faces of the people of their beleaguered city and give them a reason to cheer. It will be moment when the city will unite under a single flag to play for its pride and prove that it won’t bow down to tragedy. And it will be a perfect example of how football keeps on uniting the world, no matter how much terrorism attempts to divide it. Probable Starting Line-Ups: Ajax: Onana; Veltman, Sanchez, de Ligt, Riedewald; Klaassen, Schone, Ziyech; Traore, Dolberg, Younes Manchester United: Romero; Valencia, Jones, Blind, Darmian; Herrera, Pogba, Fellaini, Mkhitaryan, Rashford, Lingard Opta Facts This will be the first time since 2002 that a Dutch club has reached a UEFA Cup/Europa League final (Feyenoord); Manchester United are the third English side in five seasons to reach the final (Chelsea in 2013 & Liverpool in 2016). Ajax and Manchester United have met four times before in European competition sharing two wins apiece (two games in the first round of the 1976/77 UEFA Cup and two legs in the round of 32 during the 2011/12 Europa League campaign). This will be the third meeting between English and Dutch sides in a European final (also Spurs v Feyenoord in 1974 and Ipswich v AZ in 1981, both in the UEFA Cup). Ajax are in their first European final since their penalty shootout defeat to Juventus during the 1995/96 Champions League campaign. The Europa League final will be played exactly 22 years after Ajax claimed their last European trophy by beating Milan in the 1995 Champions League final; that game featured Justin Kluivert's father, Patrick, and Daley Blind's father, Danny. The Dutch club have lifted the trophy in six of their last eight major European finals whilst the Red Devils have won four of their six; those two defeats coming in the most recent appearances however (2008/09 & 2010/11 Champions League finals versus Barcelona). Manchester United have reached the final of the Europa League/UEFA Cup for the first time in their history. The Red Devils have gone 10 matches unbeaten in this competition (W7 D3); conceding just four goals in that time. This game will be the 56th official game for Ajax this season, a new club record for the Amsterdam side. Ajax have lost two of their last three Europa League outings; letting in seven goals across that period. Ajax have lost three of their last four matches played in the UEFA Cup/Europa League against English opposition (W1) whilst United have lost two of their last three in this competition versus Dutch clubs (W1). Just two of the last 16 UEFA Cup/Europa League finals have been decided by a penalty shootout (Sevilla beating Espanyol on penalties in the 2006/07 edition and then doing the same to Benfica in the 2013/14 campaign); 10 have been won in 90 minutes with a further four being decided in extra time. There have been nine goals scored across the last two Europa League finals (an average of 4.5 per game). José Mourinho has won all six meetings with Ajax as a manager; those previous matches have all come in the Champions League with Real Madrid. Stockholm’s Friends Arena is hosting a UEFA club competition final for the very first time. Marcus Rashford has been directly involved in each of Manchester United's last four goals in the Europa League (two goals & two assists). Hakim Ziyech has recorded four assists in his last three Europa League appearances for Ajax. No player has recorded more shots on target this season in this competition than Bertrand Traoré (16); only Zenit’s Giuliano (14) has been directly involved in more goals this term than Traoré (8 – four goals and four assists). Only Patrick Kluivert and Ton Blanker (both 7) have scored more goals than Kasper Dolberg (6) as a teenager for Ajax in European competition. Amin Younes (73) has completed more dribbles in the Europa League this season than the next two best players combined (Paul Pogba, 37 and Bertrand Traoré, 31).
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Post by Jeffers Jugs on May 24, 2017 11:52:38 GMT
i hope ajax ***** united everywhere
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