Emery takes Villarreal to Europa glory

GDANSK, Poland (AP):

Villarreal goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli decided a marathon shootout by converting his own spot kick and then saving one from counterpart David de Gea as the Spanish team beat Manchester United 11-10 on penalties to win the Europa League final yesterday.

After a 1-1 draw following extra time, all 10 outfield players from both teams made their penalties in the shootout - leaving it up to the two goalkeepers to take the 11th.

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 the Argentine goalkeeper. 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 UEFA Champions League spot for next season rather than playing in the new third-tier Europa Conference League after Villarreal only finished seventh in the Spanish league. 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 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 through 2016 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."