How It Happened: Ajax 0-2 Manchester United (Europa League Final)

Good evening and welcome to Nigerianeye's live text coverage of the Europa League final between Ajax and Manchester United at the Friends Arena in Stockholm.


Ajax come into this match looking to pick up their first European trophy since their 1995 Champions League final triumph, which came 22 years ago to this very day.

United, meanwhile, have never won the UEFA Cup or Europa League before and would book their place in next season's Champions League with a victory tonight having only managed a sixth-place finish in the Premier League.

AJAX: Onana; Veltman, Sanchez, De Ligt, Riedewald; Schone, Klaassen, Ziyech; Traore, Dolberg, Younes
Subs: Boer, Tete, Westermann, De Jong, Van de Beek, Kluivert, Neres

MANCHESTER UNITED: Romero; Valencia, Smalling, Blind, Darmian; Herrera, Fellaini, Pogba; Mata, Mkhitaryan, Rashford
Subs: De Gea, Jones, Rooney, Martial, Lingard, Carrick, Fosu-Mensah























The United players are delirious as they celebrate the 2016-17 Europa League crown - the one major European trophy which had been missing from their collection. They will be in the Champions League group stages next season! Thanks for joining our live coverage of the match!

90+4 min MANCHESTER UNITED WIN THE 2016-17 EUROPA LEAGUE!

90+4 min FULL TIME: Ajax 0-2 Manchester United

90+1 min There will be four minutes of added time at the end of this match.

89 min MAN UTD SUB: Is this the final time we will see Wayne Rooney in a United shirt? He comes on in the dying stages to replace Mata.

87 min SAVE! Ajax attack at the other end moments later as Van de Beek cuts inside Smalling before drawing a routine save from Romero.

87 min CHANCE! Chance for United to put this one to bed once and for all as Lingard streaks clear of the defence with only the keeper to beat, but Sanchez shows brilliant pace to chase him down and make a crucial challenge.

86 min Time is really running out for Ajax now - they need a goal in the next minute or two if they are to stand any chance of forcing extra time.

84 min MAN UTD SUB: United make their second change of the evening as Anthony Martial replaces Rashford.

83 min SHOT! De Ligt had a shot which flew off target a moment ago, and now his centre-back partner Sanchez tries his luck from range too. The outcome is the same, though, with the ball flying over the crossbar.

82 min AJAX SUB: A third and final change from Ajax as Frenkie de Jong comes on in place of Riedewald.

80 min Just 10 minutes remaining in this Europa League final and it would take a major turnaround for Ajax to drag themselves back into the game. They have simply failed to perform tonight, which was always going to be a risk considering their inexperience.

78 min YELLOW CARDS! After all that, Mata and Riedewald go into the book.

77 min It's all kicking off here! Mata goes in late on De Ligt and the Ajax players are not happy about it. Herrera and Riedewald are both involved too before the referee calms things down.

75 min Lingard almost has an immediate impact as he plays a part in a flow team move forward that almost sees Pogba break into the box, but Sanchez is just too strong from the midfielder and shoves him off the ball.

74 min MAN UTD SUB: United make their first change of the evening as Jesse Lingard replaces Mkhitaryan.

72 min After a long, long build up to the free kick, Ziyech fires his effort straight into the wall. What an anticlimax that was.

70 min Meanwhile, Ajax have a free kick for a handball against Mkhitaryan right on the edge of the box. It is a harsh one on the United man, but Ajax know that they can ill-afford to waste this shooting chance.

70 min AJAX SUB: Another change from Ajax sees Schone replaced by Donny van de Beek. That sees the average age of their lineup drop even lower.

68 min Ajax have just started to build the pressure on United in the last few minutes, and a goal for the Dutch side would change the picture immediately. United are still in control right now, but if this young Ajax side can get the wind in their sails sooner rather than later then he could see a different final 20 minutes.

66 min Better build-up play from Ajax in and around the area, but it all comes to nothing when Ziyech floats a nothing shot well off target.

65 min CHANCE! Big chance for United to kill the game off once and for all as Rashford gives the ball to Pogba, who floats it into the middle. Predictably Fellaini is there, but he plants his header straight at the keeper when he probably should have done better.

64 min YELLOW CARD! Another card is shown to Younes for a tug back on Valencia.

62 min AJAX SUB: Ajax make their first change of the night, and off comes the ineffective Dolberg for David Neres.

60 min Mourinho has just sent a few United players out to warm up, including a certain Wayne Rooney who could well be involved in his last game as a Manchester United player tonight. Will he be handed a farewell cameo?

58 min YELLOW CARD! Veltman is the first Ajax player in the book tonight for a trip on Mata.

57 min Finally a bit of extended pressure from Ajax, and they eventually win a corner from it following a mistake from Pogba. The delivery is towards De Lidt, but he can't make anything of it and United eventually clear their lines.

55 min The onus is completely on Ajax now and, in truth, they haven't shown anything to suggest that they are capable of getting back into this match. This is the biggest game of this young team's lives and unfortunately they haven't turned up yet.

53 min Here is that Mkhitaryan goal which has put United in complete control of this final...

52 min YELLOW CARD! Fellaini becomes the second name in the book tonight for a cynical trip on Schone.

50 min Rashford bursts for in search of what would surely be a killer third goal, but Sanchez tracks him all the way and makes a really good sliding challenge to steal the ball back.

48 min Massive, massive goal for United! They have struggled to kill games off this season, but that is a big step towards doing exactly that in the biggest game of the campaign. The resulting corner is met by Smalling's downward header which, on its own, doesn't look like causing any problems, but Mkhitaryan is there to hook it in from close range. It is a long way back for Ajax now!


48 min GOAL! Ajax 0-2 Manchester United (Henrikh Mkhitaryan)


47 min Important interception from Sanchez as he clears the ball behind for a corner just when it looked as though he might be in a shooting position.

46 min KICKOFF: Ajax get us back underway for the second half in Stockholm - can the youngsters get themselves back into this one?

The first half comes to an end at the Friends Arena. United have the lead at the halfway stage of this Europa League final and, while they have given up the majority of possession to Ajax so far tonight, they are worthy of their lead. Ajax have failed to turned that possession into chances, and it is United who have looked most in control of the contest despite seeing relatively little of the ball.


45+1 min HALF TIME: Ajax 0-1 Manchester United

45+1 min There will be one minute of added time at the end of this first half.

45 min Traore almost steals in behind the defence after a one-two on the edge of the area, but Darmian gets back there and eventually wins a free kick off Traore when shepherding the ball out.

43 min Ajax ust have not had the cutting edge in the first half. They have seen the majority of the ball but, with the exception of one save to deny Traore, Romero has had precious little to do in the Ajax goal.

41 min Good quick feet from Herrera again to get out of a sticky situation, and the ball is quickly played upfield. Sanchez first tries to chest the ball back to the keeper but messes that up, and then he is very nearly caught in possession by Rashford. He got away with one there.

39 min Pogba and Herrera are controlling the midfield area in this match at the moment, and Ajax aren't posing enough threat in behind either. It is all too easy for United at the moment.

37 min Traore suddenly sparks into life for Ajax with a fine run that sees hims skip past three or four blue United shirts before finally being halted inside the penalty area.

36 min Less than 10 minutes to go until half time now and so far it has been just what United would have wanted. They look in control and have the lead, and the next step will be trying to get that two-goal cushion.

34 min Nervous moments for Manchester United for the first time really tonight as they can't clear their lines from inside the area. Eventually the ball flashes across the face of goal, but Dolberg cannot get a touch.

32 min Brilliant defending from De Ligt as he stands up to a Rashford going at full speed and times his challenge perfectly. Rashford stays down just inside the area, but he should be fine to continue.

31 min YELLOW CARD! The first card of the final is shown to Henrikh Mkhitaryan who, not for the first time tonight, brought down his man.

29 min United have been very solid when Ajax have had the ball, keeping their shape and marking the likes of Dolberg out of the game. They have a good degree of control over this one so far, helped of course by that deflected Pogba strike.

27 min Well, it feels as though Manchester United have had the better of this opening half an hour or so, but Ajax have actually had 67% possession. The Dutch side just have not been able to make the most of it, with their forward players almost anonymous so far.

25 min Big deflection, but do you think anyone of a Manchester United persuasion cares? Not one bit...

24 min SAVE! United threaten a second as Valencia finds space to run into down the right channel and powers a shot towards goal from a tight angle. Onana is covering his front post, though, and beats the ball away.

22 min Ajax have responded well to fallen behind, though, and they almost have a half-chance here as Schone whips a free kick into the middle. De Ligt attacks it, but he can't get enough on his header to steer it on target.

20 min That will be a huge blow for this young Ajax side, who had just begun to start looking at home in this match. To have fallen behind in such unfortunate circumstances will be a test of this, although it all stemmed from that poor throw-in.

18 min First blood to Manchester United! Mourinho's side take the lead inside 20 minutes of this Europa League final to put them in the driving seat, but it comes via a big deflection off Sanchez. It is a dreadful throw-in from Riedewald which gifts the ball to United deep inside the Ajax half, and they work it across to Pogba on the edge of the box. He takes a touch before drilling a low left-footed effort which takes a huge deflection off Sanchez and flies past Onana.

18 min GOAL! Ajax 0-1 Manchester United (Paul Pogba)

17 min The last two Europa League finals have seen nine goals between them, but there hasn't been much to shout about so far tonight. Not the most entertaining opening to the game!

15 min SAVE! The best attacking moment of the night so far falls to Ajax as Younes darts past Herrera on the left flank before cutting the ball back inside for Traore. The angle is against the Chelsea loanee, though, and Romero makes a relatively routine save at his near post.

14 min Ajax have just begun to settle into this game now, knocking the ball about a bit more confidently and getting that dangerous front three involved a bit more. Nothing to report in terms of chances, but this is better from the Dutch side.

12 min Better from Ajax as they play the ball about inside the United half with real purpose for the first time tonight. Younes creates room for a cross and swings the ball into the middle, but Pogba is back there to make the clearance.

10 min Almost the first chance of the contest as Mata collects the ball on the left side of the area and sends a teasing ball into the box. Fellaini attacks it, but he is just short of getting his head to it.

9 min Pogba plays the ball down the left flank for Rashford, who pulls of a nice piece of skill to create space for a cross. He whips it into the middle, but Ziyech is back there it make the clearance.

7 min Here is that minute's applause which broke out in memory of the victims of Monday's terrorist attack which killed 22 people.

5 min Ajax seem to be trying to get the ball forward too quickly at the moment, playing passes to no-one without looking. They need to just calm down a little and get their foot on the ball for a longer period.

3 min United have started this match very much on the front foot, with Ajax struggling to get themselves settled into the game just yet. It is still very early days, but Mourinho will be the happier of the two managers right now.

1 min Nervy moments for Ajax early on as Onana and Veltman collide following a ball from Mata into the box. Not exactly the settling start this young side would have wanted.

1 min KICKOFF: Marcus Rashford gets us underway at the Friends Arena!