Blind joined in the celebrations after Paul Pogba had opened the scoring against Ajax
Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored a goal in each half as Manchester United outclassed Ajax to win an emotional Europa League final and qualify for the group stages of next season's Champions League.
World record signing Pogba opened the scoring in the 18th minute as United won the ball after an Ajax throw-in, the Frenchman's shot taking a wicked deflection to wrong foot goalkeeper Andre Onana and fly into the net.
Mkhitaryan then flicked the ball home early in the second half following a United corner, and with chants of "Manchester! Manchester!" echoing around the stadium, United held on to win the only European trophy missing from the cabinet.
MANCHESTER UNITED (4-2-3-1)
Sergio Romero 6 – Kept his concentration to save well from Traore on a rare occasion he was tested. Didn’t do anything wrong to suggest de Gea should have played instead.
Antonio Valencia 7.5 – Rested by Jose Mourinho from Premier League games ever since United qualified for the final and the captain’s experience was invaluable. Nearly scored with a fierce shot.
Chris Smalling 7 – Might have changed Mourinho’s opinion of him. Always on the front foot against 16-goal Dolberg and an attacking threat at United set-pieces, setting up second goal.
Daley Blind 8 – Outstanding against his former club. Hardly ever out of position and nicked the ball away from Traore when he burst through. Took a lot of United’s free-kicks and a verbal presence
Matteo Darmian 6.5 – Adopted the Italian defender’s mentality though shalt not pass. Left-back stuck to his task tracking Traore’s movement and threw his body to block striker and stop a goal
Ander Herrera 6 – Found Ajax’s technical players hard to keep up with and worked overtime to protect the back-four allowing Pogba and Fellaini to get forward. Took one for the team.
Paul Pogba 7.5 – Repaid a handsome slice of the £89million transfer fee. Too big for Ajax to handle, literally. Scored the first goal with a deflection and had players bouncing off him.
Juan Mata 7 – Justified Mourinho’s decision to pick stealth over speed with the Spaniard getting the nod over Lingard. He floated around from his starting position on the right to good effect. Booked.
Marouane Fellaini 7 – A right royal pain in the backside for the opposition as usual. Tripped Sanchez, was accused of handball, then set up Pogba’s goal and was in the area for United’s second.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan 6.5 – Was fairly poor until he produced a moment of magic to score United’s second with an overhead flick. Put a defensive shift in before his sixth Europa League goal. Booked. Substituted.
Marcus Rashford 6.5 – His pace occupied two Ajax defenders at all times which is a great asset for United. Often turned a bad ball into a good one and also tracked back to help his team out.
Substitutes
Lingard for Mkhitaryan (74 mins) 6 – Brought customary energy but fluffed a one-against-one
Martal for Rashford (84 mins) – Just who you want when teams are tiring
Rooney (for Mata 90) – Got one of the loudest cheers of the night when he got on
Manager
Jose Mourinho 7 – He won’t win in the style of previous Manchester United managers but you can’t knock him after winning a second trophy of the season albeit with a functional rather than flamboyant performance.
AJAX (4-3-3)
Andre Onana 6 – Was caught out by Pogba’s deflected shot despite getting his fingertips to the ball. Made a nervy start but redeemed himself with a neat save from Valencia’s well-struck effort
Joel Veltman 5.5 – Impeded Onana in the very first minute to give Pogba a chance and things didn’t improve when he let Mkhitaryan nip in front to score with a terrific overhead kick after half-time. Booked.
Davinson Sanchez 6 – A night of extremes for the Chelsea target. Stuck out a leg to deflect Pogba’s shot for the opening goal and took other risks. But forward runs had Ajax fans chanting his name.
Matthijs de Ligt 6.5 – Terrific positional sense to block Rashford’s shot and stuck to his task against a quicker opponent. Not so good in possession and carelessly gave ball away in un-Ajax fashion.
Jairo Riedewald 6 – An attacking left-back by nature, he struggled when pinned back by Valencia. Produced one excellent cross that was begging Dolberg to put it in.
Davy Klaessen 6 – Ajax’s 24-year-old skipper struggled to make a big impression against United’s tough guys. The highly-rated midfielder made little impression in the final third.
Lasse Schone 5.5 – His right-footed set pieces were a threat but found a Europa League final a big step up in class from Holland’s Eredivisie.
Hakim Ziyech 6 – Excellent first touch made him hard for Herrera nad Fellaini to pick up. Dangerous cross forced Pogba to clear from Dolberg but sometimes loose in possession.
Bertrand Traore 7 – Chelsea loanee had a good go. Tested Romero with Ajax’s first shot on target and claimed a penalty when he felt he was obstructed by Darmian. Hugged the right-hand touchline.
Kasper Dolberg 5.5 – Ajax’s top scorer this season was spotted by Denis Bergkamp at 17 but didn’t have his best night. Closely marked and beaten by Smalling in build-up to United’s second goal.
Amin Younes 6.5 – Showed good technical skills and gave Herrera a difficult time with his running. But faded once Valencia spotted the danger and used his experience to reduce his influence.
Substitutes
Neres (for Dolberg 62) 6 Suffered the same lack of joy and accidentally caught Smalling
Van de Beek (for Schone 70) 6 Failed to make an impact
De jong (for Ridewald 82) The game was over by the time he arrived.
Manager
Peter Bosz 6.5 – Deserves great credit for taking a team with an average age under 23 to a European final. But they came up against bigger, better and more experienced.
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