KEY POINTS

  • Man Utd lost 11-10 in the penalty shootout to Villarreal
  • It was Villarreal's first major trophy
  • Manchester United finished second in the league as well

Marcus Rashford said Manchester United will not give up as their head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer won’t let them after their heartbreaking loss in the Europa League final on Wednesday.

Manchester United suffered an 11-10 loss in the penalty shootout against Villarreal in the Europa final in Gdansk. A total of 21 spot-kicks were converted before Red Devils’ goalkeeper David de Gea’s final attempt was saved by his opposite number, Gerónimo Rulli. With that stop, Manchester United’s four-year wait for a trophy continued, while Villarreal lifted their first trophy from their maiden major final. The win also made Unai Emery the most decorated coach in the competition with four victories.

After the loss at Gdansk’s Polsat Plus Arena, Rashford said in an interview all they can do is now look for the areas that need improvement and keep the disappointing night behind them as soon as possible.

“The feeling inside is difficult to explain because at the end of the day we came here to win. We’ve been working so hard all season and this was the opportunity to win a trophy and it didn’t happen for whatever reason. Maybe not now, we have to get rid of the disappointment first, but after that, we need to look back at the game, see what we’ve done wrong, where we can improve and all I can say is the team will not give up. There’s no chance that the team gives up. The manager will not give up, he won’t allow us to give up and we will come next season with a bigger desire,” Rashford was quoted by Manchester United’s media, as saying in an interview with BT Sport.

Gerard Moreno (R) gives Villarreal the lead against Manchester United in the Europa League final
Gerard Moreno (R) gives Villarreal the lead against Manchester United in the Europa League final POOL / ALEKSANDRA SZMIGIEL

Rashford, who sustained a series of injuries in the 2020-21 season, went on to reveal there were several players in the Red Devils’ squad that have not been fully fit since September. But they all stuck together and finished the season.

“To win big trophies you have to show sacrifice. I could walk you into the dressing room and I could show you five, six, seven players and me as well who had injuries here, from September, the beginning of the season and we all stayed together as a unit and we fought to be successful for the club. We come next season with more desire, more hunger and we have to do our best on the pitch. We have to give 110% and I just said, the sacrifice, it means a lot because I know that in every club they don’t have this sacrifice. In the top clubs, they have it, this is why the top clubs win the trophies and we are close. I promise we are close, but close is not good enough, we have to be there,” added Rashford in the same interview.