Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is thrilled that his side have reached the Europa League final, despite losing a “strange game”
against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.
The Reds were defeated 3-2 in the second leg as goals from Edin Dzeko, Bryan Cristante and Nicola Zalewski cancelled out an Edinson Cavani brace, but have progressed to the final 8-5 on aggregate after a strong showing at Old Trafford in the first meeting.
Here are the main comments from Ole's post-match interviews with MUTV and BT Sport...
THROUGH TO THE FINAL
“It feels good of course. We played one very, very good half at Old Trafford which has brought us through and today we did the job. I'm disappointed that we lost the game, I never like to lose a game, especially the way we did it, but it was always going to be one of these games that was going to be open. There were chances for both teams, it easily could have been 6-6 or 8-6 for them, so it was a strange game of football.
“It’s great to be in a final. We’ll forget the second half here when we’re in Gdansk definitely. We made it too open, it was always going to be an open game of course because they had to score, that was going to create chances for us, but we’re through.”
CAVANI AND DE GEA STAND OUT
“We kept giving them the ball, we kept losing it in difficult positions but luckily we’ve got one of the best goalkeepers in the world and luckily we have a number nine up front there who wants to score goals. Edi and David, it was two top performances by them.”
VILLARREAL CHALLENGE
“[They’ve] beaten an Arsenal side which is never easy and any team that gets to a final is a good team. It’s going to be a difficult game but we’re looking forward to it, this is what we’ve always wanted – to play a final, last game of the season, chance to win a trophy. We’ve lost four semi-finals and finally we’re through.
“We’ve just got to start analysing Villarreal, of course we’ve watched them a little bit now. We know a little bit about them, but we’re ready for a final. It’s a one-off. The second leg in the semis is always a difficult game, but a final is a final. Anything can happen but we’ll prepare well.”
GETTING THROUGH THE ROUNDS
“It’s a team effort, it’s the whole team. We’ve had our ups and downs and we've played some very, very good football. The second half today was disappointing, very poor, but we’re in the final and we’ve got a good end to the season now. We’re looking forward to 26 May.”
FAMILIAR DATE
“There was a decent final in 1999 on 26 May. It’s a good day and let’s hope it’s a good omen.”
FIXTURE PILE-UP
“We’ve been dealt a very bad hand and I’ve just got to do what I have to do. Let’s see how we’ll deal with it. Two games in three days, or three games in five is very, very difficult. Four in eight is impossible.”
EVERYONE FIT?
“I hope so, we’re going to need everyone anyway in these four games and we’ve just got to see how they are on Sunday morning. We play at two o’clock on Sunday so that’s a short turnaround but we’ll have to be ready and that’s just how it is.”