United last reached, and won, the Europa League final in 2017 under Jose MourinhoManchester United reached their first final of the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer era but lost their seven-match unbeaten record in an entertaining Europa League last-four tie with Roma.
Edinson Cavani scored both United goals in the second leg of a 13-goal semi-final.
The Uruguayan opened the scoring with a fabulous first-half effort, then found the net with a fine header from Bruno Fernandes’ excellent floated pass in the second half.
In between, Roma briefly threatened a comeback when former Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko scored his ninth goal against United before Bryan Cristante finished smartly with a shot on the turn.
The Italians had the final word when Nicola Zalewski’s low drive went in through David de Gea’s legs after taking a deflection off Alex Telles.
The 8-5 aggregate victory ends a run of four semi-final defeats for United under Solskjaer and sets up a meeting with Villarreal – who knocked out Arsenal – in Gdansk on 26 May.
Fixture schedule physically impossible, says Solskjaer’Faith in Solskjaer close to being rewarded’Listen to the latest Football Daily podcastUnited are without a trophy since their last triumph in this competition in 2017, their longest run since the five-year gap between 1985 and 1990, which was ended by an FA Cup success that marked the start of Sir Alex Ferguson’s silverware collection.
Jose Mourinho was manager for that most recent United success and he will be responsible for reviving Roma’s fortunes next season, knowing their only chance of European football next season will come in Uefa’s new third-tier Conference competition.
Cavani in cruise controlEdinson Cavani has scored 16 goals in his last 15 UEFA Europa League appearances, including 15 in his last 10 starts in the competitionIf getting to within one win of a trophy as United manager was a triumph for Solskjaer, it also underlined why the Norwegian is persisting in his efforts to keep Cavani at Old Trafford.
At 19, Mason Greenwood is at the other end of the age scale to Cavani. The England man eclipsed Duncan Edwards as the youngest Englishman to reach 100 appearances for United, and the third youngest ever behind Norman Whiteside and George Best.
Evidently, Greenwood has much to learn. Cavani, 34, is the finished article.
His four goals in the tie have taken him to 14 for the season and a run of seven goals in six games suggests he is reaching top form at just the right time.
Cavani’s first-half effort was stunning. Starting with Paul Pogba winning possession, United’s team work was brilliant. A fantastic lay-off by Fernandes sent Fred running through midfield. The pass was good but Cavani still had work to do as he belted his shot into the Roma net.
His second was more subtle, coming from another Fernandes assist – a deep cross delivered to perfection, which invited the headed finish which effectively killed the tie.
The word is Cavani is now minded to stay at United for another season and as by far the best orthodox number nine at his disposal, Solskjaer will be delighted if those suggestions prove to be correct.
De Gea at his bestIt has become a modern tradition for second-choice goalkeepers to play in cup competitions in order to keep them motivated.
That was the case at United in 2016-17, which meant Sergio Romero rather than De Gea played in the Europa League final victory over Ajax in Stockholm.
So, given De Gea has featured in all four Europa League ties since losing his Premier League spot to Dean Henderson, he must be in line for an outing in Gdansk.
Nothing happened in this game that would lead Solskjaer to conclude De Gea should not get the job.
The Spaniard was superb and without him, what appeared to be a fanciful Roma comeback might have become a reality. Right at the start, he denied Gianluca Mancini with a superb close-range save and it took another to prevent Lorenzo Pellegrini giving the hosts the advantage.
De Gea then made a series of stops in the second half which were even more important as Roma attempted to turn the tie on its head. He turned a Dzeko effort that was heading towards the top corner away from danger and then made further saves shortly afterwards from former United man Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Cristante when another Roma goal would have given them added impetus and left them only two short of their target.
The current situation of having two international keepers mixing games seems unsustainable but on this evidence, De Gea is far from past his best.
‘We played one very, very good half’ – reactionEdinson Cavani shows why we want to keep him – Ole Gunnar SolskjaerManchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, speaking to BT Sport: “It feels good to be in the final. We played one very, very good half at Old Trafford which has taken us through. I’m disappointed we lost – especially the way we played in the second half.
“It could easily have been 8-6 to them. It was a strange game. We kept giving them the ball but luckily we have one of the the best keepers in the world. We are in the final and are looking forward to 26 May.”
On United’s punishing schedule over the next few days: “It’s unheard of. It’s made by people who have never played football at this level. It’s physically impossible for the players. We have not been dealt a good hand. We are going to need everyone for these four games. It’s a short turnaround but we have to be ready.”
Solskjaer’s first final – the best of the statsThe total of 13 goals over the two legs is the biggest tally in a Uefa Cup/Europa League semi-finalManchester United have made it to their first major final in any competition under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer; after suffering eliminations in all four previous cup semi-finals under the Norwegian (two League Cup, one FA Cup and one Europa League).Roma are now unbeaten in 12 European games on home soil (W8 D4), since a 2-0 defeat by Real Madrid in the Champions League group stage in November 2018.Manchester United are only the second side in Uefa Cup/Europa League history to score 8+ goals across both legs of a semi-final tie, after Alaves scored nine against Kaiserslautern in 2000-01.Manchester United have progressed to their eighth major European final, with Liverpool the only English team with more (14).Manchester United’s Edinson Cavani is the first player to score 2+ goals in both legs of a two-legged semi-final in major European competition since Klaus Allofs for Cologne v KSV Waregem in the 1985-86 Uefa Cup. What’s next?Manchester United are next in action on Sunday when they begin a run of three Premier League games in five days at Aston Villa (14:05 BST).
Player of the match
CavaniEdinson Cavani
with an average of 8.25
RomaSquad number9Player nameDzeko
Squad number77Player nameMkhitaryan
Squad number7Player namePellegrini
Squad number11Player namePedro
Squad number59Player nameZalewski
Squad number18Player nameSanton
Squad number4Player nameCristante
Squad number6Player nameSmalling
Squad number23Player nameMancini
Squad number55Player nameDarboe
Squad number33Player nameBruno Peres
Squad number83Player nameMirante
Squad number21Player nameMayoral
Squad number3Player nameIbañez
Squad number2Player nameKarsdorp
Manchester UnitedSquad number7Player nameCavani
Squad number1Player namede Gea
Squad number18Player nameBruno Fernandes
Squad number34Player namevan de Beek
Squad number29Player nameWan-Bissaka
Squad number23Player nameShaw
Squad number11Player nameGreenwood
Squad number6Player namePogba
Squad number3Player nameBailly
Squad number10Player nameRashford
Squad number17Player nameFred
Squad number8Player nameMata
Squad number5Player nameMaguire
Squad number31Player nameMatic
Squad number33Player nameWilliams
Squad number27Player nameAlex Telles
Line-upsRomaFormation 4-1-4-1
83Mirante
2Karsdorp6Smalling3Ibañez da Silva33da Silva Peres
23Mancini
11Pedro4Cristante7Pellegrini77Mkhitaryan
9Dzeko
83Mirante2KarsdorpBooked at 72mins6SmallingSubstituted forDarboeat 30’minutes3Ibañez da Silva33da Silva PeresSubstituted forSantonat 69’minutes23Mancini11PedroSubstituted forZalewskiat 76’minutes4CristanteBooked at 84mins7Pellegrini77Mkhitaryan9DzekoSubstituted forMayoralat 76’minutesSubstitutes18Santon21Mayoral24Kumbulla52Bove54Ciervo55Darboe59Zalewski63Boer87Cerantola FuzatoMan UtdFormation 4-2-3-1
1de Gea
29Wan-Bissaka3Bailly5Maguire23Shaw
6Pogba17Fred
11Greenwood18Bruno Fernandes34van de Beek
7Cavani
1de Gea29Wan-BissakaBooked at 18minsSubstituted forWilliamsat 45’minutesBooked at 90mins3Bailly5Maguire23ShawSubstituted forTellesat 45’minutes6PogbaSubstituted forMaticat 64’minutes17FredBooked at 58mins11Greenwood18Bruno FernandesSubstituted forMataat 84’minutes34van de Beek7CavaniBooked at 72minsSubstituted forRashfordat 73’minutesSubstitutes2Lindelöf8Mata10Rashford13Grant19Diallo26Henderson27Telles31Matic33Williams38Tuanzebe39McTominay56ElangaLive TextMatch ends, Roma 3, Manchester United 2.
Second Half ends, Roma 3, Manchester United 2.
Brandon Williams (Manchester United) is shown the yellow card.
Ibañez (Roma) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Brandon Williams (Manchester United).
Attempt missed. Brandon Williams (Manchester United) left footed shot from the right side of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Nemanja Matic.
Attempt missed. Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Juan Mata.
Attempt saved. Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Nemanja Matic.
Gianluca Mancini (Roma) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Mason Greenwood (Manchester United).
Attempt saved. Bryan Cristante (Roma) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top left corner.
Corner, Roma. Conceded by Harry Maguire.
Bryan Cristante (Roma) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Bryan Cristante (Roma).
Alex Telles (Manchester United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Substitution, Manchester United. Juan Mata replaces Bruno Fernandes.
Own Goal by Alex Telles, Manchester United. Roma 3, Manchester United 2.
Attempt missed. Nicola Zalewski (Roma) right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Davide Santon with a cross.
Foul by Ebrima Darboe (Roma).
Nemanja Matic (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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