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77′ Trigueros is withdrawn by Emery as Gomez enters the action for the Spanish side.
76′ Trigueros goes for a drive from distance, but Rashford throws himself in the way of his strike to deflect it wide of the target.
74′ Pedraza surges into space to latch on to Torres’ ball forward, but Wan-Bissaka closes to divert his cross behind for a corner.
71′ BLOCK! Torres makes a vital block in the six-yard box to prevent Cavani’s header from finding the back of the net. The Uruguayan rises to nod Shaw’s right-footed cross towards goal, but the Villarreal man is in the right place at the right time.
70′ MISS! Rashford is relieved to see the offside flag raised misses a glorious chance, sidefooting a strike past the right post from six yards out. Fernandes puts the ball on a plate for the England man with a pinpoint low cross, and although he spurns the opening, it would not have counted anyway as the Portuguese was offside in the build-up.
69′ United have been dominant since the restart. Villarreal have offered nothing going forward and are playing a rearguard action to keep themselves in the contest.
67′ Capoue has to be extremely careful as he trips Fernandes. The midfielder is on his final warning now.
66′ Shaw and Greenwood combine to tee up McTominay on the edge of the Villarreal box, but his effort on the slide is blocked by a wall of yellow shirts.
64′ Fernandes sends a low cross into the box and the ball strikes Torres. Cavani insists that it struck his hand, but the referee dismisses his appeal for a penalty.
62′ Wan-Bissaka sends a long ball over the top for Rashford to chase. Rulli has to be alert to scamper off his line and clear into touch away from the forward.
60′ Bacca is withdrawn for the Spanish side in the final third as Emery opts to shore up his midfield with Coquelin.
59′ Cavani has become the third player aged 34 or above to score in a major European final for an English club, after Gary McAllister (36) for Liverpool in the UEFA Cup final versus Alavés in 2000-01 and Didier Drogba (34) for Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League final versus Bayern Munich in 2011-12.
57′ WIDE! Fernandes latches on to a loose ball on the edge of the box. The Portuguese goes for a curling strike, but he can only bend his effort wide of the left post.
S. McTominay
Assist
55′ McTominay diverts a strike from Rashford into the path of Cavani, who does the rest with a fine finish.
E. Cavani
Goal
55′ GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!! CAVANI EQUALISES WITH A CLOSE-RANGE STRIKE!!!!! 1-1!!!!! United are level as the Uruguayan reacts first to a deflection in the box and fires past Rulli. Villarreal fail to clear their lines from a corner and Rashford’s drive from 20 yards is deflected into the path of the forward by the boot of McTominay. Cavani holds his composure to slot his effort into the back of the net. Game on.
54′ OVER! Fernandes lifts a dangerous ball into the box for McTominay to attack. He twists and turns before firing at goal, but his effort is deflected over the bar by Torres.
54′ Capoue pulls back Fernandes in the Villarreal half and goes into the book.
52′ Greenwood attempts to latch on to a ball over the top from Fernandes and goes down amid pressure from Pedraza. VAR has a look at the incident, but agrees with the referee’s view not to award a penalty.
50′ Cavani battles Parejo for possession, but he sends the Villarreal midfielder tumbling to the deck to concede a free-kick. Frustration for the Red Devils.
48′ SCRAMBLE! Pedraza sends a dangerous cross in from the left flank that almost travels to Bacca. However, the Colombian cannot connect with a strike on the deck and the Red Devils somehow manage to get the ball away from the goalmouth before the Spanish outfit can pounce.
46′ We’re back under way in the Europa League final.
Villarreal are 45 minutes away from their first major European trophy and a place in the Champions League. They’ve been stout at the back and have taken their one opening. Unai Emery and his team may need one more goal to see off the threat of United, who have been impressive playing from behind this term.
Villarreal hold a 1-0 lead over Manchester United at the break in the Europa League final. It was a half of few chances, but the Spanish side took the one clear-cut opening as Gerard Moreno steered home a free-kick from Dani Parejo from close range. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his team have been lacklustre thus far and need a response in the second half.
45′ + 2′ HALF-TIME: VILLARREAL 1-0 MANCHESTER UNITED
45′ + 1′ United are ending the half on a positive note. Greenwood turns on the burners down the right flank to run at Pedraza. He fires a right-footed cross towards Cavani, but Albiol deflects it back towards Rulli to claim.
45′ There will be two minutes of added time.
45′ Rashford drops his shoulder to skip past Pedraza with ease down the right-inside channel. He fires a low ball towards the near post, but Torres sticks out a boot to stop the cross before the Spanish outfit clear the danger.
44′ Cavani displays a great work rate to get back to atone for a mistake in the middle of the park. He matches the run of Pino all the way into the United box before Shaw deflects a cross back off the Villarreal youngster to win a goal-kick.
43′ The game is not suiting the style of the Red Devils. Villarreal are sitting deep in their shape and forcing United to break them down. They’ve yet to pose a threat to Rulli between the posts.
41′ Cavani tries to send Fernandes down the right flank, but Villarreal win the 50/50 duel once again as Pedraza forces the Portuguese to knock the ball behind for a goal-kick.
40′ Parejo makes an important intervention at the back to cut out Cavani’s offload towards Rashford after the Uruguayan fended off a challenge from Torres.
38′ Shaw has a burst down the left and he hooks his delivery towards Cavani. Albiol makes the first intervention before the ball loops up towards Rulli to claim the cross.
37′ United build down the left flank as Greenwood sends Rashford into space. The forward goes for the cross, but his delivery is repelled with ease by Parejo.
36′ McTominay has a run down the right flank and he tries to get the better of Parejo, only to send his cross over the bar for a goal-kick.
35′ Shaw fouls Capoue on the right flank as the midfielder brings the ball forward. United are off the pace all over the field.
33′ Solskjaer is furious with his side and their energy levels on the field. They’ve not been at their best this evening and they need a response before the break.
31′ Gerard is the first player to score 30+ goals for Villarreal in a single season in all competitions since Giuseppe Rossi in 2010-11 (32).
29′ Parejo floats a dangerous cross into the box that finds the run of Gerard at the back post, who converts with a neat finish.
29′ GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!! GERARD PUTS VILLARREAL AHEAD!!!!! 1-0!!!!! The Spanish side take the lead as Gerard pokes home at the back post. Parejo floats a pinpoint delivery in from the left flank on his right foot from a free-kick. Gerard pulls away from the United defence and has a free strike at goal. He does not disappoint, placing his effort beyond the reach of De Gea into the right corner.
28′ Cavani brings down Parejo in the United half and Villarreal have a free-kick in a useful position.
27′ Pino runs at the United defence and opts for a strike to nothing from 25 yards. His effort is tame and travels wide of the left post, although De Gea was not thrilled with the space the Villarreal man was afforded.
26′ Pogba has space on the right flank and he floats a cross aiming for the run of Fernandes through the middle. However, it evades the Portuguese and is claimed by Rulli.
24′ Greenwood floats a cross into the box for Cavani to attack, but the forward gets caught in two minds whether to go for the strike or tee up Rashford. It strikes off the England forward and into the hands of Rulli.
23′ OVER! Pogba fails to clear his lines in the box and Bacca collects in the left-inside channel. He works a cross into the box with a rabona, but Torres can only head over the bar from the delivery.
22′ Pino latches on to a clearance from McTominay and goes for a strike at goal from the edge of the box. McTominay throws himself in the way of the attempt to divert it over the bar.
20′ CLOSE! Wan-Bissaka sees a cross cleared into the path of Shaw in the left-inside channel. The England man lines up a drive towards the back post, but it evades the target and every red shirt in the box.
18′ Gerard shows his commitment to the cause without Foyth at full-back as he slots into the role to fend off Cavani with a strong challenge.
17′ Foyth is still struggling with the cut on his head and he requires further treatment on the sideline.
15′ OVER! Trigueros latches on to a deep cross to the back post from Parejo from a corner. He stretches to connect on the volley, but he can only lift his effort over the bar.
12′ Foyth returns to the field with a bandage around his head. He took a mighty blow when he fell to the ground and his progress will be monitored by the Villarreal bench.
11′ Greenwood is released down the right flank by Pogba, and he sends a low cross towards the near post that is cleared behind by Capoue.
9′ Foyth dispossesses Rashford on the edge of the box with a strong challenge. He then slips on the ball and his head strikes the knee of Pogba as he falls. The former Spurs man requires treatment before the game can continue.
7′ WIDE! Rashford surges into the box in the left-inside channel before he offloads to McTominay on the edge of the box. The Scot takes a touch before launching a strike towards goal, but he places his effort wide of the left post.
5′ Shaw has space down the left flank and he fires a low cross into the middle. Cavani makes a run towards the near post, but Albiol tracks him and clears the ball away from danger.
3′ United are trying to get on the front foot in the early stages of the game by pressing the Spanish outfit in possession.
1′ We’re under way in the Europa League final.
Villarreal have reached a major European final for the first time in their history, becoming the 11th different Spanish side to do so. The previous two Spanish sides to reach a major European final for the first time also faced an English opponent in that match (Alaves 4-5 Liverpool in the 2000-01 UEFA Cup and Sevilla 4-0 Middlesbrough in the 2005-06 UEFA Cup).
United are without skipper Maguire in the starting line-up as he has not recovered sufficiently from an ankle problem to lead the team. Bailly gets the start in the back four in his place. The Ivorian is the only player to retain his spot from the win over Wolves on the final day of the term. De Gea gets the start ahead of Henderson between the posts. Wan-Bissaka, Shaw and Lindelof all return to the back four. Pogba and McTominay start in front of the back four. Cavani, Rashford, Fernandes and Greenwood spearhead the attack.
Villarreal have made one change to their side that was beaten by Real Madrid on the final day of the LaLiga season. Foyth comes into the backline to replace Gaspar at right-back, which sees the latter drop to the bench. Emery is bold and starts with two strikers in the final third in the form of Bacca and Gerard. Support will come from Trigueros and Pino in the wide areas.
MANCHESTER UNITED SUBS: Harry Maguire, Juan Mata, Lee Grant, Fred, Amad Diallo, Daniel James, Dean Henderson, Alex Telles, Nemanja Matic, Brandon Williams, Donny van de Beek, Axel Tuanzebe.
MANCHESTER UNITED (4-2-3-1): David de Gea; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw; Paul Pogba, Scott McTominay; Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Mason Greenwood; Edinson Cavani.
VILLARREAL SUBS: Sergio Asenjo, Mario Gaspar, Ramiro Fuenes Mori, Dani Raba, Pervis Estupinan, Paco Alcacer, Alberto Moreno, Francis Coquelin, Ruben Pena, Jaume Costa, Moi Gomez, Fernando Nino.
VILLARREAL (4-4-2): Geronimo Rulli; Juan Foyth, Raul Albiol, Pau Torres, Alfonoso Pedraza; Yeremi Pino, Etienne Capoue, Dani Parejo, Manu Trigueros; Gerard Moreno, Carlos Bacca.
United ended their Premier League campaign on a strong note to finish in second place, beating Wolves on the final day. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his team were well off the pace of winners Manchester City, but they guaranteed a spot in the Champions League next term. Silverware is next on the agenda for the Red Devils, who were beaten in the semi-final stage last term. Under Jose Mourinho the club won the crown for the first time in 2017. Although the Europa League was not the objective of Solskjaer at the start of the campaign, a triumph would be welcomed by the Norwegian as he seeks to earn his first major crown at Old Trafford.
Villarreal failed to qualify for the Europa League next season after suffering a 2-1 defeat on the final day of the LaLiga campaign to Real Madrid. Unai Emery’s men finished in seventh place in the standings, but their dream of the Champions League remains if they can beat United tonight. The club have never won a European crown and they can create history with a triumph in Gdansk. Emery has a formidable record win the competition, winning on three occasions at Sevilla. His Arsenal team were beaten by Chelsea two years ago in the final, and he will be desperate to prove a point to his doubters this evening.
Good evening and welcome to the live commentary of the Europa League final between Villarreal and Manchester United at the Stadion Energa Gdansk.
Moi Gómez
Manu Trigueros