well the anticipation is over and now the big day is here it's the final of the uefa europa league
i'm derek ray and as always on these big occasions
i'm joined for commentary by the former arsenal and england fullback lee dixon
we're on the cusp of kickoff it is manchester united versus arsenal well the long road from
the start the competition almost a year ago to the final is here both teams had the added
advantage of if they win this competition the champions league place is available
this is the team manchester united will go with david stands between the posts harry maguire plays
alongside victor lindelof in central defence poor pogba plays with fred in central midfield and the
responsibility of leading the line today goes to marcus rashford pogba promising attack this
here are the starters for arsenal leno stands between the posts thomas party starts with granit
xhaka in the center of the pitch and the starting striker today is pierre-emerick aubameyang
and putting his body on the line working brilliantly as a team to
force the clearance it will be a throw and options in the center
pogba rashford and here's fred now for pogba
an example of a goalkeeper on top of his game lee well that is genius absolutely genius
and he's fired over the corner i'm sure you know he wishes he could have that header back well
in that position you should think he's going to score but it's really a poor effort with his head
martine erdogard
it's with erdogan
arsenal's free kick here
pierre-emerick aubameyang
has lost it
could be a chance to break here
good looking move base on the door of broken counter attack
using his physical strength to shield it they couldn't hang on to it again
arsenal have it back thomas
sucker
granite jacker
well it's always best to get your nose in front in the final
really puts the pressure on the opposition
well here's the replay it's a really good passing move in the build-up and then the
brute forcing gail in equal amount sets up the chance to score and he doesn't disappoint does he
well he's delighted isn't he we can see that calm is needed now just to
consolidate this lead cool heads so the match has restarted one nil here
james and rashford not a good pass
now counter-attacking possibilities here
might be able to produce from this position
oh good use of the ball
shotgun terrific block there
did well to win the ball back
bruno finance the goalkeeper in charge of the situation
united trailing maybe the corner will help the cause
great chance with that header but he sent it wide to the post well it's quite easy to head that one
granit xhaka and the whistle is sounded for half time in this game
the quest for europa league success and the second half of this final is underway
martin erdogan
granit xhaka tna it's with gabrielle
thomas martin erdogan and it's united's turn now
james rashford
just cutting off the supply line with what you've got to say was a routine stop
martin erdogan
thomas now
fine sequence of passes
obama young
he read it well defensively
half an hour remaining then
encouraging stuff from united rashford fine pass oh can you believe this
just when it looked as though the door was locked it's been reopened
well they're back in it and you can hear the relief with their fans
game on well here's the replay super fast counter attack football at its best and once
he gets himself settled with the keeper to beat he hammers it into the back of the net smashing goal
so a level contest one one
defensively
and with that they take well just look at the celebrations derek
the fans are starting to believe it's theirs
well let's see the replay and look at the pace at which the counter attack happens and then just
look at this finish just entices the keeper in and it's a lovely dink to deceiving fantastic goal
so the game restarted by arsenal a wake-up call for the arsenal players perhaps
and they construct a response
we're now inside the final 20 minutes of the game
arsenal completely controlling possession but they have to create more they have to be more positive
the final third play has been slow too predictable
master will have to throw it back in play and the substitution will occur now
a chance to whip it in he's got to score not far away at all with the volley
well to catch it like that you've got a really good technique and oh so close
and on the second half the signs are positive they can't relax lee but they ought to be pleased the
united players have to stay focused on not making any mistakes in order to protect this slender lead
if a bit of magic from the opposition gets them back in it there's little you can do about that
thomas time and the scoreline against arsenal but still they're in this granite jacker at the ready
oh can you get your heads around this just when we thought it might be done and dustin
it's level again well the fans were starting to think it was over not now another twist maybe
derek well we can see it again here what a lovely inviting crossing to the danger area that was
and from there the soft cushion volley's an absolute dream i love this goal
and it's level again he has both sets of fans being put through something of an emotional mangle
by manchester united manchester united on the front foot in the closing moments
can they find a winner scotland
rashford that is a very fine challenge in difficult circumstances
rashford onto bruno fernandes given away by manchester united
and the electronic board has been held aloft three additional minutes here
and a chance for manchester united now from the corner
later on in this game well he had the reading of that delivery but couldn't find the target
what a shocking pass really
well that's it for the 90 minutes but this is not over
and two 15-minute periods of extra time to come