Before the match, M.U received 2 good news when Chris Smalling was able to return and pair up with Daley Blind in the center-back position. In addition, the appearance of Mata on the right wing also greatly increased the attack for the "Red Devils".
Ajax entered the match confidently but was a bit innocent when they loosened their defense in the first minutes. The price that the Dutch team had to accept was the goal conceded in the 17th minute. From a rather empty situation, Pogba fired a long shot from the left foot, the ball hit Sanchez's foot from Ajax and flew straight into the net, much to the surprise of goalkeeper Onana. 1-0 for M.U, Ajax began to feel the pressure.
As predicted before the match, although the squad was not really superior to the opponent, M.U had one thing that Ajax did not have, which was Jose Mourinho. In this match, the Portuguese coach proactively let his students play defensive counter-attacks even though they were leading. With "backpackers" like Fellaini, Ajax's young players do not have much land to deploy virtual attack situations.
After breaking the opponent's attacks, M.U just waited for the opportunity to launch the next " punch". At the beginning of the second half, Mkhitaryan continued to make Ajax fans sad with a very sensitive close-range tap-in in the 48th minute. 2-0 for M.U in the helplessness of the Dutch representative.
With nothing left to lose, coach Bosz used all 3 of Ajax's substitutions to increase his attack. However, with M.U always having 11 players on the field, Ajax could not do anything more. On the contrary, they almost conceded a goal in the 88th minute when Lingard missed the opportunity to face goalkeeper Onana.
Winning 2-0, M.U was officially crowned Europa League 2016-17. This result ended a successful season for the "Red Devils" with 3 titles and a place in the 2017-18 Champions League.
