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Sir Alex Ferguson Waited For David De Gea Outside The Tunnel After Europa League Final Penalty Miss

Sir Alex Ferguson Waited For David De Gea Outside The Tunnel After Europa League Final Penalty Miss

Sir Alex Ferguson consoled Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea after his miss from 12 yards proved costly.

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

Sir Alex Ferguson waited for David De Gea outside the tunnel after the Manchester United goalkeeper missed the decisive spot-kick in the Europa League final defeat to Villarreal.

21 consecutive penalties were converted in a remarkable penalty shoot-out in Gdansk but De Gea saw his effort saved by Geronimo Rulli, who had just done the business from 12 yards moments prior.

It gave Villarreal a first trophy in their entire history and extended United's run without silverware to four seasons.

De Gea's disappointment was evident as he, like many of his teammates, removed their runners up medals from their necks.

Image: PA
Image: PA

But as he headed towards the tunnel and back to the dressing room, he was greeted by Ferguson, the man who brought him to Old Trafford as a 20-year-old back in 2011.

Image: PA
Image: PA

The legendary United boss flew over to Gdansk to support the team and was also on the podium for Villarreal's trophy presentation.

But afterwards he also made a point of consoling De Gea, with the two sharing an embrace and walking down the tunnel side-by-side according to The Athletic.

The gesture will no doubt have been highly appreciated by De Gea, who was understandably gutted.

Although he had key information on Villarreal's takers and their favourite spots on a "cheat sheet" inside his towel, the Spaniard failed to save a single penalty - stretching his wretched run to 40 spot-kicks for club and country.

Image: PA
Image: PA

Substitute goalkeeper Dean Henderson, meanwhile has saved eight of 19 penalties he's faced in his career.

Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted he did consider bringing him on for the shoot-out, in scenes that would have been remiscient to Louis van Gaal bringing on penalty specialist Tim Krul against Costa Rica in 2014.

"You go through every scenario, of course, and it [bringing on Henderson] had crossed my mind in the build-up to the game, but we were confident in David and prepared," Solskjaer said after the defeat.

"Anything can happen in a penalty shootout, so I stuck with the keeper who had played all of the game."

Featured Image Credit:

Topics:ย David De Gea, Football, Europa League final, Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, Villarreal

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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