 Match programme cover | |||||||
| Event | 2016–17 UEFA Europa League | ||||||
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| Date | 24 May 2017 (2017-05-24) | ||||||
| Venue | Friends Arena,Solna | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Ander Herrera(Manchester United)[1] | ||||||
| Referee | Damir Skomina (Slovenia)[2] | ||||||
| Attendance | 46,961[3] | ||||||
| Weather | Partly cloudy 19 °C (66 °F) 44%humidity[4] | ||||||
←2016 2018 → | |||||||
The2017 UEFA Europa League final was the final match of the2016–17 UEFA Europa League, the 46th season ofEurope's secondary clubfootball tournament organised byUEFA, and the 8th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to theUEFA Europa League. It was played on 24 May 2017 at theFriends Arena inSolna,Stockholm, Sweden,[5] betweenDutch sideAjax andEnglish sideManchester United. Manchester United won the match 2–0 to secure their first title in this competition.[6] With this victory, they joinedJuventus, fellow finalists Ajax,Bayern Munich andChelsea as the only clubs towon all three major European trophies at the time (European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/Europa League, and the now-defunctCup Winners' Cup);[7][8][9] while, with this defeat, Ajax became the fifth club – afterHamburger SV,Fiorentina,Arsenal andLiverpool – to have lost a final in all these competitions.[10]
Manchester United earned the right to play against the winners of the2016–17 UEFA Champions League,Real Madrid, in the2017 UEFA Super Cup. They also entered the group stage of the2017–18 UEFA Champions League, as the berth reserved for the Champions League title holders was not used.[11] Police of Stockholm took measures against potential terrorist attacks which they described as "the new normality", since two had occurred in Stockholm in2010 andjust a month before the final, and also prepared for potentialclashes between supporters.[12]
It was United's last trophy for nearly six years until they defeatedNewcastle United 2–0 to win the2023 EFL Cup final.[13]
Friends Arena, located inSolna Municipality of theStockholm urban area, was announced as the final venue on 30 June 2015, following the decision of the UEFA Executive Committee meeting inPrague, Czech Republic.[5]
This was Ajax's second final in the UEFA Cup/Europa League, having won in the1992 UEFA Cup Final overTorino on away goals.[14]
This was Manchester United's first final in the UEFA Cup/Europa League. They were seeking to become the only the fifth club to havewon all three major European trophies at the time (European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/Europa League, and the now-defunctUEFA Cup Winners' Cup).[7][15]
The two sides had previously met four times in European competitions, all in the UEFA Cup/Europa League, with a record of two wins each. However, Manchester United had eliminated Ajax on both occasions, 2–1 on aggregate in the1976–77 UEFA Cup first round, and 3–2 on aggregate in the2011–12 UEFA Europa League round of 32.[16][17]
In the following table, finals until 2009 were in the UEFA Cup era, since 2010 were in the UEFA Europa League era.
| Team | Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners) |
|---|---|
 Ajax | 1 (1992) |
 Manchester United | None |
Note: In the table, the score of the finalist is given first (H = home; A = away).
The ambassador for the final was former Swedish international playerPatrik Andersson, who won the Champions League withBayern Munich againstValencia in2001.[20]
UEFA unveiled the brand identity of the final on 26 August 2016 inMonaco during the group stage draw.[21]
With a stadium capacity of 48,000 for the final, a total number of 37,000 tickets were available to fans and the general public, with the two finalist teams receiving 10,000 tickets each and with 17,000 tickets being available for sale to fans worldwide via UEFA.com from 17 to 28 March 2017 in four price categories: €150, €100, €70 and €45. The remaining tickets were allocated to the local organising committee, UEFA and national associations, commercial partners and broadcasters, and to serve the corporate hospitality programme.[22]
In May 2017, SlovenianrefereeDamir Skomina was chosen to oversee the final. He was joined by compatriots Jure Praprotnik and Robert Vukan asassistant referees,Matej Jug andSlavko Vinčić asadditional assistant referees, Tomaž Klančnik asreserve assistant referee, and Italian officialGianluca Rocchi asfourth official.[2]
A minute's silence was observed before the final in memory to victims of thebombing in Manchester which occurred two days before the final; the opening ceremony was thus considerably reduced.[23]
Paul Pogba opened the scoring for Manchester United in the 18th minute when his low left foot shot from just outside the penalty area took a deflection offDavinson Sánchez which wrong footed the goalkeeper before looping over him and into the net.[24][25]Henrikh Mkhitaryan got the second goal three minutes into the second half when with his back to goal he flicked the ball into the net with his right foot from three yards out after the ball had been knocked down to him byChris Smalling after a corner from the right byJuan Mata.[26]Wayne Rooney, who entered minutes before the final whistle, took the captain's armband and later led the team to lift the trophy in his final game for United; he would return toEverton less than two months later.
The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the semi-final draw, which was held on 21 April 2017 at UEFA headquarters inNyon, Switzerland.[27] Ajax as the "home" team played with their new home kit which would be used the following season. United wore their outgoing away (European third) kit.
| Ajax | 0–2 | Manchester United |
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| Report |
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          Ajax[4] |     Manchester United[4] |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[2] | Match rules[28]
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