After the 2-0 win over Ajax in the Europa League final on Wednesday night, Manchester United have booked their place in next season’s Champions League and will enter the group stage draw in pot two. This means they are guaranteed to avoid the likes of Barcelona, PSG and Atletico Madrid before Christmas.
Jose Mourinho’s decision to prioritise the Europa League over finishing fourth has clearly paid off. Rivals Liverpool may yet join United in the Champions League, but they will have to play two qualifying matches to get there and will almost certainly have a more difficult group as a result.
Had United failed to win in Stockholm, Mourinho’s debut season would have been fairly disastrous. Finishing sixth in the league and winning the League Cup would have seen the United manager fail to even emulate Louis van Gaal’s two seasons at the club - the Dutchman finished fourth in his first campaign and fifth, while also winning the FA Cup, in his second.
There was a fine line between success and failure for Mourinho, but he fell on the right side of it. In fact, Chelsea are the only English club who can claim to have had a better season, with United supporters having seen their team lift two trophies.
Of course, neither of these trophies would have been a priority for United fans in the good old days, but right now, in this period of transition, they are more than good enough. In fact, in the past two seasons, United have won more than Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur combined in the last decade.
The overflowing emotions from Wednesday evening would not have occurred had United simply managed a top-four finish. Nothing in football can recreate the feeling of victory in a cup final.
The impact of winning the Europa League, in particular, is huge. A spot in the Champions League means that fans get to see their team face top continental opposition again, while high-profile players will be more interested in signing for the club. More money will be generated and United can now claim to have won every trophy going. This was the missing piece of the puzzle.
The players have a real taste for silverware now and, judging from their reaction on the pitch inside the Friendship Arena and in the dressing room afterwards, they loved it. This is a feeling they will want to replicate next season. They have renewed hunger and a sense of belief.
United played 64 matches this season, which is fairly remarkable when you compare it with the 48 games for Chelsea or 47 for Liverpool. The impact this number of fixtures had on the squad has been huge, with injuries and exhaustion seeing United’s performances almost grind to a halt in the final weeks of the season. They will, however, now avoid the Thursday-Sunday playing schedule which had a damaging impact on their league form this term.
The future is looking bright at Old Trafford as a result, although fans should be mindful of not getting too carried away, even if their celebrations this week are totally justified. It has been a horrific time for Manchester and while a trophy obviously does not make amends for what happened, it does explain why supporters appreciate the opportunity to come together and celebrate even more than usual.
Another trophy, though, does not paper of the cracks of what, in some respects, has been a poor season for United. They have not managed good results away from home against the top teams, while they have struggled to kill off weaker opposition at Old Trafford.
United will need to be much more clinical in front of goal next season if they want to mount a title challenge. It is little surprise that Antoine Griezmann, with an average of 28 goals a season for the past three years, has been strongly linked with the club. Thanks to Champions League football, the presence of his friend and compatriot Paul Pogba and the world-class ability of Mourinho, United will be an appealing destination for him.
Things are still not perfect at United and rival fans will continue to make digs over finishing sixth and winning less impressive trophies. Yet for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, United supporters can realistically start to believe they are heading in the right direction as they attempt to return to the glory days.
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