Manchester United were crowned the champions of the UEFA Europa League 2016/17, when they trumped Dutch side AFC Ajax 2-0 at the Friends Arena, Stockholm, on Wednesday night.
With the win, the Red Devils got their hands on the third silverware of the first season under Jose Mourinho, having already won the FA Community Shield and the EFL Cup earlier in the season. The Europa League triumph also ensured a passage to the UEFA Champions League for United, after they missed out on qualification via a league finish, having finished 6th in the Premier League.
And here are three reasons why Premier League fans should be happy about United winning the Europa League:
Yes. With United winning the trophy, the Premier League will have five representatives in the next year’s UEFA Champions League.
The clubs that finished in the top three places in the league standings – champions Chelsea, runners-up Tottenham Hotspur and third-placed Manchester City all went through to the group stages of Europe’s elite competition, whereas 4th placed Liverpool will be entering the group stages of the competition if they win the qualifying round. And now United, with their win, have ensured a direct entry into the group stages.
This is certainly good news for the Premier League fans as it provides a great opportunity for the clubs to boost up the UEFA co-efficient for England, which will aid them in keeping hold of the four participating places in the Champions League for the coming years.
Without the appeal of Champions League last time around, United were able to pull off some spectacular deals to bring in some of the best players in the world in Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Now that their participation in the next year’s premier event of European football is confirmed, the Red Devils will definitely be able to attract more world-class players in the summer. There have been many stars linked with a move to Old Trafford in the summer, but as is the case with the best of the players, signing them would have hinged on United’s Champions League qualification. The victory against Ajax made that possible and soon we may get to see the likes of Antoine Griezmann plying their trade in the Premier League. While that may not be a pleasing thing for the other clubs, it will just be a great sight for the neutrals.
It is no secret that the Premier League clubs have struggled to perform in the continental stages. Season after season they have come up short against the other elite teams in Europe – Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich etc. On a few occasions, they have even been dumped out by far lesser teams too. As a result, there has been plenty of criticism drawn at English clubs and English football.
The last time an English club won the Champions League was back in the 2011-12 season when Chelsea beat Bayern Munich on penalties. No English team has made it to the finals after that. Liverpool made it to the finals of Europa League in the 2015-16 campaign but were beaten by Spanish side Sevilla.
There used to be a time in the 1970’s when English teams use to dominate the continental stages, but things haven’t been that way for a long time now. Hopefully, United winning the Europa League will kickstart another era of English clubs dominating the continental competitions.
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