Villarreal vs Manchester United - Complete head-to-head record

Rooney in his pomp.
Rooney in his pomp. / David Ashdown/Getty Images
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The Europa League final this season has been confirmed as Villarreal will take on Manchester United in Gdansk on May 26th.

After 'El Submarino Amarillo' breezed past a hapless Arsenal 2-1 aggregate win, Unai Emery will compete in his fifth Europa League final having previously won the tournament three times with Sevilla.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has reached his first final as manager of the Old Trafford club after overcoming AS Roma in a thrilling two-legged affair, winning 8-5 on aggregate.

It will see the La Liga and Premier League clubs meet for a fifth time in their history, but what happened in their previous four encounters? Let us take a look back through the time machine and re-live every game.


1. Villarreal 0-0 Man United- 14/9/2005

Sir Alex Ferguson, Wayne Rooney
Rooney was sent off in the first fixture / Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

The first meeting between the two clubs came in the 2005 edition of the UEFA Champions League group stages.

A strong United team including Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Ruud van Nistelrooy came closest to breaking the deadlock when the Dutch striker had an effort cleared off the line, before Rooney saw red.

Rooney was booked before sarcastically applauding the referee to earn a second yellow.


2. Man United 0-0 Villarreal - 22/11/2005

Ruud Van Nistelrooy
Another goalless draw in the return game / Alex Livesey/Getty Images

The return fixture between the two sides later in the tournament was even less eventful than the first, with another goalless draw but no red card this time.

In a game that will be remembered more so as the first after the shock departure of Roy Keane from the club, United failed to break the La Liga side down or create really any chances of note.

The result proved to be a bad one for the Reds in the long run, as they failed to get out of the group stages following defeat to Benfica in the final group game, while Villarreal made it to the semi-finals before losing to Arsenal.


3. Man United 0-0 Villarreal - 17/9/2008

Manchester United's Portugese midfielder
Ronaldo returned from ankle surgery but couldn't break the deadlock either / PAUL ELLIS/Getty Images

The opening game of the 2008/09 group stages saw the two sides clash once again, as the holders were held to yet another 0-0 draw.

Ronaldo returned from ankle surgery off the bench and played 30 minutes and it was his cross that found Jonny Evans who headed off the post to come closest to scoring. Villarreal forward Guillermo Franco hit the bar too in an entertaining affair - despite the lack of goals.


4. Villarreal 0-0 Man United - 25/11/2008

Giuseppe Rossi, Rio Ferdinand
You guessed it, another 0-0 / Clive Mason/Getty Images

That's right - four games, four 0-0 draws.

This time in the Champions League though it wasn't bad news for United as they sealed progression into the next round, while Villarreal also made it through.

Ronaldo came closest with a strike that was tipped onto the crossbar, while Joan Capdevila was sent off for a high challenge on the Portuguese international late on in a pretty low key encounter.