Villarreal have woken up as Europa League champions this morning after narrowly beating Manchester United in an arduous Final at Gdansk Stadium last night.
The Spanish side won on penalties 11-10 after a marathon 120-minute game ended in a 1-1 draw.
The Spaniards played well despite it being their first major European final, taking the lead in the first half with a goal from Gerard Moreno following up from Dani Parejo’s free-kick.
The English side ended the first half one down but made it up early in the second half with Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford setting up a goal by Edinson Cavani.
90 minutes elapsed with no winner in sight and extra time proved fruitless. After two hours of play, the game went to penalties – only the second Europa League Final to ever do so.
In a nail-biting shootout, the teams matched each other, with all 20 field players scoring their shots and leaving it down to the goalkeepers.
At the last possible moment, Villarreal’s Rulli blocked the shot from Manchester’s de Gea to bring it to 11-10.
It’s the first major European trophy for the Yellow Submarine – marking them out as a growing threat in European football.
Fans celebrated the game throughout the city, especially in the old town with English and Spanish fans taking in the sights of Gdansk.
While the city was mostly very welcoming to the visitors, there were a few who caused trouble.
Two Gdansk men were arrested earlier in the week after an attack on visiting fans on Długi Targ by a group of so-called „hooligans”. The mob attacked fans and trashed outdoor restaurants on Tuesday evening.
Police are currently looking for others involved in the violence.
Belarus’s President Aleksandyr Lukasheka has said his country is being „strangled” after the EU and other Western nations tightened sanctions on the Eastern European country.
According to Belarusian state news agency BelTA, Lukashenka said „ill-wishers” had crossed „red lines (…) common sense, and human morals”.
His comments come as the US seems set to join the EU in increasing sanctions on higher-ups in the Belarusian state following the forced diversion of a Ryanair plane in order to arrest a government critic.
Raman Pratasevich was arrested by the Belarusian KGB at Minsk airport on Sunday. His family and friends have expressed concern for his safety and fear he may be tortured or executed.
Tomorrow will see the boldest step yet in Poland’s plan to reopen the economy.
From tomorrow, restaurants and cafes can reopen indoor seating after a 7 month-long shutdown.
Gyms, saunas, and swimming pools will also finally reopen, albeit under strict sanitary rules.
And attendance limits for weddings and other gatherings will be lifted to 50 people – but crucially, that limit does not include fully vaccinated people, who can attend without limits.
Lastly, from Monday, all school year groups will return to on-site learning.
The government is also considering further easing of restrictions in June – including reopening of nightclubs – if infection rates remain low.
The Polish language could soon be taught in schools on the tiny island of Jersey in the English channel.
The island, which is a self-governing British crown dependency, could soon add Polish to its school curriculum as an option minority language alongside Portuguese and Romanian, according to a report by UK broadcaster ITV News.
Polish is currently taught as an extracurricular subject outside of school time, but calls have been growing from parents and teachers to bring the language in-school, ITV reports.
If successful, the plan could give students the option to learn Polish all the way up to the GCSE exam level.
Weather
Rainy with a good chance for a few storms this afternoon.
Highs of 16°C, 60°F.
Looking like a cool weekend on the way before warming up as we head towards the end of the month.
