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Ajax star Davy Klaassen slams ‘lucky’ Manchester United over long-ball tactics in Europa League final win

Jose Mourinho's side sat deep and played direct football to great effect against Dutch rivals

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AJAX star Davy Klaassen has slammed Manchester United's long-ball tactics and labelled their victory "lucky."

Jose Mourinho set his side out to sit deep and fire the ball directly to Marouane Fellaini or Marcus Rashford.

 A dejected Davy Klaassen walks past the Europa League trophy
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A dejected Davy Klaassen walks past the Europa League trophyCredit: Reuters

And while Klaassen admits his side were not good enough, he claimed United's negative mentality was partly to blame.


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He told RTL7 : "We were simply not good enough. It is very difficult against a team like that.

"You know they are just waiting and then kick it long. They scored two lucky goals.

"We didn't start well. We had a bit more possession after 15, 20 minutes or so. They just waited around. Both of their goals were lucky.

"There were not an awful lot of real chances. We tried to play our way through, but we were not good enough. It will have something to do with our opponent.

";They knew exactly what to do. And when you are not on top of your game, it is very difficult."

United took the lead through Paul Pogba's deflected strike before Henrikh Mkhitaryan improvised brilliantly to hook in from close range.

 Jose Mourinho got his tactics spot on as United dominated their Dutch rivals despite having none of the ball
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Jose Mourinho got his tactics spot on as United dominated their Dutch rivals despite having none of the ballCredit: Getty Images
 Klaassen felt both of United's goal were lucky
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Klaassen felt both of United's goal were luckyCredit: Reuters

Peter Bosz agreed with Klaassen's comments - claiming both sides played their part in making the showpiece a dull affair.

He said: "I'm disappointed because you play finals to win them. We didn't.

"I haven't seen the Ajax that I'm used to, which means good football, high pressing and being dominant.

"High pressing was difficult because Man United only played long balls and didn't take any risks in the build-up.

"I think it was a boring game. There were no chances from both sides."

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