Top 10 iconic Manchester United games of the decade (2010-2019)

#8 Manchester United 2-0 Ajax – Europa League Final, 24th May 2017

Jose Mourinho's United claimed the Europa League in 2017 by beating Ajax

Just months after Jose Mourinho had claimed the EFL Cup as Manchester United boss, the Portuguese picked up another major trophy for the Red Devils in the form of the UEFA Europa League. The Red Devils defeated Dutch side Ajax in Stockholm to claim the title, punching their ticket back into the Champions League in the process despite finishing in 6th place in the Premier League, 7 points away from the top 4.

To make the match even more of an emotional occasion, it came just 24 hours after the horrific terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena that saw 22 people lose their lives. United dedicated their win to the victims, a classy gesture that won them plenty of neutral fans.

The game itself was a strangely straightforward one for Mourinho’s side, as they took the lead through a deflected Paul Pogba shot just before the 20 minute mark in the first half. A young Ajax team actually had more possession and shots than United, but never really seemed to be in the game once Pogba had scored, and when Henrikh Mkhitaryan added a second for United early after the half-time break, the trophy was only ever going one way.

With the victory, United became just the 5th side – after Juventus, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Ajax themselves – to claim the full quote of European trophies, following their victories in the Champions League and Cup-Winners Cup some years beforehand. As for Mourinho, the win meant that the Portuguese kept up his tremendous record of winning every European final he’d been involved in as a boss.