Gerard Moreno's Europa League Player of the Season award is well deserved

Gerard Moreno has been named the UEFA Europa League Player of the Season after leading Villarreal all the way to European glory for the first time in their history in the 2020/21 campaign.

The 29-year-old striker has become the first Spanish player to be awarded the aforementioned prize, one which started from the 2016/17 edition of the tournament.

However, Gerard is the second LaLiga Santander player to get this accolade after Antoine Griezmann received the award back in 2017/18, following Atletico Madrid's triumph over Marseille in the final.

Moreno received 289 points, with Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes coming second with 160 points. Fernandes' club teammates Edinson Cavani and Paul Pogba received 44 and 36 points respectively.

The voting was held by a jury consisting of the coaches of the 48 clubs in last season's group stage, along with 55 journalists, one from each UEFA member association.

Impressive in the Europa League

Gerard was one of the four players who netted seven goals in last season's Europa League, as he was top scorer of the tournament along with Benfica midfielder Pizzi, Lille midfielder Yusuf Yazici and Roma forward Borja Mayoral.

The Villarreal striker didn't score a single goal in the group stage but netted in all his team's knockout ties bar the semi-final against Arsenal, while he also registered five assists.

Moreno found the back of the net twice on home soil against Red Bull Salzburg, and he also scored two against Dynamo Kyiv, two against Dinamo Zagreb and then Villarreal's sole goal in the final against Manchester United.

Villarreal's historic Europa League campaign

Having never reached a European final up until last season, the Yellow Submarine managed to make it to their first-ever Europa League decider, where they faced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Manchester United.

Gerard Moreno put Villarreal ahead just before the half-hour mark, but Cavani equalised after the break to send the game to extra time.

The final was decided on penalties, as David de Gea missed the crucial spot-kick, one which was saved by hero Geronimo Rulli and allowed Villarreal to lift the trophy at the Stadion Energa Gdansk in Poland.