Diego Forlan . . . that is the name that will forever be written in gold when the yarn of the maiden edition of the Europa League grand final is spun; for the day belonged to him! The Atletico Madrid striker broke the hearts of the Liverpool faithful, dolling out a brace of goals on either side of the semi-final tie to send the Reds crashing out of the Europa League. He did it again on Thursday night in the final against Fulham, slotting in yet another brace in a dogged game that needed the strain of extra time to separate the two sides. Before the game, Forlan stated that fetching goals in the Europa League final will bring him greater satisfaction than those that knocked Liverpool out of contention for the title. The former Manchester United forward was thrilled to hit the target in each leg of the semi-final, but he had an agenda going into the final at Hamburg: ". . . if I score against Fulham it will mean even more [to me]. And I will be going all out to try to score and win the cup.” Making a telling impact at the Hamburg Arena that will outshine his heroics against the Reds was his dream. Hear him, “I've imagined winning the cup and I have pictures in my mind!'' Europa League final glory was the Golden Fleece he sought after, and he captured it with a panache worthy of a top striker! Fulham and Madrid played their hearts out in a game that lived up to the pundits’ expectations: they sold the brand of football worthy of a final such as it was - a classic match by any standard! Two classic first-half goals worth a King’s ransom: Madrid’s Forlan threw down the gauntlet with a classic screamer in the 32nd minute, and Fulham’s Simon Davis countered in like fashion 5 minutes later; and that was how the first half ended – in a 1-1 stalemate. The second half was a balanced game that saw countless forays, blistering attacks and counter attacks, gallant defending, shots at goal, brilliant goal-keeping and near misses. It was however a barren half that recorded no further goals: that was how the 90-minute regulation period ended. For countless Ghanaians who thronged the various viewing arenas across the country to enjoy the Multi TV BIG SCREEN EXPERIENCE, their biggest disappointment was the ominous exclusion of compatriot John Paintsil in the Fulham starting line-up. As the match progressed, the consistent overlapping forays of the Black Stars’ stalwart defender in a Fulham game was sorely missed. Fulham also pined for a full-flight contribution of half-fit talismanic Bobby Zamora, the club’s top scorer this season with 19 goals, who had to be substituted in the 55th minute. Zamora suffered an Achilles injury that required a pain-killing injection two weeks ago.