Bilbao, Spain: Brennan Johnson’s scrappy first-half strike secured a 1-0 win for Tottenham Hotspur over Manchester United in the Europa League final, ending the London club’s 17-year wait for silverware on Wednesday night at San Mames Stadium.
The result handed Spurs their first European trophy since 1984 and a ticket to next season’s UEFA Champions League, while condemning Manchester United to their worst finish in decades, missing out on European football altogether.
The final lacked quality and composure as Spurs and United, finishing 16th and 17th in the Premier League respectively, played a tense, error-laden contest.
The decisive moment for the Lily Whites came in the 42nd minute when a cross from Pape Matar Sarr found Johnson, whose clumsy flick ricocheted off Luke Shaw and back onto his own boot before creeping over the line past a stranded Andre Onana.
The second half saw Spurs retreat, ceding possession and absorbing pressure. They registered just three shots, only one on target, and ended the match with 27% possession.
Still, the North Londoners survived, thanks in part to a sensational goal-line clearance from Micky van de Ven, who acrobatically denied Rasmus Højlund after keeper Guglielmo Vicario had misjudged a cross.
Despite Tottenham’s triumph, manager Ange Postecoglou is still under intense pressure after a woeful Premier League campaign. He, however, stuck to his promise of delivering silverware in his second season at any club, and the Australian was defiant before the final, declaring he was “not a clown”, and walked away with vindication under the floodlights in Bilbao.
“This is what it’s all about,” said winger Brennan Johnson. “Ever since I came here, it’s been, ‘Tottenham are a good team, but they never get it done’, we got it done!”
A Fall from Grace for United
For Manchester United, it was a bitter end to a dismal season. The defeat marked their 22nd loss of the campaign and a fourth at the hands of Spurs. Chants of “Ruben Amorim” echoed from the United faithful, a show of support for their under-fire coach, who admitted the trophy would not have masked the deeper issues plaguing the club.
“We managed not to score again, that makes it hard to win matches,” Amorim admitted post-match.
Luke Shaw, at fault for the goal and later denied by Vicario, summed up the mood: “For a club like Manchester United, it’s nowhere near good enough.”
The result means United will not play in Europe for only the second time in 35 years, while Spurs lift their third Europa League title, and perhaps find a new chapter under a manager many had already written off.
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