Tottenham beat Man United in Europa League final, clinch UCL spot
BILBAO, Spain — Tottenham Hotspur ended their 17-year wait for a trophy on Wednesday as Brennan Johnson’s 42nd-minute goal was enough to beat Manchester United 1-0 and win the Europa League.
Both clubs went into the game under massive pressure after hugely disappointing Premier League campaigns left United in 16th place and Spurs below them in 17th, but Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou kept his promise of always winning something in his second season.
Postecoglou was facing an uphill battle to save his job, but he has now delivered Spurs’ first trophy since 2008 and their first European hardware since 1984. They also secured a spot in the Champions League and an estimated £100 million in revenue at the expense of United, who face a season in the wilderness with no European football for the first time since 2014-15.
In a scrappy game short on quality here at Estadio de San Mamés, Johnson’s bundled effort from Pape Matar Sarr’s cross separated the teams and sparked jubilant celebrations for the Tottenham contingent among the 49,224 crowd.
“This season hasn’t been good at all, but I swear, not one of us players care about that,” Johnson said after the match. “This is what it’s all about; this club hasn’t won a trophy for 17 years. It means so much. All the fans get battered, we get battered for not winning a trophy. I’m so happy.
“Ever since I came here it’s been, ‘They’re a good team, but can never get it done.’ We got it done today.”
Spurs opted to leave captain Son Heung-Min on the bench while Ruben Amorim started Mason Mount ahead of Alejandro Garnacho.
A jubilant Postecoglou was surrounded by his staff at the final whistle.
On a night of high stakes, both goalkeepers contributed to a nervous start. Noussair Mazraoui was required to make a vital early intervention as André Onana was caught out trying to meet Pedro Porro’s right-wing cross.
At the other end, Guglielmo Vicario flapped at Bruno Fernandes’ 16th-minute corner and Amad Diallo flashed a shot across goal. Diallo looked the liveliest player on the pitch, but both teams were desperately short of quality in the final third.
The opening goal summed up the standard on show. Sarr swung in a cross from the left where Johnson and Luke Shaw went to meet it at the near post. The ball ricocheted off Shaw and past Onana, with Johnson getting the final touch.
United saw more of the ball after the break but struggled to create much of note. Leny Yoro tried to meet Fernandes’ 58th-minute free kick at the near post, but Vicario saved and Spurs scrambled it clear.
Tottenham were reduced to counterattacks, and Dominic Solanke should have done better when played in by Yves Bissouma, but his poor touch meant the opportunity was lost.
Son came on for Richarlison with 23 minutes remaining, but United created their best chance shortly afterwards as Vicario failed to deal with Fernandes’ ball into the box and Rasmus Højlund headed at goal only for Micky van de Ven to acrobatically clear the ball off the line.
It was Højlund’s final contribution, as moments later Amorim replaced him with Joshua Zirkzee as part of a double change with Garnacho on for Mount.
Fernandes then headed wide from Diallo’s cross before Garnacho forced Vicario into a low save to his left as United found some momentum. Spurs retreated still further as United continued to probe in a frantic finale.
Shaw forced a fine save from Vicario as the game went into stoppage time, but Tottenham held on for a moment of history.
Tottenham had won all three matches they have played against United this season and are unbeaten in six straight games against the Old Trafford side, with the last five under Postecoglou.
United and Tottenham had met in just one previous final — the 2009 League Cup, when Alex Ferguson’s Red Devils won 4-1 on penalties after a 0-0 draw.