The Londoners certainly came out stronger in the game and took advantage of their opponents' defensive gaps. With Brennan Johnson, Solanke and Richarlison as the main figures in the attack, they caused many problems but failed to create a great opportunity. On the contrary, United were the first to threaten in the 16th minute with an excellent individual effort by their right winger, but left-footed Ahmed Diallo, and a diagonal shot that narrowly missed the left post of the Italian goalkeeper, Vicario.

And as the end of the first half approached, the situation changed. In the 42nd minute, Sarr crossed from the left and Johnson jumped in the path of the ball. Shaw tried to clear it and pushed it into the net. It was the 31st time that Manchester United had conceded a first goal this season. And no one can dispute that. Silence…

The second half was exciting and there were moments that will remain indelibly etched in the memory of the fans who watched it. One of them came in the 62nd minute when Tottenham launched an exemplary counterattack and Brazilian winger Richarlison brought England international forward Dominic Solanke into a one-on-one position, but the latter lost control and the opportunity to “lock” the game.

But the most shocking moment that will forever accompany the triumph of the "Spurs" occurred in the 68th minute. The Italian goalkeeper Vicario made an unsuccessful exit. The Danish forward Højlund headed the ball into the goal, but there... the Dutch stopper Van de Ven took off and with an incredible "airplane" saved it on the line.

From this point, the fire of the "Devils" went out. Tottenham easily controlled the game (exception, another save by Vicario in the 90+7th minute) and reached the historic victory that secures them a place in the Champions League (League Phase) of the next season.



A big moment for the north London club and a great vindication for Angelos Postecoglou who is now part of the "Walk of Fame" at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. As for Ruben Amorim's United, a sad season ended without a title and with 16th place in the Premier League in the worst period of its modern history.

Postecoglou's future uncertain

Meanwhile, the Greek coach still doesn't know if he will be at the helm of Tottenham next season, regardless of whether winning the Europa League will give him a 2 million euro bonus!

Angelos Postecoglou ended a 41-year curse since the last European trophy (in 1984 it was the UEFA Cup) and sent the "red devils" into uncharted waters (outside Europe and facing... financial hardship).

The Greek coach also made history by becoming the first football coach from Greece to add a European title to his trophy cabinet, at least at the men's level. In terms of finances, the "spurs" with their victory in Bilbao added 13 million euros to their coffers while the "red devils" were paid 7 million euros from the match in question alone, but they are deprived of much more.

Ferdinand

Rio Ferdinand has stopped short of blaming Luke Shaw for Tottenham's goal in the Europa League final - instead directing his frustration at Patrick Dorgu for his lack of communication.

The north Londoners scored the opening goal at the San Mames with Brennan Johnson the man on the spot. He was able to make a darting run and got a touch to send the ball goal-bound, sneaking in despite Andre Onana's desperate dive in the Manchester United goal.

Salah praises Postecoglou

Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah did not forget the promise that Angel Postecoglou had made at the beginning of the season and congratulated him after winning the Europa League with Tottenham.

“I always win a title in my second season. I say it now. And I don’t say things that I don’t believe,” Angel Postecoglou had said at the beginning of the season and he honored his words.

3rd Europa League in its History

Tottenham lifted a trophy in the sky of Bilbao! Angelos Postecoglou's team defeated Manchester United 1-0 in the final of "San Mames" and won the third Europa League in its history and its first European trophy since 1984.

Thus, it reached three victories, which is the same number as Juventus, Inter, Liverpool and Atletico Madrid, with Sevilla being the only one with more (7).

For its part, Manchester United failed to reach the top of the institution and was limited to just one Europa League victory, that of 2017 in the final against Ajax.

The “Golden Bible” of the Europa League

• 7 wins: Sevilla (2006, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020, 2023)

• 3 wins: Juventus (1977, 1990, 1993), Inter (1991, 1994, 1998), Liverpool (1973, 1976, 2001), Atletico (2010, 2012, 2018), Tottenham (1972, 1984, 2025)

• 2 wins: Gladbach (1975, 1979), Real Madrid (1985, 1986), Gothenburg (1982, 1987), Parma (1995, 1999), Feyenoord (1974, 2002), Porto (2003, 2011), Chelsea (2013, 2019), Eintracht Frankfurt (1980, 2022)

• 1 win: PSV (1978), Ipswich (1981), Anderlecht (1983), Leverkusen (1988), Napoli (1989), Ajax (1992), Bayern (1996), Schalke (1997), Galatasaray (2000), Valencia (2004), CSKA Moscow (2005), Zenit (2008), Shakhtar (2009), Manchester United (2017), Villarreal (2021), Atalanta (2024)