Tottenham Hotspur’s title drought is finally over.
Spurs on Wednesday beat Manchester United 1-0 to win the UEFA Europa League final and lift their first European trophy in more than four decades.
It is the first major title for Tottenham since they won the English League Cup in 2008 and first European triumph since they won their second UEFA Cup — the equivalent of the Europa League now — in 1984.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Brennan Johnson squeezed in the winner at the end of the first half to help Spurs salvage a dismal season in which they are to finish near the bottom of the Premier League standings.
“This is what it’s all about,” Johnson said. “This club hasn’t won a trophy for 17 years. This is what it means, it means so much. Ever since I came here it’s been: ‘Tottenham are a good team, but can never get it done.’ We got it done.”
The title guarantees Spurs a spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League and brings some much-needed relief for manager Ange Postecoglou after he struggled to keep his team on track all year.
Photo: AFP
The victory in Europe’s second-tier competition comes six years after Tottenham fell short against Liverpool in the Champions League final.
Tottenham finished their Europa League campaign with 10 wins, three draws and two losses.
No team has won more games in the UEFA Cup-Europa League than Tottenham, UEFA data showed.
Photo: Reuters
Their 98th victory in the competition on Wednesday moved them clear of the joint record of 97 it previously held with AS Roma.
The defeat adds pressure on United coach Ruben Amorim, whose team sit in 16th place — just ahead of Tottenham — in the Premier League. The club have no part in any European competition next season.
“I am not going to talk about the future, tonight we need to deal with the pain of losing this match,” Amorim said. “We were the better team and the guys tried everything to win the game.”
Photo: AP
United came close to equalizing when a header by Rasmus Hojlund was acrobatically cleared at the goal line by Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven in the 68th minute. Deep into stoppage-time, a header by Luke Shaw prompted a difficult save by Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
“I still can’t believe what we’ve done tonight, it’s unbelievable,” Vicario said. “We have written history, in the real sense of the term. This group of players has written history in 2025. There was also one Micky van de Ven save, on the line. We knew before the game that we needed the effort from everyone and we did it, we delivered. Now we must celebrate.”
It had been an even match, with neither team creating many significant scoring opportunities until Tottenham got on the board in the 42nd minute after a cross by Pape Sarr into the area. The ball ricocheted off Shaw and fell in front of Johnson, who seemed to get just enough of it to poke it across the line.
“I knew I touched it and then I looked up because I didn’t catch it cleanly,” Johnson said. “Then the ball was trickling in the goal. I can’t describe the feeling.”
United pressed forward after conceding, but were not able to get the equalizer in front of a mostly split crowd of nearly 50,000 at Athletic Bilbao’s San Mames Stadium.
There were confrontations between the clubs’ supporters overnight as more than 50,000 English fans converged in Bilbao and other nearby Basque Country cities.
United had last won a trophy in last year’s FA Cup and their last European triumph was at the 2017 Europa League under manager Jose Mourinho. United had also lost the Europa League final to Villarreal in 2021.
The Red Devils lost all four matches against Tottenham this season and are winless against them in seven straight games, with the last six under Postecoglou.
Tottenham striker Son Heung-min, who came off the bench in the 67th minute, finally ended the title drought in his career. He was the one lifting the trophy in front of his teammates in the awards ceremony.
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