Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Manchester United: UEFA Europa League final result as Spurs end 17-year trophy drought after Brennan Johnson winner

Europa League / Final
San Mamés / 21.05.2025
Live
Live Updates
18:25
DIMITAR BERBATOV’S SPLIT LOYALTIES
The TNT Sports coverage is underway and Dimitar Berbatov is one of those on site in Bilbao to give expert analysis.
Berba played for both of these clubs of course, so he can’t bring himself to support one team more than another tonight.
"I am in the middle, I am torn for sure... And ultimately, I'm going to be happy for the team that's going to win, but I'm going to be sad for the one that loses, because I play for both teams.
 "It's even more important for them [both teams] to win the trophy. Unfortunately there's only going to be one winner today. For the loser, it's going to be a dire season, because it will be the worst season in their history.
"So deep down, I think that Spurs need it more because for 17 years they haven't won a trophy, while in this time United have won a couple."
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Berbatov says loser of Europa League final will have had ‘worst season in their history'

Video credit: TNT Sports


18:20
WATCH THE BIGGEST EUROPEAN GAMES ON TNT SPORTS
This UEFA Europa League final is the first of four huge European finals that you can watch live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

18:15
VOTE: WHO WILL WIN THE UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL? 
The game is rapidly approaching. Who do you think will come out on top tonight in Bilbao?

18:10
A BIG DAY FOR THE FANS IN BILBAO
The atmosphere has been building in northern Spain for the past two days, with both sets of fans travelling in large numbers to Bilbao.
Down at the Spurs fan park there’s been plenty going on, with some top former players making appearances.
And Man Utd’s own fan park has been an excellent spot to be all day as the supporters ramped things up ahead of kick-off.

18:00
HOW TO WATCH THE 2025 EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL: TOTTENHAM V MAN UNITED
The Europa League final kicks off at 8pm UK time on Wednesday, May 21.
Coverage is live right now on TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate and discovery+, coming to you direct from the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao.
Tune in for expert analysis from a TNT team including Gareth Bale, Rio Ferdinand, Glenn Hoddle and Paul Scholes.

18:00
EXCLUSIVE BALE AND RIO Q&A: WHO WILL WIN THE EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL AND WHAT WILL THE SCORE BE?
The final question from our exclusive fan Q&A with Gareth Bale and Rio Ferdinand comes from @lucamanley434.
GARETH BALE:
"Tottenham will win the Europa League final. I think it'll be a tight game, but I think 2-1 Tottenham."
RIO FERDINAND:
"Man United will win 3-1. Bruno Fernandes will play a part in a couple of goals. Casemiro will be my bet for first goal."
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Best player in prime? Toughest opponent? EL final predictions? Bale, Rio Q&A

Video credit: TNT Sports


17:55
TEMPTED BY FOOTBALL MANAGEMENT?
Question from @prab9532.
RIO FERDINAND:
"No, I've got too many kids. I've got five kids who need me, need my full undivided attention, and I struggle giving it to them now. If I was a manager, they would get no attention, because you've got to be all in."
GARETH BALE:
"No, I would not be tempted to be a manager. I'm going grey enough as it is, so I don't need to be going greyer quicker!"
17:55
DO YOU HAVE ANY REGRETS FROM YOUR CAREER?
Question from @alfie.lovell12.
GARETH BALE:
"No, no regrets."
RIO FERDINAND:
"No regrets. Actually… yeah, I've got regrets! The games we lost, man, big games: FA Cup finals, Champions League finals. They spend more time in my head than the games we won and the cups we won."
17:50
ONE PLAYER THAT MAN UTD SHOULD SIGN THIS SUMMER?
Question from @br99_fitness.
RIO FERDINAND:
"I would go for Victor Osimhen."
[And now if money was no object – and any player would happily join?]
"I'd probably go and get Saliba, Vitinha and Mbappe. They would be my three."
17:45
DO YOU AGREE THAT BALE WAS THE GREATEST BRITISH PLAYER OF HIS GENERATION, AND AT ONE STAGE, WAS ONLY BEHIND MESSI AND RONALDO ON THE WORLD STAGE?
Question from @ryanmills75.
RIO FERDINAND:
"Yes, yes. For a period of time, a couple of years maybe, yeah, I would definitely say that."
17:45
WHO HAS BEEN THE MOST IMPRESSIVE PLAYER IN THE EUROPA LEAGUE THIS SEASON?
Question from @garrattjamie.
RIO FERDINAND:
"The most impressive player in the Europa League has been Bruno Fernandes. I think when United needed inspiration, he's the one who stepped up, with either a goal or an assist or a special moment, and he's led the team like a true captain."
17:45
MORE FROM ON THE GROUND IN BILBAO
Here’s TNT Sports reporter Ben Snowball with an update on what he’s seen from the Spurs supporters in Bilbao today:
"Next stop: Ametzola, where the Spurs fans have been gathering today. A stretch of intersections has been closed off, with supporters getting fired up by others balanced on top of traffic lights. There’s much more variety to the chants than what we heard from United fans – and while there was no singing for Ange Postecoglou during my visit, he was at least honoured in inflatable wallaby form. From our few days in the city, it feels like Spurs fans have turned out in greater numbers."
Now back to the Q&A.
17:40
WHO IS THE TOUGHEST PLAYER YOU'VE PLAYED AGAINST?
Question from @matty_euel.
RIO FERDINAND:
"There are a few players I played against who were tough. Raul at Real Madrid was top drawer, asked a lot of questions. Bergkamp, another one. Kevin Davis, people wouldn't expect him to be in this list. And R9 [Ronaldo], ridiculous."
GARETH BALE:
"I always say Micah Richards. I just always found it very difficult. He was big, strong, he was quick, hard to get around. So, yeah, I always say it was him."
[He's going to love that…]
"He knows!"
17:35
DO YOU THINK SPURS WOULD HAVE WON A TROPHY IF YOU HAD STAYED?
Question from @whitedonie.
GARETH BALE:
"I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. It's difficult to say."
17:35
GARETH, WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE GOAL YOU SCORED IN YOUR CAREER?
This question came in from @0anie1.
GARETH BALE:
"It would probably be my bicycle kick in the Champions League final. It was weird. I always say that it just kind of went in slow motion. It was obviously a sweet connection. And I remember turning my head and just seeing the ball float, and yeah, hit the net. It was like this weird pause, and then it just erupted. So, yeah, I have cool memories of it."
17:30
BEST MATCH YOU'VE EVER PLAYED IN?
Question from @jam.7__.
GARETH BALE:
"A Champions League final, probably the first one [ending Real Madrid's hunt for La Decima], just because you don't really know what to expect and how big the occasion is. It was cool. It was kind of why I was brought there, to be the final piece of the jigsaw, I guess. To do it in my first season after such a long wait for Real Madrid was rewarding, was great, and the celebrations were epic."
RIO FERDINAND:
"The best match I've ever played in was one where it all clicked. And I thought 'wow, this was just one of those nights'. And the manager said after 'you'll never get another moment like this, you're lucky to get one or two in your career'. It was Roma at home. It was 7-1 against a really good Roma team."
17:25
WHO INSPIRED YOU THE MOST GROWING UP?
Question from @m1.buabz.
RIO FERDINAND:
"Diego Maradona was the biggest inspiration I had. Probably closely followed by John Barnes. My first real memory of football was 1986 and Maradona was just absolutely showboating, razzle dazzle… And that goal against England was probably the best international goal we've ever seen."
GARETH BALE:
"My dad definitely inspired me the most. Giving up so much to work in multiple jobs, driving me hours and hours to training and back, and games and back. So yeah, my dad definitely inspired me the most."
17:20
AN UPDATE FROM BILBAO
Our journalist Ben Snowball is on the ground for TNT Sports in Bilbao and has sent this update through about what he’s seen around the city in the build-up to tonight’s game:
"Off on a pre-match jog around Bilbao to soak up the atmosphere. First stop: EtxebArria Park, home of the Manchester United fan zone - perched right at the top of a brutal hill. Or at least it was - it had almost emptied by the time I arrived. Back down the hill, the pubs are heaving with United fans. The only chant ringing out? "Ruben Amorim, he’ll bring the glory days again." Wherever you turn in this part of the city, that song’s in the air - whether belted out by a packed square or, as was the case at lunch, sung directly into my ear by a lone child. Brilliant backing for a manager currently 16th in the league and one defeat away from the worst season in the club’s modern history."
Ben will be chipping in with updates across the rest of the evening, but for now let’s get back to the Q&A.
17:15
HOW MUCH OF A HEAD START WOULD RIO NEED IN A 100-METRE RACE AGAINST YOU?
Question from @scottsummer2.
GARETH BALE:
"To beat me? He was quick, but I'd say he would need 10 metres. I reckon 10 metres would be a good race."
RIO FERDINAND:
"Right now, I'd need a 90-metre head start – and he still might catch me and beat me!"
17:10
WOULD PRIME BALE GET PAST PRIME RIO?
Question from @coby_cowdell.
GARETH BALE:
"I would like to think so. I think on my day with my speed, I'd like to think I'd have the confidence to get past anyone."
RIO FERDINAND:
"He got past me once at Old Trafford, but that wasn't prime Ferdinand. I'll let him have that! Every time I see him, he reminds me. So I think it would have been a great battle. I'd love to have gone up against him prime time, because he was a formidable player, massive, massive power, speed and guile. What a player."
[Would Bale now get past Rio now?]
"Yes! I'd outdo him in the gym, but on the pitch, it'd be the same as what we saw at Old Trafford…"
17:05
WHO WAS THE BETTER PLAYER IN THEIR PRIME: RIO OR BALE?
Question from @masxnn123.
RIO FERDINAND:
"Gareth Bale. You don't win that many Champions Leagues and have the moments that he's had… He's had iconic moments that will live on for generations and generations. Us defenders don't get afforded those moments at all in our lives. But no, he was a magnificent football player. I loved watching him and again, like I said, he created moments that were standalone moments."
GARETH BALE:
"I'd like to say myself! An attacker has always got to be a bit better than the defender, right?"