One game to save a season: Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur set for all-or-nothing showdown in UEFA Europa League final
Updated 21/05/2025 at 08:59 GMT+1
The UEFA Europa League final might be the last thing you'd expect from two clubs languishing in 16th and 17th, but for Manchester United and Tottenham, Bilbao offers salvation. It's been a brutal season for both teams domestically - one to swiftly forget unless it ends in silverware and a UEFA Champions League ticket. We look ahead to a huge showdown at San Mames Stadium on Wednesday night.
Postecoglou: Europa League win would be ‘enormous’ for ‘legend’ Son and Spurs as a whole
Video credit: TNT Sports
When 16th meets 17th with only one game of the domestic calendar to go, the R-word is never far away. Certainly, "trophy" and "Champions League qualification" are not in the conversation.
But in this most peculiar of seasons, Manchester United and Tottenham will park their dismal campaigns at home, safe in their top-flight status courtesy of a historically poor bottom three, and square off in the UEFA Europa League final.
How their seasons are remembered in the years to come rests entirely on Wednesday's all-or-nothing showdown in Bilbao. For the winners, a return to European football's top table and the riches that come with it. For the losers, nothing to conceal their lowest finish in Premier League history.
So how did we get here? Why is it so important? And who needs it more?
A Premier League horror show
Scrub the bottom three from the Premier League, and United have taken 23 points from 31 games. Old Trafford, once a fortress, has seen nine top-flight defeats this season. Spurs, somehow, have been even worse, with 21 league defeats home and away - only two fewer than relegated Ipswich Town.
The last time either side won in the league against a team not called Southampton, Leicester City or Ipswich, was Tottenham... against Manchester United. Back in February.
Only five clubs have ever reached a European final and finished 15th or lower in their domestic league. That number will likely rise to seven by Sunday evening, unless one of United or Spurs sneaks into 14th on the final day.
| Team | Competition | Season | League position |
| Birmingham City | Inter-Cities Fairs Cup | 1958-60 | 19 |
| Birmingham City | Inter-Cities Fairs Cup | 1960/61 | 19 |
| West Ham United | Cup Winners' Cup | 1975/76 | 18 |
| Bordeaux | UEFA Cup | 1995/96 | 16 |
| Espanyol | UEFA Cup | 1987/88 | 15 |
"Both teams haven't been at their best this season, let's put it that way," says former Spurs manager and TNT Sports pundit Glenn Hoddle ahead of the clash.
"Spurs have got a bigger excuse than Manchester United in the fact they had 10 or 11 players out at some stage. I think United haven't really settled into Ruben Amorim's shape and he's persisted with it.
"And I think Spurs are conceding too many goals and are too easy to play against."
Amorim and Ange in the spotlight
Their seasons may have unravelled in parallel, but Ruben Amorim and Ange Postecoglou are facing very different kinds of pressure.
Postecoglou's future remains a live debate, not helped by a spiky press conference on Tuesday where he fired back at a journalist: "I’m not a clown and never will be," after a column claimed he was "teetering between a hero and a clown."
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‘I’m not a clown’ – Postecoglou calls out journalist by name in fiery response
Video credit: TNT Sports
He’s well known for delivering silverware in his second season - a stat many have clung to as Spurs’ season has collapsed. But speaking to TNT Sports prior to that press conference, he said critics were twisting that narrative into an "irritant" to undermine him. Still, "the fact that they’re still talking about it means that there’s still a chance for it."
Amorim, for his part, may be safer in his job, but he’s hardly disguised his contempt for how the season has gone. In December, he admitted relegation was "a possibility"; barely three weeks later, he labelled his squad "maybe the worst team" in United’s history.
Even as the final looms, he’s been reluctant to talk about redemption. Winning the Europa League wouldn’t "save" the season, he said - though he did admit to TNT on Tuesday that he feels he "owes" the fans a title after everything they’ve endured.
Spurs' slide from title talk to trouble
Just 18 months ago, Spurs were flying. Eight wins and two draws from Postecoglou’s first 10 games had them top of the Premier League. Then came Chelsea.
It looked to be going smoothly when captain Son Heung-min stroked Spurs into a two-goal lead inside 15 minutes. But VAR ruled it out, then intervened to send off Cristian Romero and award Chelsea a penalty. By half-time, Micky van de Ven and James Maddison had limped off. Destiny Udogie was dismissed after the break. Spurs lost 4-1. Postecoglou’s honeymoon was over.
Since that chaotic night, only Wolves have a worse points-per-game record among clubs who featured in both the 2023/24 and 2024/25 Premier League seasons.
Premier League points per game since November 6, 2023
| Team | Points per game |
| Liverpool | 2.20 |
| Arsenal | 2.13 |
| Manchester City | 2.06 |
| Chelsea | 1.80 |
| Aston Villa | 1.75 |
| Newcastle United | 1.66 |
| Bournemouth | 1.48 |
| Fulham | 1.39 |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 1.38 |
| Nottingham Forest | 1.38 |
| Crystal Palace | 1.34 |
| Everton | 1.28 |
| Manchester United | 1.27 |
| Brentford | 1.22 |
| West Ham United | 1.22 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 1.20 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1.17 |
(stats via Opta)
Europe has been the lifeline. After losing the first leg of their last-16 tie at AZ Alkmaar, Spurs began to grind out results - including a gritty 1-0 victory over 2022 winners Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarters - to reach the final.
"When we defend properly, when we play with our full-backs alongside our centre-backs, we're a hard side to play against," says Hoddle.
"We've got enough at the top of the pitch. You've got to be able to defend well against top teams - and we haven't defended properly and been too easy to play against. To lose 21 games in a season is far, far too many."
Manchester United: the struggle goes on
Since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure in 2013, no United manager has delivered a league title - and they’ve rarely felt further from one.
| Manager | Points per game |
| Jose Mourinho | 1.89 |
| Ole Gunnar Solskjaer | 1.81 |
| Louis van Gaal | 1.79 |
| Erik ten Hag | 1.72 |
| David Moyes | 1.68 |
| Ralf Rangnick | 1.54 |
| Ruben Amorim | 0.92 |
But although Amorim’s league form is poor, none of United’s recent bosses have engineered a European run quite like this - not least the incredible quarter-final comeback against Lyon.
Trailing by two with seven minutes of extra time remaining, Bruno Fernandes scored from the spot. Kobbie Mainoo made it 6-6 on aggregate with a brilliant equaliser in the 120th minute. Then, in stoppage time, makeshift striker Harry Maguire nodded in the winner.
That was followed by arguably their performance of the season: a 3-0 away win at Athletic Club in the semi-final first leg, at the very stadium they’ll return to on Wednesday night.
United have downplayed the stakes, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe insisting any celebrations would go no further than a team BBQ. But given the route here - and the Champions League ticket up for grabs - fans may feel differently.
Who needs it more?
Two sides in desperate need of a lift. One game to banish the league woes - or cement an embarrassing season.
"I think they've got different reasons for wanting to win," says former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand.
"Obviously Spurs haven't won a trophy for many years, and for every fan that gets into an argument, their inability to win trophies is one of the first jabs that they get. So that'll be a great monkey off their back.
"But for Man Utd, obviously the Champions League, the recruitment of players and what it could do for morale as well… after a terrible, shocking season, in terms of Premier League form, it could be a massive, massive boost."
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