Football writer Tom Prentki reports on the all-Premier League final of the UEFA Europa League, at San Mames stadium in Bilbao.
Tottenham Hotspur’s 17-year wait for silverware is over. For the fourth time this season, they beat Manchester United and turned the bleakest of campaigns into a night of glittering European triumph.
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Never had there been a European final with two teams placed so far down the domestic tables, with Man Utd currently 16th in the Premier League and Spurs 17th, after a staggering 39 league defeats between them this season.
Yet the occasion will now forever be etched in Spurs' history, a first European trophy since 1984, even if there wasn’t much for the neutral to get excited about.
Spurs' goalscorer Brennan Johnson has said it is a moment which more than makes up for a disappointing domestic campaign.
"This season has not been good at all, but not one of us players care about that now," said Johnson. "This team has not won a trophy for 17 years, it means so much. All the fans get battered, we get battered for not winning a trophy. We had to get the first one, I'm so happy."
Postecoglou has a place in Spurs folklore
Ange Postecoglou, the Spurs head coach, has long been castigated for a style of play which has so often seen his team look far too open.
Ironically, this was a heroic rearguard action from his players who were camped in their own defensive third for long periods of the second half, though Man Utd never managed to mount an intense wave of attacks.
Postecoglou will go down in club folklore after he succeeded where Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte failed before him: winning a trophy. After the club’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal in the North London derby last September, the Australian declared, "I always win things in my second year." He was right.
"I’m still trying to take it all in," he said. "I know what it means for this football club and unfortunately, the longer it goes on, the harder it is to break that cycle.
"Just what it means to them (the supporters) it’s incredible. I’ve always felt that knockout football is different from league football.
"Us finishing third wasn’t going to change anything, the only thing that was going to change anything was us winning something."
Amorim: I'm not defending myself
The result in Bilbao means that Man Utd end a dismal season without the compensation of a place in next season’s Champions League.
Ruben Amorim insisted that a Man Utd triumph would "not change so much" given how poor his team’s domestic campaign has been – their worst in the top flight for more than half a century - but instead stated that "the most important thing is the feeling of winning."
"In this moment, I am not going to be here defending myself, it’s not my style," said Amorim. "I have nothing to show to our fans. I’m always open. If the board and the fans feel that I am not the right guy, I will go in the next day without compensation. I will continue to do things the way I know."
Line-ups: Son among subs, Mount in for Ugarte
Spurs' talisman Son Heung-min was left on the bench and with a midfield consisting of Pape Sarr, Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur, Postecoglou appeared to have opted for a pragmatic selection.
For Man Utd, Mason Mount’s recent form earned him a start with Manuel Ugarte the player to miss out whilst Luke Shaw also returned to the starting 11.
It was Man Utd who made the brighter start with Rasmus Hojlund prominent in the opening minutes and teeing up a chance for Bruno Fernandes to shoot, an effort which struck Mount and deflected to safety.
Johnson threatens, then provides the breakthrough
Understandably perhaps, the early stages were tense and scrappy but Spurs came close when Johnson nipped past Harry Maguire and forced Andre Onana into a reaction save. At the other end, Amad gave Spurs a scare when he got in down the right and flashed the ball across goal with Hojlund and Casemiro unable to connect.
Amad was Man Utd's biggest threat with Destiny Udogie and Richarlison often caught too far forward on Spurs’ left to recover and block him.
With the game petering out towards half-time, Spurs struck out of nowhere. Bentancur drove down the left and found Sarr who swung his cross dangerously towards Johnson at the near post, where a combination of his pressure and Shaw’s arm saw the ball bobble past Onana.
Spurs' plans to disrupt Man Utd continued into the second half and would have pleased Postecoglou even if it didn’t do much for the spectacle.
Richarlison picked up a booking for a petulant trip on Noussair Mazraoui and from the resulting free-kick, Leny Yoro got a touch which forced Guglielmo Vicario to flash out an arm and save.
Spurs then had an opening after a marauding counter-attack from Udogie saw him slip the ball to Dominic Solanke whose touch was too heavy and allowed Maguire to snuff out the danger.
Man Utd were struggling to create anything in open play but almost equalised when Vicario made a mess of collecting a free-kick and the ball broke free for Hojlund to head at goal, only to be denied by an incredible, acrobatic clearance on the line from Micky van de Ven.
Amorim then brought on Joshua Zirkzee and Alejandro Garnacho for the ineffective Mount and Hojlund and immediately they carried more threat.
Postecoglou responded by throwing on yet another defender, Kevin Danso, in place of the goalscorer Johnson as Spurs positioned everyone behind the ball and dug in.
They were forced to endure an excruciating seven minutes of added time and the Spurs boss brought on further reinforcements in the form of Archie Gray and Djed Spence to provide some much-needed fresh legs.
In the final minute of additional time, Vicario saved dramatically to his left as Shaw connected firmly with Diogo Dalot’s cross and after Spurs successfully defended one last corner, their 17-year wait for silverware was finally over.
