Man United vs Spurs Europa final an indictment of the level required in the auxiliary competition

Daily Maverick

21-05-2025

On Wednesday night two teams who have toiled in the Premier League, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, will battle for European glory.
The Europa League final between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur has raised questions about the competitiveness and quality of Europe's second-tier competition. The sides come into the decider of the auxiliary continental contest against a backdrop of horrendous form in the English Premier League.
The finalists have an identical record in the league over the past five matches – four defeats and a draw each. As a result, they languish just above the relegation zone, with Spurs in 17th spot on the table after a meagre haul of just 38 points from 37 matches.
The Red Devils, who are one place above Spurs on the table, are only marginally better than the Londoners. United are on 39 points after 37 matches, in their worst season in decades.
That is the background as the two sides head to Bilbao for the Europa final on Wednesday night. Interestingly, even though a run of consecutive wins in the Premier League has been as mythical as a unicorn for the Red Devils this campaign, they arrive in the final undefeated in Europe this season.
Spurs have been in similarly consistent form on their trek to the final, only losing twice in their 14 matches leading up to this stage of the competition.
Not a good look
These two English teams outlasting all their opponents to be the last sides standing raises some important questions. Is the standard of Europa League so poor that two teams languishing near the relegation zone in their league can be contesting its final?
What of the competition's prestige, which has generally been nonexistent in any case? The Union of European Football Associations (Uefa) has tried to boost the profile of its auxiliary competition over the years.
This includes amending its rules in 2014 to allow winners of the Europa automatic passage into the European Champions League, regardless of where they place in their domestic leagues. The incentive will see Spurs or United playing in the world's premier club competition next season, to the dismay of some people.
This includes former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who recently argued that this rule erodes the prestige of the Champions League.
'[Winners of the Europa] should qualify automatically for the Europa League again but not necessarily for the Champions League,' Wenger argued on beIN Sports recently.
'On the other hand, people will tell you that to keep the Europa League participants focused, interesting and motivated you need to give them that prize (of qualifying for the Champions League),' he added.
Consolation prize
Of course, having United and Spurs fighting in the final (in spite of their domestic struggles) may also be a nod to the quality of the Premier League. Commercially, the English top-flight draws in billions of eyeballs globally, hence it is considered the best.
Now the hierarchy of the league can also brag that two teams that have had awful individual campaigns in the league are duelling for European glory. But for the teams themselves, considering their high standards, success in the final will be a mini plaster on a gaping and bleeding wound.
'It's hard to speak about everything we need to change at this moment because we need to be excited and confident for the final, but we already know the problems we have,' United manager Ruben Amorim said.
'There are a lot of things we need to change in our club. It's hard to point to one thing. That will not be solved by winning a cup. I will say it again, for me we have bigger things to deal with to put this club back to the top,' the Portuguese tactician added.
Amorim's sentiments were reinforced by his compatriot and Red Devils captain Bruno Fernandes, who said that if the team wins in Bilbao, it would mean they have been successful only in the Europa, but overall, they've had a season to forget.
'Obviously we know we talk about the Europa League and Europa League is everything that is in our minds because we will play the final tomorrow, but that only means that we were successful in this tournament,' Fernandes stated. 'In the Premier League we haven't been as good as we want.'
In the Spurs camp there has been less self-criticism, despite the London team being on course for its worst finish in the Premier League era.
Manager Ange Postecoglou has acknowledged that where they find themselves on the log table is not good enough. Within that, though, he has pointed out that Spurs are in line to win their first major trophy since lifting the Carabao Cup in 2008 – an achievement he hopes might save his job.
'There are so many years without winning a trophy. If I was worried about my tenure with this club, it's fair to say that we wouldn't be in this position, because I would have been too distracted with unimportant things,' Postecoglou said.
'My job here is not done. I really feel like we were building something here and what a trophy does is hopefully accelerate this,' the Australian added.
The final kicks off at 9pm on Wednesday, 21 May. It will be a roller coaster match for the clubs' fans as they hope to celebrate a consolatory victory after their teams' horrendous seasons. DM