Senegal midfielder Pape Matar Sarr provided the decisive assist as Tottenham Hotspur ended their 17-year wait for a trophy by defeating Manchester United 1-0 in the UEFA Europa League final in Bilbao on Wednesday, Afrosport reports.
The fixture created a lot of buzz owing to the inconsistent form of the two teams in the Premier League where they sit in 16th (Man United) and 17th (Spurs) with one game left to play.
Winning the Europa League was therfore seen as the last glimmer of hope for either team especially as it offered a path to automatic qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League.
United had more of the ball in the first half but it was Tottenham who created the biggest chance in the half and entire game when Sarr whipped in a dangerous cross that caused problems in the box for the Red Devils, which Brennan Johnson latched on to and got a touch off Luke Shaw before going in.
Ruben Amorim’s side put more bodies forward in the second half in search of the equaliser, producing 11 total shots on target but none found the back of the net as Ange Postecoglou’s side held firm until the end of the final whistle.
The triumph is Tottenham’s first trophy since the 2008 EFL Cup final when they defeated Chelsea at Wembley.
EUROPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONS!!! pic.twitter.com/PQXyRSBvfb
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) May 21, 2025
It also justified Postecoglou’s earlier claim that he wins silverware in his second season in charge of clubs he has managed, previously doing that for South Melbourne and Brisbane Roar in his native Australia, Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan, Scottish giants Celtic and the Australia national team.
