Tottenham Hotspur 1–0 Manchester United Player Ratings: Spurs Clinch a Fascinating Win and Lift Europa League After 17 Years Wait

The UEFA Europa League, which began with 36 teams competing for silverware and a spot in the UEFA Champions League, culminated after an exciting showdown in the Finals. It was an all-English final for the sixth time in a European competition, and Spurs were included in three of them. It had been decades since United and Spurs last met in a continental competition.

Both teams came into this match after a poor display of performance domestically. Spurs ranked 17th in the Premier League points table, and Manchester United were just a point and a spot ahead of their immediate opponents. From standing on the brink of relegation to almost making it to the UEFA Europa League, what a story it has been for both teams in the UEFA Europa League.

Spurs began their campaign strongly after winning 5 out of their first 8 matches and securing a direct spot in the Round of 16. However, they got a mini heartbreak after AZ Alkmaar headed into the second leg with a goal advantage, but Ange Postecoglou's men got the better of them in the second leg at home, storming their way into the Quarter Finals.

In the Quarter Finals, they faced former Europa League winners, Eintracht Frankfurt. Spurs managed to win the tie after beating the German outfit 2-1 on aggregate. While their struggle continued domestically, they managed to take a gigantic 3-1 lead in the first leg of the semi-finals against Bodo Glimt and won the match by an aggregate score of 5-1.

Manchester United, on the other hand, had a fairytale ride in the Europa League. The Red Devils were the only side to remain unbeaten throughout the competition. After finishing third after the first 8 matches, United got the better of Real Sociedad 5-2 to advance into the Quarter Finals. Their quarter-final game against Lyon was one for the history books as they overcame the French challenge in an aggregate score of 7-6 to make it to the semi-finals. Their semi-final match was against the host of the Europa League Finals, Athletic Bilbao. United thrashed Bilbao 7-1 in aggregate to destroy the Spanish outfit's hopes of playing the Europa League Finals in front of their home fans.

Talking about the head-to-head records of both teams, Spurs were unbeaten against United in their last five encounters and also registered three back-to-back wins, and they headed into this game as the ultimate favourites. However, a lot of injury concerns in the squad, be it the cloud of uncertainties that revolved around the possible inclusion of James Madisson, Dejan Kulusevski, Lucas Bergval, and the rumours of Ange Postecoglou's departure from North London, made things a bit more concerning for Spurs. However, the Australian gaffer tried his best to keep the momentum high for this encounter.

Manchester United had a golden chance to avenge their previous defeats against Spurs and also win the Europa League and secure a promotion into the UCL. Despite a horrible domestic form, they were unarguably the best side in the Europa League and headed into the finals as the only unbeaten team.

This was the fourth time in the history of the Europa League to feature two sides from the same country in the Finals. Previously, it included Porto and Sporting Braga from Portugal, Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao from Spain, and Chelsea and Arsenal from England.

The Europa League was preceded by the UEFA Cup, and Spurs were the winners of the first edition, and they managed to win it twice in the 1983-84 season. After the Europa League took over in 2009, there has been a constant domination by Spanish teams. In the 16-year history of this competition, Spanish teams have won it nine times, whereas English teams have won thrice that including Manchester United as well, who got the better of Ajax in the Finals of the 2016-17 Europa League that took place at the Friends Arena in Solna, Sweden.

It was all now or never, do or die encounter for both sides. A win would have taken them to the topmost division of European club competitions, the UEFA Champions League, while a loss would have landed them nowhere, putting all their efforts to play continental football in vain.

An hour before the kickoff, the lineups sent shockwaves. Ange Postecoglou's side was led by Cristian Romero and not their regular captain, Heung Min Son, who was starting from the bench, suspecting some signs of an injury. United also named an unconventional lineup that saw Ruben Amorim prioritising young guns like Dorgu and Yoro over Lindelof and Dalot. Manchester United had some big names like Eriksen, Garnacho, Zirkzee, Mainoo, and Ugarte on the bench.

Spurs, meanwhile, relied on Yves Bissouma to take charge of their midfield. Their bench strength lacked power but had impactful names like Wilson Odobert, Tel, Djed Spence, Moore, and most importantly, captain Heung Min Son, who could completely change the trajectory of the game. Let's dive deep into the Spurs vs Manchester United player ratings.

The Spurs players had decided to do the team huddle in front of their vociferous and passionate supporters. The San Mames Stadium in Bilbao can see patches of red and white as United and Spurs fans have completely taken over the stadium. Over 50000 people were in attendance for this match to be a part of the history books.

Spurs had a nervy start to the game after a mishap in the defence, but soon the North London outfit started taking control of the game after winning corner after corner. Amad Diallo came so close to breaking the deadlock in the 16th minute. The referee cautioned players from both teams to be careful after some chaos in the D-box.

Spurs constantly kept mounting the pressure, and their efforts paid off. A lovely cross from Sarr saw Brennan Johnson find the back of the net in the 42nd minute. A not-so-impressive goal, but surely that goal would be etched in the hearts and souls of the Lilywhites fans until their last breath. Spurs led the first half 1-0.

The second half saw United pushing harder for the equaliser, and they kept inching closer many times, but the Spurs' defence was rock solid to allow any penetration into the box.

Vicario made a huge blunder in the 67th minute after mishandling the ball, and United almost found the equaliser. But that world-class goal line clearance from Micky van de Ven saw Spurs still leading the game.

As the clock kept ticking away, the heart rates were increasing, and United kept pushing for an equaliser. But the Spurs were resilient enough to hold onto their lead. Heung Min Son was subbed in, and Romero handed over the captain's armband to the South Korean. Ruben Amorim also brought in Garnacho and Zirkzee to engage more men in the Spurs' defensive half.

Spurs fans had already started chanting hymns of glory as a long 17-year wait for a major trophy almost came to an end. Ange Postecoglou and the Spurs players looked forward to putting their heart and soul into defending the slender lead. Here are the Spurs vs Manchester United player ratings.

Spurs Player Ratings vs Man United

GK - Guglielmo Vicario - 7

The Italian custodian had a nervy start to the game after misjudging the ball. But he slowly started taking control of this game, and his safe hands kept United away from scoring a goal.

RB - Pedro Porro- 7.5

Every corner saw Pedro Porro gearing up to take the set pieces in the absence of Son. But he made those overlapping runs from the right flank to constantly put pressure on United.

CB - Cristian Romero- 8

The Argentine World Cup winner led his team from the back and delivered a strong defensive performance to keep United quiet in the first half and throughout the game as well.

CB - Micky van de Ven- 8.5

The Dutch centre back got cautioned by the referee a lot of times and finally picked up a yellow in the first few minutes of the second half.

LB - Destiny Udogie- 7

Udogie was completely outplayed by Amad Diallo tonight and made a lot of mistakes. He often exposed the left flank, and almost all United attacks in the first half came from the left part of the pitch only.

RM - Pape Sarr - 8

Sarr looked agile and tried to make himself available to grab even the minutest chances. His cross made the assist for Johnson to score, and that cross would be remembered for a long time in North London.

CM - Yves Bissouma- 9

The Malian midfielder did stand up to the responsibilities entrusted to him. Not only did he trouble United in the midfield, but he was also actively involved in helping his team offensively.

LM - Rodrigo Bentancur- 7

The Uruguayan midfielder didn't have much to do after Sarr and Bissouma ran the midfield show for Spurs. He did well enough to control the tempo of the game after Spurs took the lead.

RW - Brennan Johnson- 8.5

The Welsh winger opened the scoreline for Spurs tonight after a lovely chip in the last few minutes of the first half. His goal took the momentum in Spurs' favour.

CF - Dominic Solanke - 6.5

Solanke could not make much of an impact tonight, but he did everything right to put pressure on the United backline constantly.

LW - Richarlison - 7

Richarlison's selection over Sonny did raise a lot of eyebrows, but he was brilliant tonight in the attack. He also helped his team defensively and picked up a yellow card.

SUB - Kevin Danso - 6.5

SUB - Son Heung-Min - 6.5

SUB - Djed Spence - NA

SUB - Archie Gray - NA

Manager - Ange Postecoglou - 8.5

Ange Postecoglou's quote of “I usually win trophies in my second season” came true after Spurs shed off their trophyless tag after winning the UEFA Europa League. He made a bold move to bench captain Son ahead of the finals and pick Richarlison. But his tactics paid off as Spurs went on to be the better team despite a list of injuries.

Manchester United Player Ratings vs Spurs

GK - Andre Onana - 6

There was clear miscommunication between him and Dorgu. He did try his best to keep the ball away, but Johnson's tap-in made all the difference.

CB - Leny Yoro - 5

Choosing Leny Yoro over Victor Lindelof did not work out well for Manchester United, as there was no coordination among the defenders, and they failed to keep the ball away from the danger zone.

CB - Harry Maguire - 5.5

Harry Maguire helped his team during set pieces but failed to intercept attacks from the white shirts. His performance could have been better, especially in a big match like this.

CB - Luke Shaw - 5

Luke Shaw failed to show his expertise in keeping the Spurs attackers, and especially Brennan Johnson, under control. There were constant attacks from the flanks, and United defenders were outnumbered.

RM - Noussair Mazraoui - 6

Mazraoui gave that brilliant cross to Bruno to finish off in the 72nd minute. Apart from that, he was quiet through out the match and failed to make any significant impact.

CM - Casemiro - 6.5

The 5 time European champion tried to nullify all attacks from the midfield. But despite a weakened Spurs midfield, Casemiro failed to capitalise on that.

CM - Bruno Fernandes - 6

Bruno had a rare off-colour night today. It was mostly after a tactical altercation that saw him playing as a central midfielder rather than an attacking midfielder.

LM - Patrick Dorgu - 6

Dorgu's inclusion in the big game looked a bit odd. Initially, he made all those attacking runs and slowed down as time passed by.

AM - Amad Diallo- 7

The Ivorian had a brilliant start to the game. He was a constant threat from the flanks and was constantly mounting up the pressure in the Spurs' half. He was booked after pulling Udogie's shirt.

AM - Mason Mount - 5.5

Mason Mount looked invisible in the first half. In the second half, he tried to make a lot of impact from the wings, but that didn't seem enough for an equaliser.

CF - Rasmus Hojlund - 5

Hojlund scored 6 goals in UEL before coming to this game, but he had a very disappointing game tonight and failed to have any real influence in this game. He made way for Garnacho in the last quarter.

SUB - Alexander Garnacho - 6.5

SUB - Joshua Zirkzee - 6.0

SUB - Diogo Dalot - NA

SUB - Kobbie Mainoo - NA

Manager - Ruben Amorim - 5.5

Ruben Amorim's team selection will be under scrutiny as his bold moves failed to make any real impact in this game.

Sports Dunia Player of the Match goes to Yves Bissouma.