Tottenham end 17-year trophy drought with Europa League title

Bilbao, May 23: Tottenham's title drought is finally over. Spurs beat Manchester United 1-0 to win the Europa League final and lift its first European trophy in more than four decades on Wednesday.

It is the first major title for Tottenham since it won the English League Cup in 2008, and first European triumph since it won its second UEFA Cup — the equivalent of the Europa League now — in 1984.

Brennan Johnson squeezed in the winner at the end of the first half to help Spurs salvage a dismal season in which it will finish near the bottom of the Premier League standings.

"This is what it's all about," Johnson said. "This club hasn't won a trophy for 17 years. This is what it means, it means so much. Ever since I came here it's been, 'Tottenham are a good team but can never get it done.' We got it done."

The title guarantees Spurs a spot in next season's Champions League, and brings some much-needed relief for manager Ange Postecoglou after he struggled to keep his team on track all year.

The victory in Europe's second-tier competition comes six years after Tottenham fell short against Liverpool in the Champions League final.

Tottenham finished its Europa League campaign with 10 wins, three draws and two losses.

No team has won more games in the UEFA Cup-Europa League than Tottenham, according to UEFA. Its 98th victory in the competition on Wednesday moves it clear of the joint record of 97 it previously held with Roma.

The defeat adds pressure on United coach Ruben Amorim, whose team sits in 16th place — just ahead of Tottenham — in the Premier League. The club won't play in any European competition next season.

"I am not going to talk about the future, tonight we need to deal with the pain of losing this match," Amorim said. "We were the better team and the guys tried everything to win the game."

United came close to equalizing the match on Wednesday when a header by Rasmus Hojlund was acrobatically cleared at the goal line by Tottenham's Micky van de Ven in the 68th. Deep into stoppage time, a header by Luke Shaw prompted a difficult save by Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

It had been an even match, with neither team creating many significant scoring opportunities, until Tottenham got on the board in the 42nd minute after a cross by Pape Sarr into the area. The ball ricocheted off Shaw and fell in front of Johnson, who seemed to get just enough of it to poke it across the goal line.

United pressed forward after conceding but was not able to get the equalizer in front of a mostly split crowd of nearly 50,000 at Athletic Bilbao's San Mames Stadium.

United had last won a trophy in the 2024 FA Cup, and its last European triumph was at the 2017 Europa League under manager Jose Mourinho. United had also lost the Europa League final to Villarreal in 2021.

The Red Devils lost all four matches against Tottenham this season and is winless against its rival in seven straight games, with the last six under Postecoglou.

United and Tottenham had met in just one previous final — the 2009 League Cup when Alex Ferguson's United won 4-1 on penalties after a 0-0 draw.

'Dream comes true' for Son

Tottenham striker Son Heung-min, who came off the bench in the 67th, finally ended the title drought in his career. He was the one lifting the trophy in front of his teammates in the awards ceremony.

Son Heung-min said he is the "happiest man in the world" after lifting the Europa League.

The South Korea international, who joined the club 10 years ago, is Spurs' fifth highest goalscorer of all time but had not won any silverware until on Wednesday. "Wow, an feeling amazing!" Son told TNT Sports.

"Today is the day the dream came true. Happiest man in the world to be honest."

Son was the only member of the Spurs side who lost the Champions League final in 2019 to play a part in another European final six years on.

After a number of near misses over the past decade, the 32-year-old said he felt the pressure to deliver.

"I felt the pressure," he added. "I wanted it so badly. The last seven days I was dreaming about this game every single day. Finally it happened, I can rest easy.

"Today is the day we can celebrate. Maybe I'll miss the flight (home)!"

Victory also secures Tottenham's place in next season's Champions League despite languishing 17th in the Premier League after a dismal domestic season.

Son has a huge following back in his homeland and had a special word of thanks to the Korean fans who stayed up through the night to watch his success. "I'm very proud to be Korean. I want to saw thank you to the Korean fans.

"It was 4am (kick-off) there and they are supporting me like crazy."

Very Hungry 

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou said he was "very" hungry to build on his success after winning the Europa League, with speculation still swirling around his future.

The Australian's job is still on the line with the club 17th in the Premier League after a dismal domestic campaign and he said the decision is not up to him.

"Very (hungry to build on it), we've got a really young group of players and you can talk to them about success and what it means but until they feel it, it doesn't become real," Postecoglou told reporters.

"I still feel there's a lot of work to be done and I think that's quite obvious -- but not as much work as people may think.

"People can bang on about our 20 league defeats and where we are but they're missing the point of what we're trying to build here or what I'm trying to do anyway and I really feel that tonight can be a great platform for us to keep on."

Without medals

Striker Son was among the Tottenham players left without winner's medals during the awards ceremony.

UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin appeared to be caught by surprise when the medals ran out before all Tottenham players had received them following the team's 1-0 win over Manchester United.

UEFA later said that the problem occurred because Tottenham sent too many people to receive their medals during the ceremony.

Soccer's European governing body said the clubs had been informed that only 30 medals would be presented on stage to each club. It said 20 further medals were given to the club following the ceremony for distribution to players and staff.

Son, who lifted the trophy in front of his teammates in the awards ceremony, was among the few players who didn't receive his medal on the field.  (AP/AFP)