Ange Postecoglou's dramatic Tottenham Hotspur tenure has come to an end, 16 days after delivering the club's first trophy in 17 years.
Despite the team's glorious night in Bilbao, Daniel Levy and the rest of the Spurs hierarchy faced a tough decision: Should they focus on the unprecedentedly poor Premier League campaign in which Spurs recorded a club-record number of defeats? Or had Postecoglou earned more time to get things right following the success in Europe.
In the end, and after "significant reflection," the board made a decision based on Spurs' domestic struggles. Having followed through on his early-season promise that he always wins things in his second year in charge, Postecoglou was unable to get the third season he referenced during Spurs' trophy parade.
From a record-breaking start to life in north London, to a succession of damaging Premier League defeats and a last hurrah in Bilbao, there were six key matches that came to define his tenure.
Spurs 1-4 Chelsea (Nov. 6, 2023)
Spurs' defeat to Chelsea may have been their first in the Premier League under the Australian, but it has an argument to be one of their most damaging.
At kick-off, Postecoglou's team were top of the Premier League thanks to a never-before-seen high octane style of play, but by the full-time whistle two of their best performers -- James Maddison and Mickey van de Ven -- had suffered serious injuries, while both Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie had been sent off. Spurs were never the same after that.
As well as the two red cards, Chelsea's chaotic 4-1 win featured five disallowed goals and a further four incidents that required checking by the video assistant referee (VAR). It meant that Nicolas Jackson's hat trick became a footnote in match reports as Postecoglou's nine men continued to hold a mind-bogglingly high defensive line despite their numerical disadvantage.
Newcastle United 4-0 Spurs (April 13, 2024)
Spurs have saved some of their worst performances for their clashes with Newcastle over the past couple of years. Almost exactly a year after Tottenham had been humiliated in a 6-1 loss at St, James' Park that marked the end of Cristian Stellini's time as acting head coach, they succumbed to a 4-0 defeat under Postecoglou.
Alexander Isak's rich goalscoring form against Spurs continued as he took advantage of some calamitous defending to net a brace, while Anthony Gordon and Fabian Schär's strikes added some gloss to the scoreline.
The result significantly dented Spurs' hopes of a top-four finish and they proved unable to keep pace with Unai Emery's Aston Villa who eventually secured the final Champions League qualification spot.
Spurs 1-2 Ipswich Town (Nov. 10, 2024)
Ipswich's victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium saw them become the second team to earn their first win of the season against Postecoglou's team, after Crystal Palace had done the same two weeks previously. To make the result even more frustrating for Spurs fans, it was sandwiched between a 4-1 win over Aston Villa and a 4-0 triumph at Manchester City.
Sammie Szmodics opened the scoring for Kieran Mckenna's bottom-of-the-table side before the impressive Liam Delap doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time. Rodrigo Bentancur halved the deficit in the 69th minute but Spurs could not find a way past a watertight Ipswich defence.
The result was the clearest example yet of Spurs' penchant for extremes under Postecoglou.
Manchester City 0-4 Spurs (Nov. 23, 2024)
In suitably rollercoaster fashion, Tottenham followed up the loss to Ipswich with an eye-catching rout of Manchester City at the Etihad.
Goals from Maddison, Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson stunned Pep Guardiola's side and seemed to mark the point at which Spurs would turn a corner and return to the all-conquering form that had defined the early months of Postecoglou's tenure the previous season.
Typically, however, a 1-1 draw with a 10-man Fulham team followed a week later, before Spurs -- by now struggling with several injuries -- were outclassed by Bournemouth at the Vitality to leave their season in tatters.
Spurs 1 - 0 Manchester United (May 21, 2025)
Amid their terrible Premier League campaign, Spurs battled their way to the Europa League final while playing the most un-"Angeball" football imaginable.
That resolute defence, marshalled by the fit-again Romero and Van de Ven, gave Spurs one last chance to salvage their season against Ruben Amorim's equally underperforming United side.
In a stodgy final in northern Spain, Johnson's suitably scruffy goal proved enough to end Spurs' long goal drought and make Postecoglou a Spurs legend. The win saw Postecoglou become only the third manager in club history to deliver a major European trophy, alongside Bill Nicholson and Keith Burkinshaw.
Spurs 1 - 4 Brighton & Hove Albion (May 25, 2025)
Four days after their Europa League triumph, and a great deal of celebrating, Spurs hosted Brighton in north London with Postecoglou's team looking to end the season on a high amid the party atmosphere.
When Dominic Solanke gave Spurs the lead from the penalty spot on the final day of the season, it seemed like they might get their wish. But a second-half collapse condemned Spurs to a 17th-place finish and their 22nd defeat in 38 Premier League games -- the most recorded in a single season by a non-relegated team in Premier League history.
After the highs of the trophy parade through the streets on north London that took place two days before the game, it was a fitting way for Postecoglou's tumultuous Spurs reign to come to a close.