Football365

According to reports, Tottenham Hotspur-bound Fabio Paratici has “recommended” a former Premier League manager to replace Ange Postecoglou.

The former Celtic head coach is towards the end of his second year as Tottenham‘s boss and is expected to leave the Premier League club before next season.

Postecoglou was praised for his work during his debut season as he successfully overhauled Tottenham’s style of play and nearly guided the club back into the Champions League, but they have fallen off a cliff this term.

Spurs have been ravaged by injuries, but their performances have been dire as they could finish as low as 17th in the Premier League.

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Tottenham have also failed in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, but their run in the Europa League has been a saving grace as they will face Manchester United in the final.

Spurs would secure a spot in the Champions League if they win the Europa League, but it has been reported that Postecoglou will be sacked even if they end their trophy drought this term.

Mauricio Pochettino, Xavi and Andoni Iraola are among the favourites to replace Postecoglou, but Paratici could impact the final outcome as he’s set to return to Spurs as technical director.

Paratici was forced to leave Spurs after being given a worldwide ban, but he is free to return to football from June 30 onwards and has been spotted at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in recent weeks.

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Paratici already appears to be making an impact, with a report from The Boot Room‘s Graeme Bailey claiming he’s “recommended” former Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi to Spurs following last summer’s move to Ligue Un outfit Marseille.

Bailey said: “I understand Roberto De Zerbi is a name that Fabio Paratici – incoming Spurs technical director – is a fan of.

“He liked him during his time at Brighton and recommended him. Even during his talks with AC Milan recently, he was a name put forward.

“De Zerbi is understood to be on the radar of a number of Italian clubs – but Spurs do like him.”

He added: “As we have said before, Tottenham have been doing their due diligence on replacements for Ange Postecoglou.

“Andoni Iraola, Marco Silva, Mauricio Pochettino, Oliver Glasner and Kieran McKenna are on their radar and they have done work on all of them.

“Even the likes of Massimiliano Allegri and Xavi Hernandez have been discussed – they are doing their homework.”

Ange Postecoglou’s future at Tottenham remains under scrutiny despite leading the club to a European final by beating Bodo/Glimt on Thursday, and former England international Chris Waddle believes the club may already be preparing to move on.

While speculation has swirled over whether Postecoglou could keep his job if Spurs win the Europa League, Waddle believes the club’s issues run deeper than any single result and fears Daniel Levy may have already formed a view.

Speaking to Yaysweepstakes, he said: “I mean, listen, it’s really ridiculous when people say: ‘If he wins the Europa League, he’s got a job next season. If he doesn’t win the Europa League, he’s lost his job.’

“So we’re talking about, basically, at the minute, two football matches. You’ve got your job if you win it. What if he gets the final and loses it? Does that mean you get the sack? To me, they think he’s the man for the job, or he’s not.”

Spurs have underperformed in the Premier League this season and are currently 16th in the table, just above West Ham and behind a transitioning Man Utd. The cup run in Europe has offered brief respite, but their domestic form remains a concern.

Waddle says Spurs must stop making short-term judgements and instead look at their wider trajectory.

“You’ve got to look at the league position. They’re fifth bottom. I mean, West Ham, Tottenham and Man Utd have had absolute nightmares.”

And while Spurs have built a state-of-the-art stadium and training ground in recent years, he questions whether the infrastructure has been matched by footballing ambition.

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“They’ve got the training ground that they need, they’ve got the stadium that they wanted. So now there’s nothing else except to ask when is the money that is generated going to be spent?”

Waddle was also critical of the club’s long-standing transfer strategy, particularly the tendency to sell key players and avoid building around proven, experienced stars.

“But you look over the history, how many players they’ve got rid of who big clubs would never get rid of. So if you’re going to go back to Gareth Bale, myself, Glenn Hoddle, Luka Modric, Paul Gascoigne, Harry Kane. So all these players, you build a team around and you think they shouldn’t leave.”

But it’s Postecoglou’s tactical stubbornness that draws the harshest personal criticism.

“I’m not happy with his tactics because he never has a plan B,” Waddle said. “I’ve got to criticise that.

“Personally, I think they’ll get rid. I think they’ll look for someone else. But let’s get something right here. I’m not blaming Ange for everything.

“Now, Jose Mourinho, serial title, serial medal winner. Antonio Conte, top of the Italian league. Nuno Espirito Santo might get Nottingham Forest in the Champions League.”

For Waddle, the problems are systemic. Without major change in how Spurs operate, particularly in the transfer market, they’ll continue to struggle.

“The only way to judge the managers properly is if they start buying like Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal, buying established players, players who are ready, and keeping their stars.”

Paul Scholes has picked his winner for the Europa League final after Manchester United and Tottenham set up a titanic battle for the trophy.

United beat Athletic Club 4-1 at Old Trafford to secure a 7-1 aggregate win over the Spanish side in their semi-final, while Tottenham won 2-0 away at Bodo/Glimt to ease through 5-1 across two legs.

It means we’re set for an all-Premier League final on May 21 between two sides who have endured miserable domestic campaigns.

United and Spurs are 15th and 16th respectively in the Premier League, but have made relatively light work in getting to the final of a competition which not only offers the chance of unlikely silverware in a dire season but would also grant them entry into the Champions League next season.

And Scholes thinks the “history” of United will see them claim the trophy, despite the Red Devils losing to Spurs on three occasions already this season.

“I’m not saying United will definitely win it but history tells me they’ve got a great chance,” Scholes said on TNT Sports.

“We know Spurs have beat them three times this season and they’re a really good team. I like Tottenham.

“If they watch that first 70 minutes [of United’s second leg against Bilbao] Spurs will think they’ve got a good chance.

“But I just think about the history of this club. It’s almost like Real Madrid at times, they can not play well and still win cups.

“I just feels the odds are slightly in United’s favour. But I do think Spurs are a good side on their day.

“I just think the history and the experience of the club will get them over the line. I really like Ange and think he’s got a good team but I just favour Manchester United.”

Scholes’ former United teammate Owen Hargreaves added: “It’s going to be fascinating. There is so much at stake for everyone.

“But if United in a down season can win a trophy and get into Champions League, it tells you what the club is all about.

“Right now, momentum is with Manchester United with the energy around the club at the moment.”

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Mikel Jauregizar gave the Athletic Club hope of a comeback with a first-half opener at Old Trafford as United struggled, but Ruben Amorim’s side showed their grit and came surging through thanks to a brilliant brace from Mason Mount and goals from Casemiro and Rasmus Hojlund.

After the game, Amorim said: “It’s the least we can do for these fans, for the support they have given us in this tough season.

“I know I should be a better manager and the team should be better at this moment but we’re trying and we are in a European final.”

Meanwhile, Spurs scored twice in six second-half minutes through Dominic Solanke and Pedro Porro.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the lads,” Ange Postecoglou said. “We knew it was a difficult place to come.

“We’re aware of the record they have here, the pitch. I think the lads handled it well. Excited, we’re in a final.”

It was all there, wasn’t it? From the moment Bodo/Glimt snatched a goal they really didn’t deserve in the closing stages of the first leg last week, it was all there.

As we put it in Big Midweek: it wasn’t a consolation, it was a lifeline. It was a route back into the tie with Spurs’ lead no longer quite so decisive ahead of the trip to a tricky little stadium with a very tricky pitch and some very tricky weather conditions. Not to mention a Bodo/Glimt side restored to full strength with all those first-leg suspensions out of the way.

They fancied their chances, weren’t shy about saying they fancied their chances, and nobody thought they were wrong about it either. Before kick-off here, with the home side choosing to water an artificial pitch with all creases in its corners even as the rain poured down for hours on end, and a huge Minion-based Tifo was unfurled it was hard to resist the notion that here were some absolutely unimprovable conditions for Spursiness. Plenty of clubs less prone to self-sabotaging slapstick have quivered before at the intimidating sight of… Minions.

And yet that is not at all what transpired. Spurs are, somehow, made of far sterner stuff on these Europa League nights. The pragmatism and professionalism of Frankfurt in the last round was in evidence again as Spurs controlled the game before finally putting it to bed with a pair of quick-fire goals in the second half.

What’s truly striking is the way, in those last two European away games that required a very specific set of skills, Spurs have shown they can absolutely defend properly and competently when set up in such a way that gives them half a chance.

As in Frankfurt, it was impossible to fault the balance Spurs struck between attacking intent and defensive solidity. The mystery – and it’s one only partially explained by the strength of their own team and that of their opponents on these European Thursday nights – is why they are so utterly incapable of showing this level of adaptability in domestic football.

Bodo/Glimt, buoyed undeniably by the unique attributes and challenges of their ground, had been the Europa League knockout stage’s leading home goalscorers. Spurs shut them down almost entirely. Barring a 10-minute spell late in the first half and a few late flurries when the tie was long over, a team that had beaten Lazio 2-0 and Olympiacos 3-0 and Twente 5-2 here in previous rounds barely threatened Guglielmo Vicario’s goal at all.

What little he had to do he did without fuss, while the sight of him in bright orange rather than his usual yellow was only rendered more jarring by the sight of him whacking every goal-kick as far as he possibly could after taking as long over it as he possibly could. It’s just who we are, mate.

In front of him were a whole bunch of rock-solid performances from players who simply haven’t been doing that for vast swathes of this season. Cristian Romero treated it like an Argentina game, and there are few higher compliments than that. It was a reminder that whoever gets a fully engaged and focused – albeit still probably on occasion quite lunatic – version of him next season will still have one heck of a player on their hands.

Micky van de Ven sprinting and turning on this pitch in this weather made us wince, but he continues to be the most conspicuous difference-maker of all when Spurs can get him on the pitch. They are still fully capable of disaster when he’s there, but he is so often a vital get-out-of-jail-free card with that pace.

Destiny Udogie retained some of his usual licence to invert and attack, which highlighted what was at the core of Spurs’ strategy here. They didn’t come just to protect what they had, but nor were they willing to place it at undue or unnecessary risk.

Rodrigo Bentancur had his best Spurs game in some time. Yves Bissouma his best in even longer. And Dominic Solanke – increasingly taking the Big Nando Llorente role in this latest unlikely Spurs jaunt to a European final – put in a huge shift in thankless conditions. Few players have ever deserved a tap-in more than his here after Romero got ridiculous hang-time to meet a Mathys Tel corner and nod it back across goal.

Pedro Porro was so flawless that even his one mistake ended up in a goal. The very idea of a Porro performance without some kind of significant error is so unlikely that the referee just assumed he must have made one with a perfectly timed tackle in the penalty area late in the game.

The penalty was given, and then VAR took it away when pictures revealed that Porro, like Spurs in general here, had absolutely nailed it. Fair enough, referee, we’re as surprised as anyone.

The tie was over by then, of course, Spurs having eased into a 5-1 aggregate lead, but the clean sheet still felt significant.

Spurs have now conceded just two goals across their four quarter-final and semi-final matches. You don’t need us to tell you how out of character that is for Spurs in general and especially this iteration.

It feels absurd to think of Spurs in a European final this season because we’re so used to seeing them bumblef*ck around the Premier League. And yes, in recent weeks the Premier League commitments have taken an obvious and correct backseat but the bumblef*cking significantly predates that.

But at the business end of this tournament, from the moment it became their sole and absolute focus Spurs have been… really bloody good actually.

From the second leg against AZ onwards, it’s been hard to find any real fault with any of Spurs’ efforts. That’s five games. Five coherent, grown-up, big-hearted and above all else big-brained performances when the entire season and several careers were resting on the outcome of each and every one of them.

Yes, the gulf between the Champions League and Europa League has never felt wider than it does right now, but Spurs – Spurs – have been taking care of business in jarringly responsible fashion, responding to setbacks with calm authority and something that has at times approached class.

And now they have to do it just one more time and a generation of banter dissolves away. One more time against a team at least as stupid as they are. One more time against a team they have already beaten three times this season, while keeping two clean sheets and scoring eight goals.

But also against a team for whom winning trophies is such a habit that being objectively crap is no barrier to silverware. A team that should they prevail in Bilbao will have won three progressively more prestigious trophies in three years where they have got worse and worse at football.

It’s a fascinating final, one that will end with either the current 15th or 16th best team in England qualifying for the Champions League. There is no sensible outcome.

The fear is there and the fear is real that for Tottenham all these competent performances have done is simply defer the Spursy until the worst/funniest possible moment. There’s no avoiding that.

But that fear was powerfully present here, and Spurs laughed in the face of it. What if Ange Postecoglou really does always win something in his second season? What if this really is the point when the joke stops always being on Spurs and they actually get the last laugh?

Wild and crazy talk. Wild, crazy, but now dizzyingly plausible talk.

Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur is a Europa League final to look forward to, and despite their domestic struggles, they’ve comfortably been the two best teams in the competition this season.

Spurs have looked oddly at ease in Europe, completely contradicting their Premier League form, while Ruben Amorim’s side remain the only unbeaten team in European competition this season.

They brushed aside Athletic Bilbao 7-1 on aggregate, with a pair of three-goal wins. And while Thursday’s second leg flirted with drama, the failure of Bilbao to find a second goal meant Old Trafford never truly descended into panic.

In a competition United have to win, Amorim took no risks, naming the same XI that had coasted to victory in Spain.

It was never going to be as easy this time – it simply couldn’t go any worse for Ernesto Valverde and his players than it had in the first leg. Even without the Williams brothers, with both Nico and Inaki ruled out through injury. Yes, that Inaki Williams – the one who once played 251 straight La Liga games. Turns out he’s not indestructible.

Bilbao were trying to overturn a 3-0 deficit against a side worth considerably more than them. To put it into context, they’ve only twice spent more on a player than United did just to sack Erik ten Hag and hire Amorim. There’s your pointless stat of the night.

And yet, for all that disparity, any away side has a bit of hope at Old Trafford these days. Bilbao gave it a go. The issue? Finishing. Or lack of it.

Alex Berenguer tried to find the postage stamp and overhit it. Mikel Jauregizar, just 21, did manage their only shot on target – a lovely long-range strike that Andre Onana parried into the net.

It was a brutal 60 seconds for United: Bilbao scored to inject a bit of tension, and at the same time, £80million flop Antony was bending in a free-kick for Real Betis. Manchester United players getting good again the second they leave Old Trafford’s orbit will never not be funny.

Another common occurrence is Alejandro Garnacho missing simple one-on-ones. His dink wide only added to the unease, and the sense grew that Bilbao might just nick a second and make this properly nervy.

But it didn’t happen.

Mason Mount’s sublime equaliser killed the tie and Bilbao completely gave up. Casemiro added another – a header, as in the first leg – just to rub it in and make sure United’s unbeaten record in Europe lives on.

Rasmus Hojlund thought he’d rounded it off with a tap-in, but the cherry was reserved for Mount’s second – and third in two games – a left-footed effort from somewhere near Salford. Listen, fair play.

Amorim’s subs did the damage. Mount bagged a brace. Amad Diallo set up Hojlund. Kobbie Mainoo squeezed in two take-ons in just 11 minutes. Lovely job.

And so, we get the final we didn’t know we needed: two broken Premier League giants, 15th vs 16th, 35 combined defeats, not a single one of them on 40 points. And yet, they’ll meet in Bilbao with a place in next season’s Champions League and £100million on the line.

It’s ridiculous. But it’s not undeserved. In this competition, they’ve looked the part. That’s all that counts.

The loser, though, is going to feel it like a tonne of bricks. For United, it’s about funding a rebuild that would be near-impossible without Champions League football and that windfall.

For Spurs, it could decide Postecoglou’s job – even if they win it, he’s not safe; if they don’t, he’s done. They might be better equipped to absorb the blow, but don’t mistake that for a lack of hunger. This is a club still chasing its first trophy since 2008, in case you weren’t aware.

United have fared far better on the silverware front in that time, even when you take out the five years under Sir Alex Ferguson. Win in Bilbao, and they’ll have won a trophy in each of the last three seasons. Somehow. Despite being a complete and utter shambles on and off the pitch.

Honestly, we didn’t expect it to pan out this way, but we are absolutely here for it and genuinely excited for a football match where two teams try their absolute hardest to lose.

Ange Postecoglou insists “Spurs does crazy things to people” after Arsenal legend Arsene Wenger called for UEFA to “review” Tottenham’s potential qualification for the Champions League next season.

Spurs sit 17th in the Premier League after a miserable domestic campaign which has seen them lose a whopping 19 of their 35 top flight games.

And yet they still retain hope of qualifying for the Champions League next season despite being 25 points behind Chelsea in fifth, the last spot to grant entry into Europe’s showcase competition through the league.

If Spurs can get past Bodo/Glimt in the second leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday and then beat either Manchester United or Athletic Club in the final, they will be given a place in next season’s Champions League.

Speaking to beIN Sports, Wenger claimed the Europa League winners should be rewarded with a place back in the same competition and said the rule was particularly unfair for English clubs.

“No – they should qualify automatically for the Europa League again but not necessarily for the Champions League,” Wenger said.

“Especially when you’re in the Premier League, where already five teams qualify.

“I think it’s something [for UEFA] to think about and to review. On the other hand, people will tell you that to keep the Europa League focused, interesting and motivated you need to give them that prize [of qualifying for the Champions League].”

Postecoglou laughed off Wenger’s claim, insisting “Spurs does crazy things to people” as everyone tries to “diminish” their achievements.

“Well, I mean that’s a debate that’s been raging for years, like at least the last eight days,” he said.

“I’ve never heard that before, so… I’ve said it before, mate, Spurs does crazy things to people. It does, it does.

“You put that club into any sentence or any issue, and invariably they all come out and try and diminish as much as they can.

“Why wasn’t there an issue before and it’s an issue now? What’s the difference? I don’t understand what the difference is.

“Last year, fifth didn’t get you into the Champions League, this year it does. What does that mean?

“There are competition rules and the rules say that the winner goes into [the Champions League]. It’s not the first year, and there isn’t an asterisk against it that you have to do something else as well. But it’s Spurs mate, they love it. They love it. Oh, they love it, you love it, don’t you?”

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When it was pointed out that Wenger is a former coach of Spurs’ bitter north London rivals, Postecoglou added: “I don’t want to go down that road because I’ve got a great respect for Arsene.

“He’s one of the legends of the game, but it does crazy things to people, mate, I love it. I love it, bring it on. it’s going to upset people, so that makes me happy.”

Asked whether Spurs was turning him crazy, Postecoglou said: “It hasn’t made me crazy at all.

“I was talking about other people, I wasn’t talking about me. I was asked the question about apparently there is a massive raging debate about the legitimacy of us or Man U potentially being in the Champions League next year. They need to change the rules because Spurs are involved.”

Postecoglou believes that winning a first European trophy in 41 years would go some way to changing the perception of a club that’s not won silverware of any kind since 2008.

“I don’t know if [winning the Europa League] will change it, but certainly some of it becomes redundant for sure because a big part and a lot of the narrative around the club is we haven’t won for a very long time. Anything… so that is part of it,” he said.

“Some of it will still exist beyond that, but as I said, from my perspective how do you create a winning culture? It all starts with winning.

“I think the more experiences you have of winning, if you can land a trophy along the way, it certainly gives belief within the whole club that it is capable and possible of doing. We’ve still got a big game tomorrow to even get through to a final before we can start talking about that.”

A Tottenham player has detailed how Spurs could have had a “better season” than rivals Arsenal even if they come 17th in the Premier League.

Tottenham have been way off the pace in the Premier League this season. They’ve never even really mounted a challenge for the top half, currently sitting 16th in the table.

With all of the bottom three already relegated, there’s no threat of the drop, but finishing close to the relegation zone will not be a good look for Spurs.

However, former midfielder Jamie O’Hara believes their season could yet be a more positive one than rivals Arsenal’s amid four factors. On a talkSPORT phone-in, he asked an Arsenal fan: “Is it a disaster if you get knocked out? Is it a bad season if you get knocked out [the Champions League]? If Tottenham win the Europa League and finish 17th, we’ve had a better season.”

When Jason Cundy disagreed, O’Hara said: “Well we have, we’ve won something. Mate, let me tell you now, we get Champions League football, win the Europa League, Spurs finish 17th, I don’t care what anyone says, if Arsenal get knocked out [of the UCL] Spurs have had a better season.”

Arsenal are one game away from the Champions League final, in what would be their first trip there since 2005/06, when they lost to Barcelona. But the Gunners are 1-0 down against Paris Saint-Germain after the first leg, so their task is not an easy one.

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Tottenham, meanwhile, are 3-1 up against Bodo/Glimt after the first leg of their Europa League semi-final. It would take a shocking turn of events for them not to reach the final.

There, it looks as if they are likely to face Manchester United. The Red Devils are 3-0 up after the first leg of their semi-final, so a meeting beckons if neither side loses the second leg.

Both of those clubs have been almost equally as poor in England this season. While Tottenham are 16th in the Premier League, United are one place and one point ahead of the north Londoners.

As such, it’s hard to tell who’d come out on top if they are both to reach the final.

Spurs in Norway on an artificial pitch? Nothing to worry about, lads. Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta must inspire an Arsenal comeback against PSG in the Champions League.

Game to watch: Bodo/Glimt vs Tottenham Hotspur

There is strong potential for a Full Spurs showing on Thursday night – and as everyone should know by now, you should never go Full Spurs. Yes, both Champions League semi-finals are finely balanced, but the prospect of a Tottenham capitulation on a treacherous Thursday night is simply too delicious to ignore.

Ange Postecoglou’s side looked the real deal in their 3-1 first-leg win over Bodo/Glimt, but a late goal from the visitors and an injury to James Maddison turned comfort into creeping dread. That strike wasn’t a consolation; it was a lifeline. And Bodo/Glimt, the Norwegian minnows writing history as their country’s first European semi-finalists, will fancy their chances at home against anyone.

Kjetil Knutsen’s squad is 80% Norwegian and has knocked out stellar opposition in FC Twente, Olympiacos and Lazio to get to this stage. Their only home defeat in this season’s Europa League strangely came against FC Qarabag, winning every other league phase match at the Aspmyra Stadion against FC Porto, Besiktas and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Convincing home wins – 5-2 vs Twente, 3-0 vs reigning Conference League champions Olympiacos, and 2-0 vs Lazio – prove this is not some fairy-tale side there to make up the numbers. Premier League or not, this is a serious test.

Postecoglou was quick to play down the challenge of playing against non-league Tamworth away in the FA Cup – and the Londoners barely got out of that alive. Now it’s an artificial pitch, in freezing conditions, against a high-energy, high-belief Bodo/Glimt team.

With this fragile Spurs team, quite literally any result is on the table – which is exactly what makes it so entertaining.

Manager to watch: Mikel Arteta

There’s a huge amount riding on Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Paris Saint-Germain, especially for Mikel Arteta, after a 1-0 first-leg defeat at the Emirates.

Some uncomfortable questions are starting to swirl about Arteta’s ability to win the biggest prizes. He’s clearly a world-class rebuilding manager – taking Arsenal from a punchline to a genuine Premier League force – but there’s still nothing tangible to show for it. Yes, there was the FA Cup in year one, but that was nearly five years and close to £700million ago. Since then, Arsenal have lived up to the moniker of ‘Next Season FC’.

Lose in Paris on Wednesday and a fourth straight trophyless season is confirmed. And while Arteta’s job is safe – despite what some Mailbox contributors might argue – next season starts to look suspiciously like make-or-break. If he reaches the end of a sixth full campaign without any silverware, even the Carabao Cup, it’ll be hard for anyone not wilfully deluding themselves to argue Arsenal don’t need someone who can actually get them over the line.

So, yes, a fair bit riding on this one.

Arsenal were largely second-best at home last week, conceding early and only growing into the game after half an hour. They were unlucky not to equalise, with Gianluigi Donnarumma in inspired form, but equally fortunate not to concede again.

But 1-0 is salvageable, especially considering how flat they were in the first leg. This tie is still alive – if Arsenal had won 1-0 away, nobody would be writing PSG off, so it’s daft to do so with the roles reversed.

Still, Arsenal are underdogs now, and it’s PSG’s final spot to lose, which, given their Champions League history, remains very much on the cards. We’ve not yet seen the annual Parisian meltdown, and Arteta will be hoping they’re saving it for Wednesday.

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Player to watch: Antony

Antony – yes, that Antony – is one of the most in-form and entertaining wingers in Europe right now. He’s enjoying quite the remontada at Real Betis, and it’s genuinely remarkable what can happen when a player is freed from the shackles of Old Trafford.

We’re turning some limelight on the Europa Conference League and a tie with no English teams, as Betis’ semi-final against Fiorentina hangs delicately after a 2-1 first-leg win in Spain last Thursday.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side are chasing a Champions League spot in La Liga, but there was plenty of rotation against Espanyol on Sunday – though Antony started, finished, and scored in both 2-1 wins. He smashed in an absolute corker with the right foot nobody knew he had – past former Manchester United teammate David de Gea – and followed it up with a late winner against Espanyol, curling in a peach past Joan Garcia, who could yet end up as his future teammate at United.

Antony’s form has been electric and he’s genuinely exciting to watch right now. Football can change fast – so fast, in fact, that it now feels like United would be bloody stupid to sell him this summer. Which of course means they absolutely will, and for a fee that’ll make everyone wince.

Betis’ second leg against the two-time Conference League runners-up promises to be tight, and Antony could well be the difference-maker.

Team to watch: Barcelona

Antony might be one of the most entertaining wingers in football right now but another La Liga winger is the most entertaining player in the world: Lamine Yamal. The 17-year-old – which is still hard to believe – was frightening against Inter last week and without him, Barcelona would be heading to Milan needing a comeback to reach the Champions League final.

After that chaotic 3-3 draw, we’re expecting something similarly unhinged at San Siro. With their first-choice defenders available, you might expect a more cagey affair — but with Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde sidelined, Barcelona’s ‘attack is the best form of defence’ mantra will be more necessary than ever, especially against a side with Inter’s defensive pedigree.

That pedigree went out the window in Catalonia. Simone Inzaghi recognised that parking the bus wouldn’t cut it against Barca’s firepower, so Inter played them at their own game – and it made for a spectacular (not diabolical) spectacle.

Hansi Flick’s back four is now a puzzle. Reports suggest Inigo Martinez could slot in at left-back, while Ronald Araujo might play at right-back or partner Pau Cubarsí centrally. That leaves one spot up for grabs, with Eric Garcia the likely choice over Gerard Martin, Hector Fort, and Andreas Christensen.

Flick rotated heavily for the trip to Real Valladolid, but with his side 1-0 down at half-time, he brought on Raphinha and Fermin Lopez to join 36th-minute substitute Yamal. That trio helped spark a crucial comeback, meaning most of the squad heads into this semi-final well-rested, high on confidence, and with a Treble still very much in sight. If only Arsenal could relate to any of that.

EFL game to watch: Bristol City vs Sheffield United

There may technically be only one midweek play-off match, but that won’t stop us from talking about Sheffield United’s trip to Ashton Gate.

The Blades’ play-off record is nothing short of abysmal. They’ve never been promoted that way in eight attempts – five failures in the second tier and three more in the third. Reaching the final four times isn’t horrendous, but losing every single one certainly is. This is absolutely not where Sheffield United want to be.

Then there’s Wembley. Dismal doesn’t even cover it. They haven’t won there in their last six trips, and their only victory at the national stadium came 100 years ago, in the 1925 FA Cup final against Cardiff City.

Bristol City await in the semi-finals after sneaking into sixth place, a full 22 points behind Chris Wilder’s side. The Robins are massive underdogs and ended the season poorly – but so did the Blades, who lost four of their last seven Championship games.

The regular-season head-to-head finished 3-2 to Sheffield United on aggregate, and they remain favourites to go up – which, if it happens, would be a historic achievement.

All just to come straight back down with 13 points.

Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has questioned whether struggling domestic sides like Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur should be allowed to qualify for the Champions League through Europa League success, a scenario both clubs are currently on course to exploit.

Man Utd and Spurs are languishing in 15th and 16th place respectively in the Premier League, but convincing first-leg wins in their Europa League semi-finals — 3-0 over Athletic Club for Utd and 3-1 over Bodo/Glimt for Spurs — have put them in pole position to set up a winner-takes-all final in Bilbao later this month.

Current UEFA rules grant the Europa League winners automatic entry to the following season’s Champions League, regardless of domestic league performance.

But Wenger, the pantomime villain of so many Arsenal and Utd encounters during his 22-year reign as Gunners boss, is not convinced that such a backdoor route is fair.

In an article on TNT Sports covering quotes from an interview with BeIN Sports on whether it was right for Europa League winners to qualify for the Champions League, Wenger said:

“No. They should qualify automatically for the Europa League again, but not necessarily for the Champions League.

“Especially when you’re in the Premier League, where already five teams qualify. I think it’s something [for UEFA] to think about and to review.

“On the other hand, people will tell you that to keep the Europa League focused, interesting and motivated, you need to give them that prize.”

A recent change to UEFA’s format will already see the English top-flight awarded a fifth UCL spot next season due to the nation’s strong coefficient rating.

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“With more teams now qualifying for Europe, the gulf inside the league will become even bigger.”

Asked whether the increase in Champions League representation from single leagues was a positive development, Wenger responded:

“I don’t believe so.

“It will make the difference between the top teams in England and the rest of Europe even bigger, because you would say only a few teams now can compete with the Premier League teams in the Champions League.

“It can be Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and then, financially, you’re already at the end basically.”

This wouldn’t be the first time Man Utd have relied on the Europa League to save a disappointing season. In 2016/17, they won the competition under Jose Mourinho despite finishing sixth in the Premier League.

If Utd can repeat that feat this season, or if Spurs can end a 41-year European trophy drought, then the Premier League sides will record a bit of history.

No club finishing lower than 12th in the Premier League has qualified for the Champions League via the Europa League since the tournament’s rebrand in 2009.

Real Madrid are reportedly interested in making the signing of a Tottenham star as they plan to lure in ‘the leading talents on his generation’ in the coming years. Tottenham are having a poor domestic season by their standards.

They have not finished in the bottom half of the Premier League since 2007/08, and have only finished outside the top six three times since then. But they’re on track to finish in their worst position in the Premier League, currently 16th.

Bright points in the season have been few and far between, but 19-year-old Lucas Bergvall has been one.

In his first season at the club, the teenage midfielder has one goal and four assists, three of those coming in the Europa League, in which Spurs are in a good position to reach the final, currently leading after the first leg of their semi-final.

Bergvall has already been rewarded for his performances with a new contract, which will also serve to fend off competition.

But it seems Real Madrid are not bothered about Tottenham’s decision, as GIVEMESPORT states they plan to keep tabs on him despite the fact he’s penned a new deal. It’s stated they remain ‘undeterred’ and want to offer Bergvall an escape route from Tottenham at some point.

Real are interested in making the future signing, as they are ‘determined to recruit the leading talents of his generation in the coming years’.

At 19, and having taken to Premier League and European football well, it seems Bergvall could well come on leaps and bounds in the next few years.

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There could be a similar situation to the one which saw Luka Modric leave Spurs for Real in 2012. He was older than Bergvall when he joined Tottenham (22) but had come from Dinamo Zagreb, a similar level to the Spurs man’s previous club, Djurgarden.

Modric impressed enough in four years in north London for Real to pay £30million for him, a decent fee in 2012, and if Bergvall continues impressing for Tottenham, he’ll surely cost north of that if the Spanish giants are to sign him.

They are apparently ‘adamant’ that he has a high ceiling, so their eyes will be fixed on him as he continues to grow with Spurs. But the new contract means the signing won’t be coming any time soon for Real.