It finally happened. Tottenham Hotspur's 17-year wait for silverware is over, ending their drought by beating Manchester United to win the UEFA Europa League on Wednesday.
Relive all the action from the San Mamés in Bilbao, Spain, with a moment-by-moment account of a famous European night in Spurs' history.
Clashes between fans of Tottenham and Manchester United have been reported ahead of the UEFA Europa League final in Spain on Wednesday.
Confrontations took place in the center of Bilbao and in some nearby cities where many of the supporters were staying to avoid overpriced accommodation in the host city.
More than 50,000 English fans were expected in the Basque Country city of Bilbao, according to local officials.
There were no reports of serious injuries in the confrontations, which happened mostly overnight as fans arrived.
Images reproduced by Spanish media showed the supporters clashing on the streets of Bilbao, with some throwing tables, trash bins, bottles and other objects at each other.
There were also reports of confrontations in San Sebastián and Santander, other Basque Country cities filled with English fans, many without tickets for the final.
UEFA this week warned fans about buying unauthorised tickets that were unlikely to get them into the stadium. The clubs were each allocated 15,000 tickets in the 50,000-capacity venue, with some priced at just €40 ($45).
Prices in the thousands of euros have been demanded on secondary ticketing websites.
On Wednesday, Athletic Club's wonderful San Mamés stadium in Bilbao will serve as host for this season's Europa League final, and for the third time, it will be an all-English final as Tottenham Hotspur face Manchester United. Despite the fact that the Premier League can feel a sense of pride about having three representatives in two European finals this season (Chelsea playing Real Betis in the Conference League final), the overall sentiment is that this is a game that comes with an emphatic, overwhelming air of mediocrity.
After losing to Chelsea on Friday, Ruben Amorim's United suffered their 18th league loss of the season, making it their worst campaign since 1973-74, when they suffered 20 defeats and were relegated from the top flight. They are also in an eight-match winless run in the league and find themselves in 16th place. Spurs, meanwhile, are 17th, have lost 25 games in all competitions, an unwanted record for them in a single season, and have one league win since April 6.
Do I need to keep going here? I think you get the picture. These are two terrible teams, playing in a woeful season, devoid of style, aggression or delivery. And what's their reward? A trophy and a glorious chance to book a spot in the Champions League. The neutral will express their anger at the unfairness of seeing either take part in next season's biggest European competition when the likes of Chelsea, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest might miss out.
But since when has soccer been fair? These are the rules, my friends. We should all accept this very point and remember the everlasting mandate that when it comes to this game of ours, it's not us who write the script, it's soccer itself. And this is the final, whether we like it or not.
But can I offer you an alternative train of thought? What if, because of desperation and a desire to get something out of this dreadful season, United and Spurs actually give us a wonderful circus of entertainment? To quote a great line from HBO's "Game of Thrones:" "Chaos is not a pit, it's a ladder." Chaos doesn't represent destruction. It is an opportunity.
I expect exactly this -- a very chaotic final with goals, flying tackles, multiple bookings and an overall sense of tumultuous football. It will be the Europa League final equivalent of Heath Ledger's Joker in "The Dark Knight." My suggestion? Just sit back and enjoy the ride.
Without further ado, here's my most chaotic combined XI of the two teams. This isn't necessarily about my idea of the strongest lineup, but rather the players who are best equipped to give us the most chaotic, possibly worst/best final ever, and I mean that in the worst/best possible way. Lots of fireworks with zero composure.
Let's see what you got, United and Spurs. I'll be preparing my popcorn with excitement.
GK: André Onana
I think Onana is often made the scapegoat for many of United's issues, but there is no doubt he has made some costly errors throughout the season, including in this very competition against Lyon in the quarterfinals. In a final that promises imperfection, I am sure the Cameroon goalkeeper will give us -- for better or worse -- some moments to remember.
CB: Cristian Romero
At his best, the Argentina World Cup winner is an imposing presence at the back thanks to his physicality and intensity, so I have him in my lineup for one reason only: There might be a few scraps in this game, and whenever there is a possibility of that scenario, I need Romero to be part of it.
CB: Harry Maguire
This is a no-brainer, isn't it? Maguire could do any of the following on Wednesday: score a stoppage-time winner from a set piece; go on the right wing, nutmeg Destiny Udogie and put in a dime of an assist; score an own goal; see a red card. All of these are realistic possibilities.
It's simple: if you want drama, light up the Maguire bat signal.
CB: Micky van de Ven
Here's what I think: Spurs' chances of victory -- and in many ways, manager Ange Postecoglou's fate -- begin with Tottenham's center-back partnership. A lot rides on the aforementioned Romero and his Dutch partner, Van de Ven, who is the fastest player in the Premier League, thus making him invaluable for Postecoglou's high line.
Let's expect some marauding runs, causing some major headaches for United.
RWB: Amad Diallo
Diallo has been one of Amorim's most important players this season, and it's a shame his productivity didn't continue due to an ankle injury that kept him out of the side from February until late April, when he returned in record time. His menacing runs and trickery will be a focal point on Wednesday and, after losing in two Europa League finals (2021 with United; 2022 with Rangers, both times as an unused substitute), he'll be extremely ready for Bilbao on Wednesday night.
CM: Pedro Porro
Yes, I know. I know. Porro is not a central midfielder, but he is the most forward-thinking distributor for Tottenham. Due to injuries to Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall, Postecoglou has issues in the midfield, so why not place the Spain full-back in the middle of the park? At the very least, it could make great entertainment -- for better or worse.
ACM: Bruno Fernandes
Without their captain, United could have been in even worse danger this season. He's their most vital player in every sense of the word and, even though he hasn't done anything this season against Spurs (who have won all three games this season against the Red Devils), this is a European final, so the stakes and narrative are different. However, we also know about his temper, especially when things are not going his way, so this isn't even a discussion.
In this chaotic situation with a chance to see much drama, I need Fernandes in this XI.
CM: Manuel Ugarte
It's quite simple, really. The Uruguay holding midfielder is the football equivalent of the Tasmanian Devil from Looney Tunes. An enforcer with a sense that, sometimes, his erratic physicality can get him into trouble. He ran the show in the first leg against Athletic Club but was not great in the second and came off in the 62nd minute.
Which version will we see on Wednesday? I need to have him in the lineup to find out.
LWB: Patrick Dorgu
Dorgu is a talented defender, but he has yet to acclimate to the Premier League and most notably to Amorim's system, which is very demanding for wing-backs. There will be lots of offensive opportunities, but against the counter? That's when you could see a lot of scrambling from the Denmark international.
FW: Son Heung-min
"I feel good and ready to go," the South Korean captain said after playing 74 minutes in Tottenham's 2-0 loss against Aston Villa on Friday. This is good news for Tottenham, but Postecoglou now has to figure out what's best for his team, because there is still a sense of rustiness from Son after being sidelined for a month. We obviously know how good and impactful Son can be for Spurs, but can United take advantage of his recent return to action? I expect the Red Devils to fully focus on him whenever he is on the pitch.
CF: Rasmus Højlund
After a disastrous campaign (four goals in 31 league matches), the Denmark striker has been unable to do pretty much anything up front. Just like Onana, I think he is also somewhat of a scapegoat for the club's poor season, because distribution for him has been almost nonexistent.
Do I expect frustration on Wednesday? An all-out mission to do everything he can to score a goal and become a hero for United? Or once again, just like in Friday's loss against Chelsea, no more than a shot on target and another disappointing evening for the 22-year-old?
All of the above are extremely possible.
Ange Postecoglou has hit out at criticism of his management by insisting "I am not a clown" and vowed to "keep winning trophies" wherever he goes as speculation mounts over his future at Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs will aim to end a 17-year wait for a major trophy in Wednesday's Europa League final against Manchester United, an achievement which would go a long way to salvaging an otherwise desperate season in which they have suffered a club-record 21 Premier League defeats and sit in 17th place.
Sources have told ESPN that Postecoglou is facing an uphill battle to save his job and one report suggested Wednesday's game could define the 59-year-old as either a "hero or a clown" depending on the outcome in Bilbao.
"I'll tell you one thing: irrespective of what happens tomorrow, I'm not a clown and I never will be," Postecoglou said in a pre-match news conference. "I'm really disappointed that you would use such terminology about a person who for 26 years without any favours from anyone has worked his way to a position where he's leading out a club in a European major competition [final].
"For you to suggest that somehow us not being successful means that I'm a clown ... [I'm] not really sure how to answer that question."
With speculation rife about his future despite having two years left on his current contract, Postecoglou continued: "Does it matter? Really? It doesn't matter because the reality of it is the opportunity is the same, for me and more importantly for the club.
"I've said before that whatever happens beyond tomorrow is kind of irrelevant when you think about the opportunity that exists right now.
"That opportunity is to provide something special for the football club and for the supporters and for everyone who has worked so hard, not just this year but for the 15, 16 years, however long it has been without a trophy and also the 41 years without a European trophy.
"If I was worried about my tenure at this football club, it's fair to say we wouldn't have been in this position because I would have been distracted long ago."
Sources have told ESPN that the club's hierarchy have grown increasingly concerned about the team's domestic slump despite their progress in Europe and Postecoglou dropped the clearest hint yet he could be sacked.
"I've been in this position before where the big game was the last game I managed," he said. "It's not unusual territory for me. I have always navigated it pretty well because for me nothing is more important than my responsibility for this football club and its fans that tomorrow me, the players, our mind is only on one thing and that is to create something special.
"I qualified for a World Cup and left. Won the treble with Celtic and left. Won at Brisbane and left. It's actually more common than you think.
"My future is assured. I wouldn't be the first person who changes jobs, we all change jobs.
"I've got a beautiful family, a great life, I'll keep winning trophies until I finish, wherever that is, don't worry about my future, my future is not entwined with anything, my future is assured."
However, Postecoglou insisted that ending Tottenham's trophy drought would not be a big enough achievement for him to walk away satisfied from the role.
"No, because I don't think my job is done here," he admitted. "I really feel like we're building something and what a trophy does is hopefully accelerates that.
"I still think there's a lot of work to be done. The challenges we've had this year are well chronicled, but there's been some reasoning in that and there's also been growth I'd like to see through, but whether that happens or not is not that important right now.
"I think this job is far from finished. There's some growth there to take this club where it needs to be."
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur face off on Wednesday in a UEFA Europa League final that will rescue the victor's season.
United and Spurs sit 16th and 17th in the Premier League table respectively -- the two clubs have managed just one win between them outside of continental competition since the start of April, but in the Europa League they have been going great guns.
Ange Postecoglou's Spurs side finished fourth in the competition's league phase, a place behind United. In the knockouts, they narrowly beat AZ Alkmaar and Eintracht Frankfurt, before easing past Bodo/Glimt to reach the final in Bilbao. Spurs have won this tournament twice -- under it's previous moniker of the UEFA Cup -- in 1971 and 1984,.
They will be hoping to become the second English club to win Europe's second-tier competition three times, after Liverpool. Will Postecoglou deliver on his promise of "always winning a trophy" in his second season?
United took a more adventurous route to the final, beating Real Sociedad before pulling off a spectacular comeback against Lyon and then comprehensively beating an Athletic Club side who'd been dreaming of a home European final. United curiously remain the only unbeaten side across European competition this season.
Ruben Amorim, despite his horror start to life at Old Trafford, is now a game away from becoming just the third manager in United history to win a trophy in their first season (after José Mourinho and Erik Ten Hag). Can he do it?
A win here is not only about silverware, but a chance to play in the Champions League next season, and neither side can afford to miss out on such a lucrative prize.
Here's all you need to know about the big game:
How to watch:
The match will be available on TNT Sports 1 in the UK, Paramount+ in the United States, the Sony Sports Network in India and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key Details:
Date: Wednesday, May 22 at 8 p.m. BST (3 p.m. ET; 12.30 a.m. IST and 5 a.m. AEST on Thursday morning)
Venue: Estadio de San Mamés, Bilbao
Referee: Felix Zwayer
VAR: Bastian Dankert
Team news:
Tottenham Hotspur
Dejan Kulusevski, M/F, knee, OUT for the season
Radu Dragusin, D, knee, OUT for the season
James Maddison, M, knee, OUT for the season
Lucas Bergvall, M, ankle, OUT, estimated return late May
Dane Scarlett, F, hernia, OUT for the season
Manchester United
Jonny Evans, D, undisclosed, DOUBT
Tom Heaton, GK, muscle, DOUBT
Matthijs de Ligt, D, ankle, OUT for the season
Lisandro Martínez, D, knee, OUT for the season
Diogo Dalot, D, calf, DOUBT
Expected Lineups:
Tottenham Hotspur
GK Guglielmo Vicario
RB Pedro Porro | CB Cristian Romero | CB Micky van de Ven | LB Destiny Udogie
CM Pape Sarr | CM Rodrigo Bentancur | CM Yves Bissouma
RW Brennan Johnson | CF Dominic Solanke | LW Son Heung Min
Manchester United
GK:André Onana
CB: Leny Yoro | CB: Harry Maguire | CB:Luke Shaw
RWB: Noussair Mazraoui | CM: Casemiro | CM: Manuel Ugarte | LWB: Patrick Dorgu
AM: Alejandro Garnacho | AM: Bruno Fernandes
CF: Rasmus Højlund
Stats:
Only five times previously has there been all-English final in major European competitions. This will be Spurs' third such final after the 1971-72 UEFA Cup final (beat Wolves 3-2 on aggregate) and the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League final (lost 2-0 to Liverpool).
This is the second time Spurs and United are meeting in a major European competition. They faced off in the 1963-64 Cup Winners' Cup where United won 4-3 on aggregate.
Wednesday will mark United's ninth major European final -- only Liverpool have reached more (15) amongst English clubs.
In more current stats, United have not beaten Spurs in any of their last six meetings (D2, L4) and have lost all of the three times they faced Spurs this season.
Latest news and analysis:
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This season's UEFA Europa League -- which features two of the Premier League's biggest clubs, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur -- is a curious fixture.
- Man United, Amorim's turbulent run-up to Europa League final
The pressure is on at Manchester United. Wednesday's Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur in Bilbao, Spain, will be a £100 million lottery for Ruben Amorim and his players.
- Europa League final win should save Ange Postecoglou, says club icon
The last time Tottenham Hotspur won a European trophy it proved to be manager Keith Burkinshaw's last game in charge and as the club arrive in Bilbao for Wednesday's Europa League final against Manchester United, history could be repeating itself.
- Son Heung-Min says Europa League final will be 'biggest day of my life'
"Wednesday will be the biggest day of my life. It will be great. We will be excited, and I hope we can make history," Son said.
This season's UEFA Europa League -- which features two of the Premier League's biggest clubs, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur -- is a curious fixture.
Normally it would be billed as yet another example of the English league's superior strength in depth compared to the rest of Europe's major powers. But instead, the prematch narrative has been about how historically poor both teams have been at home this season. With one game of the domestic season remaining, these two teams sit in 16th and 17th place, right above the relegation places (which, lucky for them, have all already been confirmed).
And yet, either Ruben Amorim's United or Ange Postecoglou's Spurs, with one non-European win between them since the start of April, will be in next season's UEFA Champions League, by virtue of lifting the Europa League trophy at Bilbao's San Mamés stadium on Wednesday.
Spurs have already beaten United three times this season -- both home and away in the league, as well as winning a seven-goal thriller in the Carabao Cup -- but those results amounted to little for them and pale in comparison to the outcome of a European final.
But which team has had the worst season? Which club, manager and set of players need to win this final the most? And, ultimately, who will win? ESPN writers James Olley and Rob Dawson, who will be covering the final, give their prematch thoughts.
Which team's season has been worse: Man United's or Tottenham's?
Dawson: Let's be honest, they've both been rubbish.
Olley: It's no wonder this final has been dubbed 'El Crapico' on social media.
Dawson: Neither United nor Spurs should be in the bottom half of the Premier League table given the money they've spent. For both to be hovering above the relegation zone is unbelievable. The drop-off for Tottenham has been more pronounced. They finished fifth a year ago, two points outside the Champions League places and three places above United, but have managed to lose more than half of their league games this season.
The money United have spent to assemble their squad makes their league form even more staggering. They've invested nearly £400 million in new players in the past two years alone. It's not easy when you're dealing with injuries and a midseason change of manager [when Amorim replaced Erik ten Hag], but there is absolutely no excuse for a club of that size to be 16th in the table. Liverpool, for example, have never finished below eighth in the Premier League era.
Olley: United have been laughably bad, but you could argue Spurs' season is worse because there was no doubt surrounding their manager last summer. While United scouted for Ten Hag's replacement -- only to start the campaign with him and then change their minds -- Spurs were quietly eyeing a really positive campaign under Postecoglou. They spent around £65m to sign striker Dominic Solanke and, of course, Postecoglou has a track record of always winning things in his second season. Postecoglou could not understand the furor his comments created, arguing what else could he do but tell the truth. The real source of the surprise, though, was not him stating a fact of his career but the implied confidence that his success would translate to a club like Spurs who have won nothing since 2008.
And over time, he has continued to complain about an injury -- one that he seems either unwilling or unable to acknowledge may have been caused, at least in part, by his own methods. Most top clubs have suffered more injuries this season, but Postecoglou's high-intensity style combined with a willingness to risk players -- think Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven against Chelsea in December, when both first-choice center-backs picked up injuries -- makes him at least partially responsible. And they've lost 21 league games. TWENTY-ONE. Whatever the mitigation -- and there is some -- that surely can't be tolerated at a club of Spurs' stature. It is why the odds are Postecoglou will lose his job no matter what happens in Bilbao, so while United will feel they have some sense of direction, Spurs are probably back at a crossroads again.
Dawson: Ultimately, given the stakes in Bilbao, whoever loses the final will have had the worst season. United and Tottenham have been historically bad, but both can claim that the campaign has been some sort of success if there's silverware at the end of it. It's not an exaggeration to say that one of them will find salvation in Spain.
The winning club will gain a trophy but also potentially earn £100m or more from next season's UCL. Who needs it more?
Olley: Flip the question on its head where Tottenham are concerned. The money isn't important. Of course it will help, but Spurs have sufficient room within the current profit and sustainability rules (PSR) to be active in the summer transfer window. This final is more about ending a 17-year wait for a trophy. It has become a psychological hurdle that has come to define the club to some extent, triggering the 'Spursy' moniker. Postecoglou has described winning as a potential "turning point in terms of the way the club is perceived but also more how it perceives itself, which is the biggest thing." And he's right.
Dawson: United need the money more. As James says, Tottenham are relatively stable financially. That's certainly not the case at Old Trafford. They're walking a PSR tightrope, and it's so serious that good offers to sign academy graduates Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo will have to be considered in the summer. Almost every member of the first-team squad is available for the right fee, and there will have to be outgoing transfers to fund new signings. An injection of cash from the Champions League is vital. It allows Amorim more room to reshape his team in the transfer window and bring in more players suited to his 3-4-2-1 system.
It's all or nothing because if they don't win the Europa League then there won't be European football at all next season. It would give Amorim more time to focus on the Premier League, but that loss of revenue could be catastrophic.
Olley: The Europa League is not the biggest prize, but Spurs supporters aren't bothered about that. They want to win something to shed the tag of "nearly-men" who always fall short when trophies are in sight. The money is a huge benefit and will aid the club's development, but, in truth, this game is more important on an existential level for Tottenham.
Lifting the trophy would mean more for which manager: Amorim or Postecoglou?
Dawson: Amorim probably doesn't need the complication of Champions League football next season -- he's said it would be beneficial to have more time on the training pitch -- but he needs the Europa League trophy. A season that should have been a free hit for the new manager, who was only appointed on Nov. 1 last year, has turned into a nightmare. Because of that, Amorim is already under pressure ahead of his first full campaign. The Europa League trophy buys him time.
Olley: It is the only chance Postecoglou has of saving his job. And, even then, it might not be enough. Ironically, Spurs could find themselves where United were last year: win a trophy unexpectedly at the end of a season where a managerial change felt inevitable. United made a mistake by retaining Ten Hag, so what do Spurs do about Postecoglou?
Dawson: Club sources are adamant that United will stick with Amorim this summer, regardless of the result against Spurs. There is, however, a big difference between starting next season with a trophy in the bag or on the back of a painful defeat in the final. If it goes badly in Bilbao and next season starts with more setbacks in the Premier League, there will be serious questions about his job in October and November. For the most part, Amorim has been given the benefit of the doubt by the fans. Winning a trophy would earn some much-needed credit in the bank.
Olley: Winning a trophy would not silence all the doubts around Postecoglou, but it would make him more attractive to other clubs. He touched on that point himself last month as speculation grew over his position: "I know what my responsibilities are and I am sure if the club decide to go in a different direction there are some outstanding candidates for it. And you know what, maybe someone will think: 'Ange Postecoglou is not a bad coach, maybe we'll take a punt on him.'" Win in Bilbao and that queue will be longer; a resounding win could even make Spurs think twice about making a change.
What about the players? Whose futures could hinge on the result in Bilbao?
Olley: There are some at Spurs who feel Romero will likely push for a move to Atlético Madrid this summer. Winning the Europa League wouldn't automatically change the defender's mind, but it would at least strengthen their argument in trying to keep him. Club captain Son Heung-Min is a Spurs great, but he only had a one-year option triggered in his contract by the club, as opposed to any serious discussions over a longer deal. The 32-year-old surely won't leave this summer, but a match-defining display in a game of this magnitude would be a timely reminder of his talent and silence doubts he may be past his best.
There is uncertainty over striker Richarlison's future given his ongoing fitness problems, while Postecoglou has previously been strong on the idea that Spurs would take up their option to sign forward Mathys Tel from Bayern Munich. But would missing out on the Champions League money force a rethink about committing £45m on a promising youngster after an indifferent five-month loan spell?
Dawson: The result in Bilbao could have big consequences for some of the players. Whatever the result, midfielder Christian Eriksen and defender Victor Lindelöf are set to leave on free transfers, and United are hoping to get rid of forwards Marcus Rashford, Antony and Jadon Sancho. Beyond that, Champions League revenue would give the club more power to resist offers for Garnacho and Mainoo. Indications in January were that both want to stay at Old Trafford, although there is an acceptance that, ultimately, it's out of their hands.
Winning the Europa League could also have an impact on Casemiro's future. The 33-year-old Brazil midfielder has been key in the run to the final, and his experience would be vital in the Champions League next season. But if there's no European football, you can make the case that it's better to get his wages off the books and go with a smaller squad.
Finally, who is going to win the final, and why?
Dawson: This season has been disastrous for United, but they have turned up in some big games. Manchester City (2-1) and Liverpool (2-2) away from home and Arsenal (1-1) at Old Trafford were all good performances. The pressure was on in Europa League away legs against Real Sociedad, Lyon and Athletic Club, and they dealt with that, too. It feels set up for a captain's display from Bruno Fernandes to drag his team over the line. United 3-0 Spurs
Olley: These two teams are so utterly unreliable that it is hard to be confident about any of this. The absences of James Maddison, Lucas Bergvall and most recently Dejan Kulusevski give Spurs a major creativity issue. Postecoglou's attacking style could also play into United's strengths in transition if they adopt a typically cavalier approach. With Son also struggling for form and fitness, United may just be in better shape on the night and edge it. United 2-1 Spurs
ESPNBET odds
Match result
Tottenham Hotspur: +175
Manchester United: +150
Draw: +230
High-flying Aston Villa dispatched Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in the Premier League on Friday to improve their chances of more Champions League football and leave their visitors firmly focused on next week's Europa League final.
With Villa dominating possession in a party atmosphere for their final home game of the season, the breakthrough came in the 59th minute when centre-back Ezri Konsa whipped home after Ollie Watkins headed the ball into his path from a corner.
Midfielder Boubacar Kamara rifled home Villa's second in the 73rd minute to end the tepid resistance of Spurs, who hope to salvage an otherwise miserable season in Bilbao next week if they can beat Manchester United to lift the Europa League.
With one fixture left, Villa are on 66 points and fifth in the Premier League, the last qualifying berth for the Champions League. Chelsea are above them on goal difference after beating Manchester United also on Friday.
Manchester City are sixth on 65 points but with two games left.
Villa goalscorer Konsa said his goal came from a corner routine the team had worked on during the week, setting them on their way for a remarkable eighth consecutive home win.
"I'm just glad that we managed to get the win on our last home game and give the fans something to cheer for," he said.
"We knew today was a must-win. We want to play Champions League football again. We had a taste of it this season, got to the quarters. For us as players, it's the competition that you want to play in."
After suffering a 21st defeat in this season, Spurs sit a woeful 17th in the Premier League with 38 points, just above the bottom three already relegated sides.
Plagued by injuries, Spurs coach Ange Postecoglou at least had the pleasure of seeing his captain Son Heung-Min, recently back from injury, looking unscathed for the Bilbao clash.
"He is ready and available," Postecoglou said. It was important tonight and he feels like he is getting back to some rhythm."
Son was involved in all the Londoners' best attacking play, but in truth they barely laid a glove on Villa who won easily even without showing their usual intensity.
The home side's Morgan Rogers nearly saw a glancing header tipped round by Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky while Marco Asensio tormented the visitors with his footwork and Watkins saw a low shot fly just past the post.
"Very very happy," said Villa coach Unai Emery, punching the air in joy before posing with fans for selfies after the game.
"We have to try keep being consistent like we are now, focused and demanding. .. There's still work to do, to have the chance of playing Champions League."
Villa's final Premier League game is away at Manchester United while Chelsea go to Nottingham Forest.
Manchester City face Bournemouth at home then Fulham away.
Spurs under-fire boss Postecoglou praised his team's endeavour at Villa Park but said ultimately they ran out of steam.
Now winless in six Premier League games, Spurs' best effort came when winger Wilson Odobert's backheel almost deceived Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez before he recovered to make the save.
"Up until they scored, the boys worked hard, we didn't let them create too many openings, we had our moments too," he said.
"Once they scored, I think we lost belief and we were fatiguing, then the game just got away with us."
Harry Kane will play his former side Tottenham Hotspur for the second successive summer with Bayern Munich set to host the north London side in a preseason clash in August.
The two sides faced off twice in preseason last summer, first in Seoul, South Korea and then again at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Bayern were victorious on both occasions.
Kane will come up against his former side as a Bundesliga winner after ending his trophy-drought earlier this month. The England captain's 25 league goals led Bayern to the title in their first season under Vincent Kompany.
In August, it felt optimistic to rank Nottingham Forest even 14th in the Premier League. In September, we thought that either Brighton or Tottenham Hotspur were among the five best teams in England. In November, we still thought Spurs were top-five contenders and, even more damning, we thought Manchester United were worthy of a midtable spot. (Silly us.) In January, we were all aboard the AFC Bournemouth train.
Record semi-regular power rankings for long enough and you begin to realize just how frequently one's perceptions can change over a ridiculously long season. And in a year in which both the title and relegation fights were over before May, we reach the final stretch of the 2024-25 Premier League campaign watching Newcastle United and Aston Villa rise and Forest fall back toward where they began the season. (We're also dreaming of a postseason playoff.)
Below are our final updated power rankings for the 2024-25 season, followed by some analysis of the most notable changes from our previous rankings in January. Newcastle and Villa are flying high, Manchester City have been laminated on that No. 4 spot for a while, everyone has been great and terrible at some point, and Forest have stumbled in an extremely predictable way.
The updated Premier League team rankings
We last did this in January, and our rerankings -- the combination of the individual rankings from Bill Connelly and Ryan O'Hanlon -- are listed along with the new May adjustments, plus each team's present points total in the Premier League table and goal differential. Here's our final rerank of the 2024-25 Premier League season:
Better late than never from Newcastle and Aston Villa
Imagine that the Premier League had a season-ending playoff system like they do in the Belgian Pro League; after the regular-season round-robin is complete, everyone's point totals are cut in half and the top six teams play an additional round-robin to determine the league's champion. Granted, this doesn't really work for a 20-team league (Belgium's has 16) -- that's a 38-game regular season, followed by 10 more games -- but we can do whatever we want in a thought experiment.
Using analyst Simon Tinsley's full-season projections and rounding odd numbers up, we would start a six-team Premier League playoff with Liverpool at 44 points, Arsenal at 37, Manchester City and Newcastle at 35, and Chelsea and Aston Villa at 33. It would still take a monstrous comeback for someone to catch Liverpool, but based on current form it wouldn't be unrealistic to think that Newcastle and Aston Villa might round out a post-playoff top three.
Newcastle have lost just one of their last 10 matches in all competitions -- and that one loss was to Villa, who have lost just three of their last 15. Since March 8, these are the only two teams to average more than 2.0 points per game in league play (Villa at 2.63; Newcastle 2.44), and they aren't really overachieving any of their underlying numbers. They've simply been two of, at worst, the top three teams in the league.
In this span, Newcastle are first in goals scored and third in goals allowed; Villa are the opposite: third in goals, first in goals allowed. They have moved up accordingly in our power rankings.
Newcastle are getting sustained brilliance from the wing pairing of Jacob Murphy (right) and Harvey Barnes (left); since March 8, they have combined for seven goals and seven assists.
Barnes has supplanted Anthony Gordon on the left side of the attack and, with 13 combined goals and assists this season, he's close to matching the 14 he produced in 1,100 more minutes at Leicester City in 2022-23. He's also completed 74 progressive carries in this span, second on the team and fifth in the league among non-defenders. Combined with Alexander Isak's continued brilliance, Barnes has given Newcastle's ultra-direct attack a jolt of life just as others' energy levels in the league have dissipated.
For Villa, meanwhile, it's been all about the combination of increasingly sturdy defense and attacking reinforcements from the bench. Their possession rate during this brilliant run is just 41.4% (16th in the league), and they're averaging just 29.3 touches in the attacking third (18th). But while they're allowing opponents to take as many shots as they want -- since March 8 they're allowing 0.16 shots per possession (17th) -- none are from good positions. They're allowing just 0.11 expected goals (xG) per shot, the lowest in the league.
Once they've properly absorbed pressure, Villa counter attack pretty well, especially late in a match. From the 70th minute onward, they've scored seven goals in this span (most in the league) and allowed just one (fewest). Adding both Marcus Rashford (loan) and Donyell Malen (€23 million) in the January transfer window allowed Emery to shuffle his attackers and create valuable substitutions, and Malen has two of those seven late goals.
Both teams needed this late surge. Heading into March 8, Villa were seventh in the league with 45 points and Newcastle were eighth at 44. Newcastle had lost four of six league matches, dropping decisions to Liverpool and Manchester City by a combined 6-0, while Villa had endured a five-match league winless streak. Now they're both among the top 10 teams in the world, per the Opta supercomputer.
Newcastle's odds of finishing in the top five have surged to 95%, per both Opta and Tinsley; Villa's are between 37% (Tinsley) and 42% (Opta). And those odds don't factor in that their final two matches are against Europa League finalists Tottenham Hotspur (May 16) and Manchester United (May 25) on both sides of that final. They could benefit from distraction in both instances. -- Connelly
Manchester City never really found fifth gear
I think we all expected Manchester City to figure it out at some point, right? To start scoring goals for fun? To shut things down at the other end? To control, suffocate and dominate games like they've been doing for nearly a decade?
Instead, there are two games left in the season, and City are just two points (and some goal differential) clear of missing out on the Champions League altogether. Now, they're probably not going to miss out -- Tinsley's projections give City a 95% likelihood of finishing in the top five -- but there's still a chance they don't.
Per Transfermarkt, City spent €218m on transfer fees for five players in January, while no other club in Europe was north of €55m. With all those new players in tow, here's how they've performed since the start of February -- based on their adjusted goal difference (a blend of 70% xG and 30% goals):
And here's how things looked before the start of February:
The numbers improved slightly: up from plus-0.54 to plus-0.61, and up from fifth-best to fourth-best. But this wasn't City returning to form as a Premier League- and Champions League-level challenger, like we saw with Liverpool toward the end of both of their down years, 2020-21 and 2022-23, under Jurgen Klopp. This was a borderline top-four-level team turning into a slightly less borderline top-four-level team.
Now, the defense has improved drastically. Their adjusted goals-allowed number was 1.41 per game before February, and it's plummeted all the way down to 0.96 since then. City are allowing nearly five fewer shots per game -- 13.3 before February; 8.0 since -- and they've allowed significantly tougher shots, too: 0.11 xG per shot, compared to 0.14 before February. The press, too, has been a little more aggressive and a little more effective now that they've integrated some younger legs into the lineup.
But it's come at a significant cost at the other end. City's adjusted-goals number has slipped from 1.96 per game before February to 1.57 per game since. Before February, they were attempting 17.2 shots per game -- just slightly behind Liverpool's league-leading mark of 17.7. But since February, that number has dropped to 13.8, and the quality of the shots hasn't improved at all.
So, basically, they're trading one form of instability for another. Before the January window, City could attack but they couldn't defend. And now they can defend but can't attack. Just take last weekend's Southampton game: They faced a team with nothing to play for -- and one that, according to City defender Rúben Dias, "didn't even try" -- but they were totally unable to generate any quality attempts.
What all this means is that City are not guarantee to win either of their remaining games, especially against tricky midtable teams like Fulham and Bournemouth. This just still isn't a team that can tilt the field so much that their opponent falls off the other end.
They'll probably hang on to finish in the top five, since they have a points lead and a goal difference lead, but if the team are going to bounce back to Premier League title contention next season, a lot is going to have to change. Right now, they're not even close to Liverpool ... or even Arsenal. -- O'Hanlon
Nottingham Forest couldn't outrun xG forever
On April 1, barely six weeks ago, Nottingham Forest beat Manchester United 1-0. Including a 0-0 draw with Arsenal and a 1-0 win over Manchester City, it extended a key unbeaten streak to four games. With eight matches to go, Forest were in third place with 57 points, eight ahead of fourth-place Chelsea, nine ahead of fifth-place City and, most importantly for Champions League qualification, 10 points ahead of sixth-place Newcastle.
Six matchdays later, they're in seventh. After blowing two different leads in a 2-2 draw against relegated Leicester City on Sunday, they're now a point behind in the race for a top-five spot and, with the way they've been playing, that gap feels much larger. They've won just one of their last seven games in all competitions and only one of six in the Premier League. If ever there were a use for the word "collapse," it's apt here.
It's only sort of a collapse, though. Looking at the advanced stats, it was pretty clear that Forest were running extraordinarily hot. It was only a question of whether they could lock down a Champions League berth before they came back down to earth. That is now looking unlikely.
On April 1, Forest had scored 50 goals (sixth in the league) on shots worth just 38.0 xG (15th). Their goal differential was plus-15 (fourth), despite an xG differential of plus-1.8 (10th). They had won five league matches with a negative xG differential, and in nine matches with an xG differential of minus-0.75 or worse, they had managed to steal eight points with two wins and two draws.
Meanwhile, in nine matches with a plus-0.75 xG differential or better, they had taken nine wins. They had certainly produced some sterling performances, and players like Murillo and Chris Wood -- the chief xG overachiever (he's scored 20 league goals from shots worth 12.4 xG) -- have been among the league's best. After finishing 16th and 17th over the previous two seasons, even improvement to about 10th would have been noteworthy. But, well, they had as many minus-0.75 performances as plus-0.75s above; that isn't a Champions League-worthy statistical résumé.
On paper, Forest should be closer to Everton and Manchester United than Chelsea and Manchester City and, unfortunately for them, reality is finally beginning to reflect that. Forest's form has certainly taken a further downturn in this awful six-match swing -- they've actually still managed to overachieve against xG, stealing a 2-1 win over Spurs (xG differential: minus-1.7) and a 1-1 draw with Palace (minus-1.6) in this span. But since April 2, they rank 15th in points per game (0.83) and 17th in xG differential (minus-5.6). They've hit a brick wall, but it's only so much of a surprise.
Of course, the story is not over just yet. This weekend, Forest play West Ham -- a team in form as rickety as theirs -- before hosting Chelsea in their final game. That might be a Champions League play-in of sorts, and Chelsea won't have suspended forward Nicolas Jackson, whose absence is usually noteworthy. (Chelsea average 1.89 points per game when Jackson starts and 1.50 when he doesn't.)
It would only take a couple more breaks for Forest to make their long-awaited return to the Champions League, a competition they won in 1979 and 1980 (when it was called the European Cup), but it might turn out that they've already exhausted their supply of good breaks. -- Connelly
Everyone in the middle's been great and terrible at some point
Don't look now, but Brentford are all the way up to eighth place. And while the table doesn't show it, this weekend's FA Cup finalists, Crystal Palace, might be even better than that, as they're currently eighth in the season-long adjusted-goal-difference table. More importantly, these two clubs are the biggest risers in the latest edition of these rerankings.
We've been enamored with various other mid-ish table clubs throughout the season, too. There was a period where Brighton's talented young players and manager were putting up impressive results, week in and week out. We've been high on Fulham. We've liked what Everton have done since David Moyes returned. We like what Wolves are doing right now. We rode the Forest train until it ran out of steam. And we once even tabbed Bournemouth as one of the favorites for a Champions League place.
The point is: the Premier League's midtable is stacked and that's been lost amidst the awful relegated sides, Liverpool's walk to the title, and the struggles of almost every other big club. But I think part of the reason that most of the big clubs have struggled this year is that there are fewer "gimme" matches than ever before. Throw Villa into the mix above and you have nine teams outside of the traditional Big Six and Newcastle who have been genuinely tough to play against this season, at least at some point.
This isn't just a subjective feeling, either.
The Club Elo ratings view clubs purely based on their results. There are no league adjustments or underlying data sources or anything like this. You win games, you gain rating points. You lose a game, you lose points. And how many points you win or lose is determined by the quality of the opponent (based on all the points they've won and lost in the past) and the location of the game.
Based on these rankings, Villa are the 11th-strongest team in the world; Palace sit 16th and Brentford 17th, sandwiched below Napoli and above Borussia Dortmund. Then there's Bournemouth in 20th, one spot below Roma and one ahead of Juventus. Forest are 22nd, below Juve and ahead of AC Milan. And Brighton are one spot below Milan. Thanks to their Europa League performance, even Manchester United sneak into the last spot of the top 25.
Put another way, the teams sitting in sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, 10th, 12th, and 16th in the Premier League are all among the 25 best teams in the world.
Stretch it out to the top 50 and Tottenham (31), Everton (33), Fulham (34), West Ham (41), Wolves (44) all make it, as do the two automatic qualifiers from the Championship: Burnley (47) and Leeds (49). Were team strengths distributed equally across the five biggest countries, you'd expect each league to have eight or nine teams -- leaving some room for the best teams in the Netherlands and Portugal.
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that Dejan Kulusevski will be out for "a few months" and will miss next week's Europa League's final.
After being forced off in Sunday's Premier League defeat to Crystal Palace, it was revealed on Wednesday that the winger had undergone surgery on his right knee.
While no timeframe was offered for his absence, Kulusevski was a near certainty to miss the final against Manchester United on May 22 and Postecoglou has now confirmed that.
"It's obviously disappointing news," Postecoglou said at a news conference on Thursday. "Initially we thought it wasn't too serious because obviously the medical team were worried about how the knee was structurally, but it seemed pretty good.
"But then it kind of blew up a day after and so we knew there was an issue there. He's had surgery and it will put him out at least for a few months."
Asked if Kulusevski would be back the start of next season in August, Postecoglou added: "We'll see. I've only got basic information in terms of recovery but it will certainly put him out for a while."
With James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall both suffering season-ending injuries, Tottenham could only have three fit senior midfielders for the clash with United in Biblao -- Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr.
Maddison suffered a knee injury in the 3-1 Europa League semi-final first leg win over Bodo/Glimt at the start of the month, while Bergvall suffered ankle ligament damage in training ahead of the same game.
There was speculation that Bergvall could make a shock return against United, but Postecoglou quashed those rumours on Thursday.
"No, it's still the same sort of timeframe," he said.
"Never long term, but he's just got out of his boot and taking his first steps on the grass. He'll likely be a while."