The New York Times

For so much of this season, Tottenham Hotspur have appeared to be falling apart at the seams. But not here, up on the Arctic Circle, where Spurs pulled together to overcome unique conditions, making it through to the final of the Europa League, right to the brink of history.

The overwhelming impression was of unity, joy and pride after the 2-0 win at Bodo/Glimt secured a 5-1 aggregate victory. Mathys Tel sprinted bounded over the hoardings and into the arms of the Spurs fans, freezing cold, soaked through, but ecstatic to be heading to Bilbao for the final in two weeks. The rest of the Tottenham squad caught up with Tel, celebrated with the fans as Yves Bissouma climbed onto the advertising hoardings, twirling a scarf around his head.

The players joined arms and sang, ‘When the Spurs go marching in.’ And Ange Postecoglou, whose recent relationship with the crowd has been up and down, to put it mildly, lingered in front of them, warmly applauding, being applauded back, soaking up the moment.

The story of Spurs’ European campaign has been one of inversion. Everything that has been seen and said about Spurs’ season has been turned on its head. As Tel hurdled into the fans’ embrace, it was impossible not to think back to Craven Cottage two months ago when he tried to go up to the away end after a 2-0 defeat against Fulham, and found himself on the receiving end of a frank assessment of where Spurs were going wrong. But this was a different competition, a different energy and ultimately a very different Spurs.

No one has confounded his reputation more than head coach Postecoglou. For every Europa League game, there has been a new plan, perfectly tailored to Spurs’ strengths and the opposition’s weaknesses. We saw it in Frankfurt, where Tottenham surprised their hosts by sitting deep, counter-attacking, scoring a penalty then shutting down the game. We saw it in the first leg of this semi-final, where Spurs played direct, relied on their physical edge and controlled the game.

Even more impressive in the second leg was that Tottenham had to play not just the opponent but the conditions too. Everyone knows about the artificial surface here. Bodo/Glimt saw it as their trump card. It was soaked beforehand, not just by hours of heavy rain but by the sprinklers. Porto, Besiktas, Twente, Olympiacos and Lazio had all come here and lost this season. This sleepy port town, penned in by snowy mountains on one side and endless freezing sea on the other, could have been where Spurs’ European dream died.

It should not be forgotten that Spurs came here facing the latest episode in their injury permacrisis that has blighted their season. Last week, they lost Lucas Bergvall on Wednesday and James Maddison on Thursday to injuries (ankle and knee respectively) that have ended their seasons. They had been Spurs’ two best players in recent months, particularly at keeping and progressing the ball. And now Postecoglou needed to build a team without them.

So, what do you do when you have lost your midfield and the opponent’s secret weapon is the surface itself? Take them both out of the equation. Spurs went long throughout, even more than they did in the first leg. No qualms about booting goal-kicks upfield, aiming for Dominic Solanke and Richarlison up front. No reluctance to fire a diagonal ball whenever Pedro Porro or Cristian Romero had some free possession. And with Solanke and Richarlison working as hard as they did, the ball almost always stuck.

Some teams come here and get overwhelmed by the speed of Bodo/Glimt’s possession, the relentless attacks roared on by the home crowd. Spurs were happy to run down the clock, taking their time over every single restart, earning the fury of the home fans and the frustration of the referee. Guglielmo Vicario was eventually booked for it halfway through the second half. But it worked. Glimt never got any momentum with any ball. And with Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson doing disciplined defensive jobs — Kulusevski almost man-marking Patrick Berg — there was never any rhythm to the hosts’ play. The home crowd lost belief as much as the players did.

People will say that a club of Tottenham’s means should always be able to win here. But the story of this season is that big European clubs with better players than Bodo/Glimt have always tripped up. Spurs’ success lay in their ability to build a platform for their superior individual quality to tell. Solanke, Romero, Micky van de Ven and Porro could show how good they are.

Postecoglou has faced plenty of criticism in recent months for how he has rotated his team in the league to keep players fresh for Europe. It has not been easy to do, as the defeats have added up, contributing to a league record so poor it probably means that this season will be Postecoglou’s last at Spurs. It might have been easier to go strong in the league and relieve some pressure, at least for a while.

But who could argue with that rotation policy watching Spurs play like this? Van de Ven and Romero have both started Spurs’ last five straight European games, ever since the AZ second leg that effectively re-launched this campaign when it was already looking over. They were both at their best here, Romero rising to the role of captain, talking his team-mates through the game, keeping them calm and patient throughout. Solanke has been managed too, rotated out for two recent league games. He ran heroically tonight, pressing from the front, and has now scored in his last three European appearances. Destiny Udogie and Porro have more energy now than they have in months. Only because they have not always played in the league.

This European campaign has been a tightrope walk for Postecoglou. Ever since Spurs went out of the domestic cups in early February, this has been the only way to save their season. And with the league form so historically bad, there has been no safety net. Exiting this competition would mean the season was written off as a failure, and Postecoglou with it. The stakes could not have been higher.

And yet every time it looked like Postecoglou and his team had lost their balance, and were about to fall from the tightrope, they re-established their footing and moved further on. The wins against Hoffenheim and Elfsborg after going three games without a win in the league phase. The second leg against AZ after a disastrous 1-0 defeat in the Netherlands. Winning in Frankfurt after only drawing at home. And now this, the penultimate step, making Europe’s hardest away trip look like a breeze.

The final step on the rope takes them to Bilbao. Beat Manchester United and it would be Spurs’ first trophy for 17 years, first in Europe for 41 years. It would be the most thumping vindication for Postecoglou, whatever happens to him at the end of this month. He would upend the modern story of the whole club. Just like he has been upending the story of his own management every step along the way.

(Top photo: David Lidstrom – UEFA/Getty Images)

Manchester United are heading to the Europa League final where they will face Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Ruben Amorim's men brought a 3-0 lead into the second leg after winning well in Bilbao a week ago and, although Mikel Jauregizar cut the deficit down to two, it was ultimately light work for the hosts.

Mason Mount starred for United off the bench with two goals that bookended Casemiro's header and Rasmus Hojlund's close-range finish.

It meant they won 7-1 on aggregate and secured their return to Bilbao for the final against Tottenham on May 21.

Subscribe to The Athletic on an exclusive offer here.

Ernesto Valverde must wonder how on earth his side have been beaten 7-1 on aggregate over those two legs. They certainly didn't deserve to go through but, equally, they didn't deserve to lose that heavily in either game.

He spoke to TNT Sports:

💬 “The tie wasn't a walk in the park for United in either the first or second leg.

“It was much more even than the scoreline suggests, but we can't allow those final 10 minutes to give the fans cause for celebration, much less the opposition.

“Playing in Europe requires a lot of focus. We're not a team like the classic Champions League teams, who can win at 70 per cent, we have to fight, run a lot, and play very close.”

Ruben Amorim, as he has done all season, reiterated to TNT Sports that this European campaign is nothing but an irrelevance if they don't lift the trophy.

💬 “I'm just worried about the next game, trying to not get any injuries for the final. If we don't win the final, it means nothing for us.

“We have to have a full squad (in the final), stay in the game and have a bit of luck and we have to be clinical.

“It's quite similar for me and Ange (Tottenham manager Postecoglou). It is a tough moment (for us both) and one of us is going to win. It's going to be a big final and we will try to win.”

There will be something of a salvation for Ruben Amorim and Manchester United if they can end their wretched domestic season with a major European trophy.

The United boss is the first manager to reach a major European final in his first season in charge of an English club since Thomas Tuchel in the 2020-2021 Champions League.

And the last United manager to do that was Jose Mourinho in the 2016-17 Europa League.

Both Tuchel and Mourinho won those finals...

Mason Mount will steal lots of headlines, and rightly so, but the introduction of Amad really changed the game.

The 22-year-old looked like he had never been away and, once again, showed why him staying fit is of paramount importance to United in the short — and long — term.

Amad should be the second name on Ruben Amorim's teamsheet, after Bruno Fernandes, if he is fully fit for the final on May 21.

Unsurprisingly, Amorim was asked about Mount's influence off the bench.

💬 “I'm so happy for him. He is such a player. He works really hard, he has quality.

“I really like Kobbie Mainoo, just 10 minutes but everything he did was really good and sometimes you're on the bench and can change the game.

“When you see that kind of guy like Mason working hard every day, eating well, having ice baths, when you have this kind of player you just want to help him.

“He is perfect for this position as he can be a midfielder, but also runs like a winger so I'm really happy for him.”

Like Mount before him, Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim also picked out the support of the United fans when he spoke to TNT Sports after the match.

💬 “It's the least we can do for these fans, for the support they have given us in this tough season. I'm stressed already because of the final. If we don't do it, it means nothing, but we're happy to be there so let's see.

“I know I should be a better manager and the team should be better at this moment but we're trying. We did quite well in Europe but we are struggling in the Premier League.”

It really will be Bilbao or bust for Manchester United, who will chance their arm at saving their season against Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final later this month.

They will go toe-to-toe with Spurs at Bilbao’s San Mames Stadium on Wednesday, May 21, after they swept aside Bodo/Glimt.

The Athletic's Laurie Whitwell, Anantaajith Raghuraman and Thom Harris break down the main talking points from United’s semi-final success, below.

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur will meet for the fourth time this season when they face off in the Europa League final in Bilbao on May 21 after both came through their respective semi-finals on Thursday.

All three games between the sides so far this season — two in the Premier League and one in the Carabao Cup — have ended in Tottenham wins. United have not beaten the club from north London since October 2022. Tottenham have won four of the last six meetings in all competitions, outscoring United 14-7.

It is never easy to glean takeaways from earlier matches during the season, especially in this case, given their fourth meeting of 2024-25 will be in a final that could salvage otherwise disappointing seasons. But their most recent clash — a 1-0 Tottenham home win in February — contained tactical elements we can expect to see in Bilbao.

Both had injury concerns. Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Radu Dragusin, Richarlison and Dominic Solanke were out for Spurs, even as Guglielmo Vicario and Wilson Odobert returned. United were without Manuel Ugarte, Kobbie Mainoo, Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Lisandro Martinez, Amad, Altay Bayindir and Jonny Evans.

With only Alejandro Garnacho available as an out-and-out winger, United set up with him on the left and Joshua Zirkzee as the right-sided No 10 behind Rasmus Hojlund. Without the ball, they adopted a 5-3-2 shape with Hojlund and Zirkzee leading the press.

The issue this raised was in tackling Spurs’ fluid rotations on the left with Djed Spence, James Maddison and Son Heung-min. In the example below from the third minute, Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot are outnumbered by the trio.

Having a spare man was a theme in the first half and United’s passive approach meant Spurs could dominate possession in different ways.

In the fifth minute, Lucas Bergvall carries the ball to the left from the right while Spence inverts to draw out Noussair Mazraoui. Son holds his width, commanding Dalot’s attention, giving Maddison multiple passing options and Spurs the chance to chip away at United.

In this example from the 26th minute, Fernandes pushing high forces Mazraoui to step forward. The Moroccan is reluctant to move too far out of the defensive line, though.

With Son occupying Dalot again, Maddison and Spence are both line-breaking options with space and indecision to feed on.

This move ended with Maddison receiving and passing over the top to Son, who crossed for Mathys Tel, with the Frenchman forcing a save from Andre Onana.

Throughout the first half, Fernandes could be seen asking Dalot to push up to create the 4-4-2 shape that United often use now out of possession. Dalot was initially hesitant, but in the 23rd minute — with United 1-0 down after Maddison’s 13th-minute opener — he jumps up to dispossess Maddison after Patrick Dorgu advances on the other flank to force Dejan Kulusevski into a risky switch of play.

Fernandes flicks on Dalot’s header to the dropping Zirkzee, who pulls makeshift centre-back Ben Davies away from the middle. Pedro Porro tries to cover for Davies, which results in a haphazard defensive line and United finding Garnacho open on the left side of the box after some neat one-touch passing.

Garnacho skies the chance — United’s best of the first half — but the strategy allowed them to limit Spurs’ chances in the 15 minutes before the break.

The same move provided a glimpse of what United needed to do in attack too: get Zirkzee and Hojlund to unsettle Spurs’ centre-backs.

In the 55th minute, Zirkzee drops and United pass to him, with Davies closing him down.

United work the ball to Fernandes and Hojlund comes across, dragging Kevin Danso with him, while Davies drops off Zirkzee. That opens a massive gap at the heart of Spurs’ defence.

Zirkzee, receiving from Fernandes, uses that exact gap to find Garnacho in behind and he forces a save from Vicario.

They had an alternate strategy too: getting Hojlund and Zirkzee to drop in unison to drag the centre-backs with them and enable a pass over the top to a runner from wide like Dalot in the example below…

Dalot also forced a save from Vicario but was flagged offside.

While the strategy forced a more transitional game at times, United were largely in control, a sign of progress that they built on to use to their advantage in the Europa League knockout ties against Real Sociedad and Lyon.

The way United’s and Spurs’ seasons have unravelled has meant their September clash at Old Trafford — which Spurs won 3-0 — has long been forgotten.

With Erik ten Hag still in the home dugout, Micky van de Ven left half the United team in his wake to assist Brennan Johnson in the third minute. United were lucky not to concede more before Fernandes’ 42nd-minute red card (which was later rescinded) for scraping Maddison’s calf with a raised boot.

Kulusevski and Solanke scored in the second half, though 10-man United could have scored a couple too.

Ahead of their League Cup quarter-final meeting in December, Spurs were caught in an injury crisis. United, just a month into the Amorim era, were only missing Shaw and Mount but played a rotated side.

United looked very much like a team transitioning from one style to another and were down 3-0 by the 54th minute — all three goals a result of errors.

There was no meek surrender this time, though, as two Fraser Forster mistakes led to goals from substitutes Amad and Zirkzee. Son then beat Bayindir with an ‘Olimpico’ before another substitute, Evans, scored as the game ended 4-3.

Ahead of the final, both teams are missing key players but also have a majority of their squad fit.

Maddison, Bergvall and Son could all miss out for Spurs. Destiny Udogie is likely to start ahead of Spence, along with Romero, Van de Ven and Porro. Van de Ven’s pace when recovering could be crucial in situations similar to what United created during the February fixture. Richarlison and Solanke should be fit too.

For United, Dalot and Zirkzee are ruled out, but Amad is available. If deployed at right-wing back, his pressing could stifle Spurs’ left-sided combinations while adding an offensive punch. Ugarte and Casemiro have played well in tandem in recent weeks, barring an early stumble against Athletic Club, and their positional interchanges with Fernandes have been fluid.

Both teams have shown signs of evolution in Europe. United are better accustomed to Amorim’s system compared to the previous two meetings. Spurs’ performances in Europe have seen them embrace the defensive side instead of relying on transitional football and high pressing.

That — and the stakes involved — should make for an intriguing final.

This Tottenham Hotspur season has been defined by injuries, so perhaps it was fated that they would suffer another two right at the end, when Ange Postecoglou’s side were just a few games away from writing their place in the club’s history books.

Losing Lucas Bergvall to an ankle injury the day before the Bodo/Glimt first leg was bad enough. Bergvall has been the surprise find of the season, arguably the best player since he broke into the Premier League side just before Christmas. In difficult circumstances, he has performed heroically, Spurs’ best and bravest ball-carrier, an obvious future superstar.

But then, just over an hour into that first leg on Thursday evening, James Maddison went down clutching his knee. He was taken off and sent for scans. While the full extent of the damage was unclear even on Tuesday afternoon, the overall picture is bleak. Postecoglou was downbeat about it on Sunday afternoon, saying that it was “not looking promising”.

Put these two injuries together and it means Spurs will have to play in Bodo on Thursday night, their biggest game for six years, without their two most in-form midfielders. It could not have happened at a worse time, as Spurs try to defend a two-goal first-leg lead, with a place in the final at stake. If they successfully make it out of Aspmyra Stadion, they will set up the most thrilling climax to the strangest Spurs season in recent history. If they lose, they will fly home with very little to show for this season other than a historically bad league finish.

The job of the head coach is to find solutions and Postecoglou will have to come up with something. For the first leg against Bodo/Glimt, it was Yves Bissouma, perhaps surprisingly, stepping into Bergvall’s shoes. He did well, especially defensively, giving his best Spurs performance of the season. If Spurs want to make life difficult for their hosts on Thursday and stop them turning possession into shots, then having the double-protection of Bissouma and Bentancur in front of the defence could be invaluable again.

But in a sense, that is the easy bit. Spurs were very good without the ball in the first leg. The challenge will be how they move it forward under pressure, in uncomfortable conditions, without their two most important players in that area. No one at Spurs drives forward with the ball like Bergvall. No one can pause, turn and fire a clever forward pass like Maddison. (And then there is Maddison’s forward movement beyond the front line, a secret weapon of sorts that led to Spurs’ winner in Frankfurt and second goal in the Bodo/Glimt first leg.)

The fear is that if Spurs just have Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur sit in front of their defence on Thursday, then they could get so badly penned in that they never get out and that the north Norwegians put so much pressure on Tottenham that they eventually wilt. They need to find a way to get out.

That leaves two options, assuming that Bissouma keeps his place: Dejan Kulusevski and Pape Matar Sarr. While Sarr’s energy and movement are excellent, he feels like more of a bench option for this game. The hope must be that Kulusevski, with his extra experience and technical skill, is ready to perform as well as he did in the first half of the season.

It feels like a long time ago now, but Kulusevski was head and shoulders above his team-mates in the first half of this exhausting season. (Thursday will be Spurs’ 56th competitive game, meaning that if they reach the final, they will play 60 over the whole year.) Remember that for the first few months of the season, he largely played as a central midfielder, outshining Maddison at times, driving Spurs forward, creating chances and scoring goals. In December and January, he was generally deployed wide on the right — the position he played last season — rather than in the midfield three. Even on bad days, he scored brilliant individual goals, the perfect chip at Goodison Park in a disastrous 3-2 defeat the ultimate example.

Kulusevski is a physical machine and he had been involved in every single one of Spurs’ games by the time he reported the pain in his left foot after the defeat to Manchester City on February 26. The scans revealed that he had a stress fracture. Under normal circumstances, he would be expected to stay in a protective boot for two months before he could even start running again. That would have meant a return to training and playing around now, in early May.

But Kulusevski was desperate to play as big a role as possible in the climax of Spurs’ season. He wanted to get back out there alongside his team-mates as fast as he could. He has always been obsessive about fitness and recovery. He measures the pH value of water before he drinks it and weighs his food. He worked especially hard on his rehab and even had a hyperbaric treatment chamber installed at his home to help his foot recover. His target was always the second leg against Frankfurt, but he made it back before then, coming on at Wolves a few days before.

Since returning from injury, Kulusevski has been steadily heading in the right direction. He did not start in the first leg against Bodo/Glimt, but did start at West Ham United on Sunday. That was his second start since returning from the stress fracture, although it was such a poor game that even he struggled to lift it.

Perhaps the biggest question going into Thursday night is whether Kulusevski is now closer to being back to his physical best. Because if he is, and if he can push Spurs forward, carry the ball upfield, create chances, and shoot from the edge of the box, then he could transform the whole dynamic of the game by himself.

Tottenham cannot play the football that you might associate with them at their best, but they showed in the first leg that they had the physicality and individual ability to win the game. A fit Kulusevski in Bodo on Thursday could help them do that again.

(Top photo: Visionhaus/Getty Images)

Aston Villa’s match against Tottenham Hotspur has been moved to Friday, May 16 following discussions with the Premier League.

The game had originally been scheduled for Sunday May 18.

Tottenham announced a week ago that the club was discussing moving the fixture, which was slated to take place three days before the Europa League final. Spurs are in the semi-finals of the competition and defeated Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt 3-1 in the first leg on Thursday.

The Athletic reported on April 28 that Villa had objected to the idea, fearing that a rescheduling would mean a shorter turnaround between matches and could affect the team’s preparations for a crucial stretch of fixtures as they continue to battle for European qualification.

The Premier League’s decision followed consultation and consensus with the two clubs involved.

The move now means that the match will take place on the same day as Manchester United’s visit to Chelsea. United are also in the semi-finals of the Europa League and won the first leg 3-0 against Athletic Club.

It means the game at Stamford Bridge will avoid a clash with the Women’s FA Cup final, which will be contested between Chelsea and Manchester United at Wembley on the same day, with kick off at 1:30pm.

Tottenham’s match at Villa Park will kick-off at 7.30pm GMT, with the United game at Chelsea getting underway at 8.15pm.

Villa face trips to Bournemouth and United either side of the Spurs fixture to round out their season. Unai Emery’s side are seventh in the league, only outside of the top five on goal difference as they seek to qualify for the Champions League for the second year in a row.

Tottenham are 16th in the table and complete their league campaign with matches against Crystal Palace and Brighton and Hove Albion. They take on Glimt in the second leg on May 8.

(Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United have shared a particular, fierce, and very local rivalry for almost 130 years now. It started when Thames Ironworks, West Ham’s forerunners, came to Tottenham in the Thames and Medway League in September 1898. They kept bumping into each other in the Southern League, the Western League, and the London League, before settling on the Football League and meeting there for the first time in 1920.

And yet of all the 225 meetings between these two clubs over the last 127 years, this particular edition, right here in the fourth decade of the Premier League, surely felt the least like what this fixture is meant to be.

Think about the rich history of this contest, the unique memories it has provided over the years. Think about the qualities you would expect to see in any match between Tottenham and West Ham. The tension, the passion, the competition, the emotion, the aggression, the plot twists, the drama, the noise, the sense, above all, that the players were channelling this rivalry, making it real through their own quality and bravery and the pitch; none of this at all was remotely detectable here at the London Stadium on 4 May, 2025.

This was a shrug of a football match, a profound non-event that will leave no trace on anyone’s memories. It had none of the rhythms of a real game. The two first-half goals arrived out of nowhere. One from Mathys Tel pressing Max Kilman and forcing an error. The second from West Ham constructing the only incisive passing move of the entire game. But those were the only two ripples in an otherwise totally placid sea.

The second half was such an eventless drift towards the final whistle that it was almost soothing to watch. There was none of the jeopardy that keeps you on the edge of your seat as the clock ticks towards 90. Ultimately, it felt like a money-spinning post-season friendly in a faraway place, but just one that, for some reason, was taking place in east London during the regular season.

We could talk all day about how bad this game was, the things it so obviously lacked. Doing so may be the only way to preserve it in our memories. The more interesting point is why was this game so bad? Was this just a random malfunction, like a piece of equipment misfiring? Or was this non-contest in fact hardwired?

Clearly, this was never going to be a match of dazzlingly high quality. West Ham and Spurs had 36 and 37 points respectively from their 34 games played before this one. They are the two worst teams out of the relegation zone. If you take the three relegated sides as being a separate category, Premier League teams in name only, then Spurs and West Ham are the worst of the core 17. Even worse than Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United.

This was not even West Ham against this version of Spurs at their best. This was West Ham against Spurs with eight changes. Ange Postecoglou has been rotating to keep his players maximally fit and fresh for the Europa League. It is impossible to blame him for doing so because of the rewards on offer in that competition. And with Spurs now two games from lifting the trophy, you can say that his policy has almost paid out. But when he makes eight changes for a league game — as he also did for Spurs’ game at Liverpool last Sunday — he is obviously replacing his best players with less good ones.

But this is not only about the aggregate quality of the two line-ups. If quality was the only reason to watch football, then no one would go and watch lower-league football. But people have always loved football at all levels. What is lacking in quality can often be made up in competitive tension, drama, and stakes.

And yet today the stakes were zero. The unbalanced nature of this Premier League campaign has seen the three promoted sides all fail to ever get a footing in the league, cut adrift from the start. Just as it was very clear early on that West Ham and Spurs were having disappointing league seasons, it was also clear early on that they were under no threat of the drop. They were never going to be seriously competing with Ipswich Town. And yet, they were never going to catch the more competent mid-table sides. They are stuck in the limbo league of the mid-teens.

When Spurs won 4-1 at Ipswich on 22 February, it was clear that they would be staying in the Premier League, and there was no longer any fear of seeing Ipswich in the rear-view mirror. Ever since then, it has felt as if the Europa League had priority. And most league games since then have almost felt like a contractual obligation to get through, a kickabout to keep the players sharp and tuned-up before their next big European match. This was Spurs’ ninth league game since Portman Road. They have taken five points, their only win coming against Southampton at home. Their best performance from those nine games came against Nottingham Forest at home, when they were 2-0 down after 16 minutes and could only get back to 2-1.

But at least in some of those games Spurs have been playing a team with something of their own to go for, whether Forest, Liverpool or Fulham. There has been a competitive incentive, albeit only on one side. The problem here was that these were two teams with nothing to play for, two teams just trying to get through the afternoon unscathed. Pitting this West Ham side against Spurs’ back-ups in a league game right now is the football equivalent of repeatedly multiplying zero by itself.

And yet the reality for Spurs is that they fly to Norway on Wednesday, and all of this will be forgotten. If their full-strength team gets a result against Bodo/Glimt — or even loses by one goal — then they will be in the Europa League final on 21 May.

That will feel like the opposite of this — memorable, meaningful, historic, the sort of game that justifies and makes sense of a lifetime of being a football fan. Win or lose, no one will say on Wednesday that Spurs should have picked a full-strength team at London Stadium. Postecoglou’s decisions have already been justified.

West Ham have none of that to fall back on this month. No other baskets to put their eggs in, no excuses for jogging through a game so important to their fans. They only have three matches left this season now, and then a long summer ahead. They will need, as Spurs do, to be sharper and stronger next year. And maybe the next time these two teams meet, there will at least be a spark, a glimmer of something, anything to make their next meeting different from this.

(Top photo: Benjamin Cremel/AFP via Getty Images)

The longest, strangest and most-discussed anomaly in football is over.

That space on Harry Kane’s CV, where the trophies ought to go, is empty no more. Bayern Munich are the 2024-25 Bundesliga champions and Kane has the medal he spent so long striving for.

The story of Kane’s career had, right up until this weekend, been one with an unusual footnote. For more than a decade, he has been one of the best strikers in football, developing and perfecting his game, achieving something close to mastery.

Kane, 31, has been one of the greatest goalscorers of his generation, chasing down every single target in front of him. Within a few weeks in spring 2023, he broke the all-time goalscoring records for Tottenham Hotspur and England.

His Spurs tally of 280 goals is 14 ahead of Jimmy Greaves. His England total of 71 is 18 ahead of Wayne Rooney’s tally. He could play for England for another five years, bring up his century, double Rooney’s tally, and it would still feel like he had left a few goals on the table.

Those numbers may prove Kane’s greatness, but they get nowhere near fully conveying it. More than just a line-leading No 9, he is a playmaking No 10, too; two brilliant players in one, combining football intelligence, vision, imagination, precision, improvisation, art, skill and deft touches.

And yet despite all that, as everyone knows, no trophies — or at least not until Sunday, when second-placed Leverkusen failed to beat Freiburg, guaranteeing Bayern the title.

You could argue he has won quite a few things. They do not just hand out the World Cup Golden Boot, for example, which he won for his six goals in Russia in 2018. Or the Premier League Golden Boot, which he has won three times. Or the European Golden Shoe, which he won after being Bundesliga top scorer in his first season at Bayern. Or any number of player of the month or player of the season awards.

But none of his teams have won a competition while he has been there. You could put that down to Kane spending the first 14 years of his senior career either out on loan or at Tottenham Hotspur, an aspirational rather than elite club, not one challenging for the big trophies every year.

Kane has come close, though, for Spurs and for England. He has not decided a final in the way he decides games every week, with critics assuming he lacks an edge when it matters most.

First, he had the 2015 League Cup final, which may have come too early in the development of Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs team, when a more experienced Chelsea side beat them.

He had the 2019 Champions League final, when he came straight back in from two months out with an ankle injury, and never looked like he could get a foothold as Liverpool won 2-0.

He had the 2021 League Cup final, too, when he was again back straight after an ankle injury. Manchester City edged a tight contest of few chances.

Bayer Leverkusen stormed to the Bundesliga title in his first season at Bayern Munich, another ‘failure’ added to the list.

Meanwhile, the story of Kane’s international career has been him helping drag England further than they have ever gone in the modern era, only to look so burdened by the end that he cannot complete the job alone. In Russia, Kane faded at the end of the tournament and was quiet when England lost the semi-final to Croatia.

At Euro 2020, Kane started slowly before coming alive in the knockouts. He scored a huge goal against Germany, two against Ukraine, and the winner in the semi-final against Denmark. But the final against Italy looked like another game too far.

At the Qatar World Cup, he is remembered more for the penalty that he missed against France, which could have taken the quarter-final to extra time, rather than the penalty he scored.

Perhaps it should not have been a surprise that the same thing happened at the Euros in Germany last year. He scored against Denmark, but never looked at his best in the group. He got the extra-time winner against Slovakia in the round of 16, and the equaliser in the semi-final against the Netherlands. These are achievements no other English player can compete with.

But what do his critics remember of Kane’s impact at Euro 2024? That he got taken off with England needing a goal in the quarter-final, semi-final and final. Seeing the board go up after an hour against Spain and showing his number must have been painful. In part because it denied him the chance to change this narrative.

It is deeply unfortunate for Kane that of the five finals he has played for club or country, the only one where he looked at his sharpest was the first, when he was still 21. In the other four, he never quite looked right. No one could reasonably blame Kane for having been injured before any of these games.

Some people will hold these moments against Kane, for club and country, ignoring how, in many cases, Spurs and England were only in these big games because of Kane himself.

If the last few years have taught us anything, it is that there is a relentlessness to Kane, a constant commitment to self-improvement, to winning. That took him to Bayern and, eventually, the Bundesliga title.

And with Kane still having years left at the top, who would bet against him correcting that other anomaly, by scoring in a final sometime soon?

(Top photo: Harry Kane at Bayern’s match on Saturday, the day before their title was guaranteed; Ronny Hartmann/AFP via Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur played out a draw against West Ham United on Sunday.

Spurs took the lead in the 15th minute courtesy of Wilson Odobert. Odobert was left unmarked in the middle of the box, with Mathys Tel providing the assist. But Jarrod Bowen levelled the game in the 28th minute, firing home from a tight angle. The score stayed level going into half-time.

West Ham had the better of the second half, but Ange Postecoglou’s side held out to secure a 1-1 draw.

Jack Pitt-Brooke takes a look at the big talking points from Sunday’s game.

Did Spurs get just what they needed?

Almost every Tottenham league game since February has felt like a sideshow, with an end-of-season kickabout feel, and yet even by those standards, this one still stood out. Sandwiched between the two legs of the Europa League semi-final against Bodo/Glimt, this was never going to be a big deal.

But it still felt like Spurs drove home from the London Stadium with almost everything they wanted from the game. Yes, Ange Postecoglou would have chosen three points over one if he could. But Spurs managed to avoid defeat. A loss here would have been their 20th in the league this season, equalling their record within a 38-game league season set in 1912-13. If they can get through the next few league games without equalling that, it would be an achievement of sorts.

On top of that, there were no fresh injuries. They lost Lucas Bergvall last week, and in his post-match press conference at the London Stadium, Postecoglou was downbeat regarding James Maddison’s knee injury, saying it “doesn’t look great” following a scan. They cannot afford any more — even to fringe players. But everyone appeared to get through this game OK. The squad should not be any more depleted when they fly to Norway on Wednesday. That is Spurs’ focus.

They just had to get through this afternoon with no scrapes, no injuries, no drama, and no defeat. And that is exactly what they did.

Was Mathys Tel trying to send a message?

No Spurs player looked more motivated to prove a point here than Mathys Tel. The 20-year-old was on the bench for Thursday’s first leg against Bodo/Glimt, with Richarlison preferred ahead of him. And Tel played as if he was trying to make his case that he should start the game in Norway.

Tottenham’s opening goal, which arrived out of nowhere, was all down to Tel’s persistence. A long ball from the back landed with Maximilian Kilman, who should have been able to deal with it comfortably. But Tel hunted him down, pressing and pressing until he had the ball at his feet. Tel then rolled a simple square pass across the box, giving Wilson Odobert a simple finish.

Spurs did not have many more good attacking moments, but the ones they did generate were down to Tel: winning a free kick from Jean-Clair Todibo in a good position, playing a clever forward pass through to Richarlison.

With Son Heung-min injured, there is a vacancy on the left of Spurs’ front three. Postecoglou may well be tempted to start with Richarlison on Thursday. But if he wants speed from the start, Tel could be the answer.

Was this clear evidence that the backup players can’t play ‘Angeball’?

There was no surprise when Postecoglou made eight changes for this game. He had made eight changes for Spurs’ last league game, the 5-1 defeat at Anfield one week ago. Everyone knows that the Europa League is the priority. And you could argue that Spurs’ progress in that competition justifies Postecoglou’s willingness to rotate and manage minutes in the league.

However, a consistent issue this season is that the backup players Postecoglou brings in are not able to deliver anything approaching ‘Angeball’. Spurs are so dependent on the passing ability of Cristian Romero, the running power of Micky van de Ven, and the non-stop engines of Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro. With this back four — Djed Spence, Ben Davies, Kevin Danso, Archie Gray — it feels like you are watching a different team. And in a very real sense, you are.

Without the ability to build up from the back like they want to, and without the technical skill of Bergvall and Maddison in midfield, Spurs’ only option was to go long. Their goal did come this way, but it was not pretty. And it was nothing like the football Tottenham intend to play when they move the ball positively through the thirds.

And yet this pattern — the manager’s tactics jarring with the players selected — has been the story of the last few months of Spurs’ league campaign.

What next for Tottenham?

Thursday, May 8: Bodo/Glimt (Away), Europa League semi-final second leg, 8pm UK, 3pm ET

(Top photo: Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

Ange Postecoglou believes Tottenham Hotspur are facing “an unbelievable opportunity” with Thursday’s Europa League semi-final against Bodo/Glimt, and has pushed back against those trying to “diminish” the significance of the team’s potential achievement.

If Spurs win over two legs they will reach the Europa League final in Bilbao on May 21. It would be just the sixth European final in Tottenham’s history and give them the chance to win their first major trophy since 2008.

With Tottenham also having a disastrous Premier League campaign, 16th in the table, Postecoglou talked about the “parallel worlds” they are currently inhabiting. And he believes that some people are trying to undermine their European achievements.

“I’ve sensed, which is not surprising because I’ve said it before, that this is the way this club is perceived,” Postecoglou said at his press conference on Wednesday. “That people are always trying to diminish it.”

Postecoglou spoke specifically about people trying to downplay what it would mean for Spurs to win the Europa League. He rejected suggestions it would be akin to Manchester United’s FA Cup win last season — which saved manager Erik Ten Hag from the sack for a few months — and he defended the Champions League place that would come from winning this tournament.

“I’ve heard people say, well, it’s the equivalent of Man United winning the FA Cup,” Postecoglou said. “No, it ain’t. I’m sorry, not on any planet is it the equivalent. Others suggesting that maybe we’re not worthy of Champions League. I mean, again, they’re things that are designed there to diminish what’s ahead of us, which is an unbelievable opportunity.

“Like you said, irrespective of how this season’s gone we have generations of fans who want this more than anything else. To share again with the people that they love, a special moment, supporting their football club. So this season could have gone a lot differently and we could be flying in the league, but it wouldn’t make this opportunity any different. The opportunity is the same.”

Postecoglou has impressed the historical significance of this game on the players. He is confident Spurs will be in good physical condition but said that Son Heung-min will not have recovered from a foot injury in time to play.

“What we have before us is a semi-final of a European competition with an opportunity to get to a final, win a trophy, Champions League football,” he said. “I just think for the players and everyone involved at the football club, it’s a brilliant opportunity.”

James Maddison, also speaking at the pre-match press conference, said the Spurs squad was “100 per cent” behind the head coach, whom he described as a “great man”.

“He’s the first person to tell you and I’ll tell you myself we’ve had a poor season in the league,” Maddison said.

“We’ve been very good in Europe but the league season has probably been unacceptable and we can all take a collective responsibility for that, but he’s my manager, he’s my gaffer, and I respect him an awful amount.”

(Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Aston Villa are objecting to the Premier League over a potential scheduling change for their home game against Tottenham Hotspur.

The league fixture is due to be played on Sunday, May 18 but Tottenham said in a statement on Sunday that they are in discussions with the Premier League to change the date.

Tottenham are in the semi-finals of the Europa League, where they face Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt, and the competition’s final takes place three days after the scheduled Premier League game against Villa, on Wednesday 21.

Villa’s match against Spurs is the final home match of the campaign for Unai Emery’s side, but the club fear that a rescheduling — likely to be moved to midweek — will mean a shorter turnaround between matches and could disrupt preparations for a defining set of fixtures in Villa’s pursuit of European qualification.

Tottenham’s visit comes after a home match with Fulham on Saturday, May 3 before a trip to Bournemouth on Saturday, May 10. Villa’s 3-0 FA Cup semi-final defeat against Crystal Palace marked their 54th match of the season and their ninth in the previous 30 days.

Consequently, Villa are voicing their opposition to a change in date, believing it would be a favour to Tottenham while causing disruption to their own season.

A Tottenham statement on Sunday read: “We should like to inform supporters that we are in discussions with the Premier League regarding a change in date to our away Premier League match against Aston Villa, currently scheduled for Sunday 18 May.

“Further information surrounding this fixture will be announced in due course.”

Manchester United could also reach the Europa League final but their preceding fixture, away against Chelsea, is slated for Friday, May 16, two days before the Villa vs Spurs game and five before the final in Bilbao.

Villa currently sit seventh in the Premier League, three points behind Chelsea in fifth.

(Photo: Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)