Manchester Evening News

Paul Merson slams Man United Europa League 'plan' - 'A bit of arrogance'

Manchester United can secure an unlikely place in the Champions League next season should they beat Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League

Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson has taken aim at Manchester United following reports that they will not hold a trophy parade should they win the Europa League. Ruben Amorim's side have a chance at silverware when they take on Tottenham Hotspur in Bilbao at the end of May, following their win over Athletic Club in the semi-final.

However, according to reports, the club are planning to keep celebrations low-key if they win the European competition. There is a lot more at stake than just silverware for both United and the North London club as they can secure qualification for the Champions League with a win as both clubs sit just above the relegation zone, following a poor season.

It has been a turgid season at Old Trafford with United consigned to a bottom-half finish following their 4-3 defeat to Brentford earlier this month.

But Amorim's campaign went from bad to worse when they slumped to disappointment at home to West Ham United last time out.

United face two Champions League hopefuls in their final two Premier League matches, with the Europa League final sandwiched in between, and six points from their remaining outings could only see them rise as high as 13th should results go in their favour.

However, reports suggest that the low-key celebrations would be marked with a barbecue at Carrington for the players, staff and their families as opposed to a tour of Manchester celebrating the success with fans.

And the news has been met with disgust by the former Arsenal star.

"The trophies do not come thick and fast," Merson told Sky Sports.

"Man Utd are a million miles off. Enjoy it (trophies) while you can.

"For me, it's a bit of arrogance.

"Winning trophies was the past, so enjoy the present. Who says they win another one for 15 years?

"Now they're going to have a BBQ, think of the fans!

"They'll let you know when the parade is on whether it was right to do.

"Do not leave the fans out because it is about the fans.

"I would want a parade.

"They could win a trophy and if they win it, they have won more than Arsenal.

"Arsenal would love to have a parade. It is hard to win trophies, so do not underestimate winning one.

"It is difficult."

Maddison, Kulusevski, Bergvall - Tottenham injury latest ahead of Man United Europa League final

All the very latest on the Tottenham Hotspur injury front ahead of next week's Europa League final against Manchester United in Bilbao.

Tottenham Hotspur are sweating on the availability of winger Dejan Kulusevski ahead of next Wednesday's Europa League final against Manchester United at the San Mames Stadium.

The Sweden international was forced off in the first half of Sunday's 2-0 Premier League home defeat to Crystal Palace, sparking fears he could be in danger of missing the clash in Bilbao.

Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou has not been without injury problems in recent weeks and months. Losing Kulusevski for their biggest game in years would be a huge blow.

Ahead of their clash with United, here is all the very latest on the Spurs injury front:

Dejan Kulusevski

Injury: knee

Kulusevski was forced off just 19 minutes into the defeat to Palace after going down with a knee problem. Speaking to the media at Spurs' pre-final media day on Monday, boss Postecoglou described the Swede's issue as a "knock".

"[He's a] bit sore with his knee," he said. "Looks like a knock at this stage. We're going to let it settle for 24 hours but the positive thing is it looks like a knock."

As reported by the Manchester Evening News on Wednesday morning, it is understood he could miss the final. Sources have said his chances of recovering for the clash with United have since reduced and he did not train on Wednesday morning ahead of Spurs' Premier League clash with Aston Villa.

The 25-year-old has been a rare bright spark for Spurs this season, scoring ten goals and registering 11 assists in all competitions. He has netted one goal in the Europa League this term.

Possible return date: unknown.

James Maddison

Injury: knee

Playmaker Maddison has been ruled out for the rest of the season because of a knee injury.

The former Leicester City man was forced off in the first leg of Spurs' Europa League semi-final triumph against Bodo/Glimt at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and it was confirmed last week he will not play again this season.

"Madders tweaked his knee in the first leg," Postecoglou said. "He's out, he'll miss the rest of the season.

"It's disappointing for him more than anything else, because he has been a big catalyst for us.

Possible return date: pre-season.

Lucas Bergvall

Injury: ankle

Like Maddison, Bergvall will also miss the clash with United after being ruled out for the rest of the season with an ankle injury. He damaged ligaments in his ankle in training ahead of the semi-final first leg win against Bodo/Glimt.

Bergvall, 19, has been a key player for Spurs this season, racking up 45 appearances. He had featured in each of their Europa League outings prior to the semi-finals.

Possible return date: pre-season.

Radu Dragusin

Injury: anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)

Dragusin is a long-term absentee after rupturing his ACL in Tottenham's 3-0 win over Elfsborg in the Europa League at the end of January. He underwent surgery and has been working on his recovery since.

ACL injuries usually take around six months to recover from, meaning he could be back in time for the start of pre-season in July. He did share an encouraging update on his social media on Tuesday night, posting a picture of a bag of footballs and commenting: "Off the radar, on a mission."

Fernandes in pole position for the Golden Boot

Bruno Fernandes is the joint-top leading goalscorer in the Europa League this season after scoring seven goals in the competition so far.

He is currently tied on seven goals alongside Bodo/Glimt's Kasper Hogh and Ayoub El Kaabi of Olympiacos.

The Europa League final is, of course, going to be contested by United and Tottenham Hotspur, meaning neither Hogh or El Kaabi can add to their tallies this season.

Fernandes has been directly involved in 11 goals in the Europa League this term, contributing four assists alongside his seven goals. Only Lyon ace Rayan Cherki has been involved in more goals (12) than Fernandes in the competition, with the Frenchman scoring four and creating eight.

FULL STORY: United training squad revealed

United hosted an open training session at Carrington this morning as part of their media day, meaning the assembled media were allowed to observe training for much longer than they are ahead of a regular European fixture.

United had more than 30 players out on the grass, including a crop of youngsters. Jonny Evans and Toby Collyer were also involved after recent injuries.

Click here to discover the full training squad.

United's Europa League adventure

United have made their way to the Europa League final without losing a single game in the competition this season, meaning they will face Spurs next week 14 games unbeaten in Europe this term.

Here is a reminder of how they have reached the final...

Legaue phase:

United 1-1 FC Twente

FC Porto 3-3 United

Fenerbahce 1-1 United

United 2-0 PAOK

United 3-2 Bodo/Glimt

Viktoria Plzen 1-2 United

United 2-1 Rangers

FCSB 0-2 United

Last-16:

Real Sociedad 1-1 United (first leg)

United 4-1 Real Sociedad (second leg)

Quarter-finals:

Lyon 2-2 United (first leg)

United 5-4 Lyon (second leg)

Semi-finals:

Athletic Bilbao 0-3 United (first leg)

United 4-1 Athletic Bilbao (second leg)

What will be on the agenda today?

Ruben Amorim will speak to the media today as part of his and United's preparations for next week's Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur at the San Mames Stadium.

United are hosting a special media day today that has already featured an open training session and interviews with members of the squad.

The focus will be on Amorim a little later this afternoon and here is a flavour of what could be on the agenda;

Matthijs de Ligt and Leny Yoro injury latest

Diogo Dalot's recovery

The Europa League's importance

A prospective XI for the final already in mind

United's Europa League performances compared to their Premier League showings

The importance of qualifying for next season's Champions League

Good afternoon!

Hello and welcome along to the Manchester Evening News' live coverage of United head coach Ruben Amorim's pre-Europa League final press conference.

United are hosting a special media day today ahead of the clash with Tottenham Hotspur next week and Amorim will preview the clash by answering questions from the assembled media.

As ever, we will bring you regular updates from the United head coach. There is no need to refresh the page, updates will appear automatically.

TNT Sports has announced how the Europa League final next week between Man United and Tottenham Hotspur can be watched for free.

TNT Sports has confirmed next Wednesday night's Europa League final between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur will be available to watch on discovery+ for free.

The two Premier League clubs will go head-to-head at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao with the ambition of salvaging something from what has been a forgettable campaign for both and securing Champions League qualification for next season.

United booked their place in the final with a 4-1 win over Athletic Bilbao in the second leg of their semi-final showdown last Thursday night, sealing a 7-1 aggregate triumph, while Tottenham Hotspur beat Bodo/Glimt 2-0 to progress 5-1 on aggregate.

Now, ahead of the pair of them going head-to-head in a European final for the very first time, TNT Sports has confirmed the game will be available to watch for free.

Via discovery+, which is the streaming home of TNT Sports, supporters will be able to tune in and watch the game without the need of a subscription fee.

Supporters without a discovery+ account will simply need to download the discovery+ app on their mobile device or tablet, or access it via the web or their TV, and register their details before sitting back and watching the action unfold.

TNT Sports has confirmed the same offering will be in place for both the Europa Conference League and Champions League finals between Chelsea and Real Betis and Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain, meaning all three European finals taking place later this month will be available to watch absolutely free.

Additionally, TNT Sports has confirmed their presenting, punditry and commentary teams for the three finals. As far as the Europa League final is concerned, Jules Breach and Lynsey Hipgrave will present the coverage.

Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes, Robbie Savage, Gareth Bale and Glenn Hoddle will be on punditry duty.

Commentary will come from Darren Fletcher and Ally McCoist. Danny Jamieson will be the reporter.

Here at the Manchester Evening News, we're dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester United coverage and analysis.

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James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall are already out of the Europa League final against Man United in Bilbao next week.

Tottenham Hotspur fear that Dejan Kulusevski could miss the Europa League final against Manchester United.

Kulusevski was forced off after 19 minutes in Tottenham's 2-0 Premier League home defeat to Crystal Palace on Sunday with a knee injury.

Spurs coach Ange Postecoglou conceded Kulusevski's knee was "still sore" during the club's Uefa media day on Monday and that he "should be okay". However, sources say the Swede's chances of recovery in time for next Wednesday's final have since reduced.

Kulusevski, 25, has scored ten goals for Spurs this season and registered in their Premier League win at Old Trafford in September as well as the 4-3 defeat of United in the League Cup quarter-finals in December.

Playmaker James Maddison and midfielder Lucas Bergvall have already been ruled out of the Bilbao final for Spurs, who have not won a trophy since the League Cup in 2008.

Postecoglou said he would wrap up Tottenham players "in cotton wool" ahead of the Europa League final. Tottenham's final game before they face United is away to Aston Villa on Friday night, 45 minutes before United kick-off at Chelsea.

Spurs are 17th in the Premier League, a point and a place behind United. The teams have lost a combined 37 league matches this season in what has been their worst top flight campaigns since they were relegated in the Seventies.

United went down in 1974 and Spurs finished bottom in 1977. Both clubs came straight back up.

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has been named as the referee for Manchester United's Europa League final against Tottenham, with the German having a controversial past

Felix Zwayer has been confirmed as the referee for Manchester United's Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur.

United take on Spurs at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao next Wednesday, May 21st.

UEFA have confirmed that Zwayer will be overseeing the match. The 43-year-old German has officiated over 680 games and has taken charge of several Champions League matches this season.

Despite being highly regarded by UEFA, talk around Zwayer is often overshadowed by a scandal from his early days as a referee.

A 2005 investigation discovered Zwayer accepted a €300 bribe from fellow referee Robert Hoyzer and was subsequently banned for six months by Germany’s ­football federation (DFB) , while Hoyzer was sentenced to two years and five months in prison and received a lifetime ban from football.

Zwayer has since rebuilt his career, becoming one of the Bundesliga's top referees. Last summer, he refereed England's Euro 2024 semi-final victory over the Netherlands, but this hasn't prevented criticism from some quarters, reports football.London.

Real Madrid and England star Jude Bellingham referenced the German's past during a post-match interview following a 3-2 loss to Bayern Munich when he was playing for Borussia Dortmund. The midfielder criticised Zwayer's performance after he failed to award Dortmund a penalty and gave Bayern one for handball.

"You give a referee that has match-fixed before the biggest game in Germany - what do you expect? For me, it wasn't [a penalty]," he said. "He [Hummels] is not even looking at the ball and he's fighting to get it and it hits him. You can look at a lot of the decisions in the game."

Bellingham was fined €40,000 for his comments. Zwayer defended his handball decision in a public interview before taking a two-month break from refereeing.

He told Sky Germany at the time: "The situation was a standard corner kick.

"I see in the game that it's about a touch by Hummels. The question for me was: Is the arm stretched away from the body or not? In real-time, it was not clear whether his arm was moved towards the ball.

"I checked it with [VAR officials] in Cologne and then the arm position was checked.

"The video assistant made an assessment for himself and said that Hummels had his arm away from the body in an unnatural position.

"In the end, he clearly deflected the ball with his elbow and I came to the decision that it was a penalty."

Manchester United news as the referee of United's huge Europa League final clash with Tottenham is confirmed by UEFA

UEFA have confirmed that German referee Felix Zwayer will officiate Manchester United's huge Europa League final showdown with Tottenham on Wednesday, May 21.

Ruben Amorim's men take on Spurs at San Mames Stadium next week looking to lift the Europa League title after an atrocious Premier League campaign.

After knocking out Real Sociedad, Lyon and Athletic Bilbao, United are just one win away from securing a spot in the 2025/26 Champions League.

Now, UEFA have confirmed that Zwayer will lead the team of officials in Bilbao tasked with overseeing the game between the two English clubs.

The referee was appointed for the second leg of Arsenal's Champions League semi-final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain last week and has been involved in almost 700 games.

Zwayer, though, was caught up in a controversy early in his career. In 2005 he was banned for six months for his role in a match-fixing scandal which allegedly included accepting a €300 bribe from another official.

Last summer, Zwayer took charge of England’s 2-1 win over the Netherlands in the Euro 2024 semi-final and this season, he oversaw Arsenal’s defeat in Paris.

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Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou spoke to the media on Monday ahead of their Europa League final against Manchester United next week.

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou has issued an encouraging fitness update on Son Heung-min ahead of their Europa League final showdown with Manchester United next week.

The South Korea international made a timely return from a foot injury on Sunday, stepping off the bench in Spurs' 2-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace.

After storing 32 minutes under his belt in the second half, Postecoglou has confirmed Spurs now plan to "build him up" ahead of the clash in Bilbao next week.

"From a physical standpoint, [Son] is good," Postecoglou told reporters. "It's important he got some minutes yesterday, more for himself psychologically.

"He had a good session today, didn't do the whole session because he played yesterday. He feels good and we've got eight or nine days to go. We can build him up."

Answering another question on Son's current condition, the Spurs boss added: "In terms of his fitness, he is progressing well. He got minutes yesterday and we should give him some game time on Friday against Aston Villa as well.

"He trains right through and he will be in a good condition. He has worked hard with the medical team to get back. It was a bit of a funny injury with no prescribed length of time [how long he would be out for].

"It was just how he felt and how he progressed, but he worked hard with the medical team. It was important that he got some game time and hopefully he just kicks on now."

Meanwhile, Postecoglou is confident the injury that saw Dejan Kulusevski forced off in the defeat to Palace was nothing more than a knock.

He said: "[He's a] bit sore with his knee. Looks like a knock at this stage. We're going to let it settle for 24 hours but the positive thing is it looks like a knock."

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Make sure you don't miss out on the latest United news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.

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Manchester United will be paying an interest as Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou gives injury update about Dejan Kulusevski

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou believes attacker Dejan Kulusevski is going to be okay for the Europa League final against Manchester United despite picking up an injury.

Ten days out from the showdown between the two Premier League teams, Kulusevski lasted only 19 minutes of Spurs' defeat to Crystal Palace on Sunday.

The Sweden international took a knock to his knee, tried to run it off but ended up receiving treatment and being forced from the action early on.

Speaking at full-time with Sky Sports, his manager Postecoglou clarified: "Yeah, he should be okay."

Pressed by his interviewer, the Spurs boss clarified: "Yeah. He should be okay, yeah."

With Man United looking ahead to the Europa League final, with which Champions League qualification can be won, they will want any advantage they can get.

Unfortunately simultaneously to Spurs' defeat, they too fell to West Ham United at Old Trafford. During the match defender Leny Yoro was forced off with a new problem.

Ruben Amorim's injury list currently contains Tom Collyer, Diogo Dalot, Matthijs de Ligt, Ayden Heaven, Lisandro Martinez and Joshua Zirkzee.

Meanwhile for Spurs, they had the benefit of captain Son Heung-min returning following a seven-game absence.

Kulusevski's worry adds to injuries for Lucas Bergvall, Radu Dragusin and James Maddison.

The Europe League final is scheduled for Wednesday, May 21 in Bilbao, Spain.

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Latest Manchester United news as Ruben Amorim's side will face Tottenham in the Europa League final later this month, who have been handed a new injury worry

Tottenham have been handed a major injury worry during their Premier League match against Crystal Palace at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Dejan Kulusevski was forced off in the early stages after taking a big hit, potentially to his knee. He tried to run it off but wasn't comfortable, sparking concern ahead of the Europa League final with Manchester United.

After coming off, Kulusevski went straight down the tunnel, with Mikey Moore replacing him.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou will hope that it is not a significant injury with the final penciled in for Bilbao on Wednesday, May 21.

Spurs have already been hit injuries in that department following recent blows to James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall. Only recently did Postecoglou speak about how happy he was to have Kulusevski back from an inujury to his foot that kept him out for four games.

"Certainly it's good to have Deki available because with Lucas and Madders, (who are) different players obviously, but very creative, going down in the same week," Postecoglou said.

"It's great that Deki's back. He obviously missed a lot of football and it always takes a while to get his rhythm and I feel like he's been getting stronger with every game.

"Against West Ham you could see he was starting to get his rhythm again. Irrespective of where he's at, he's going to work his socks off for the team. He's got an unbelievable engine, he doesn't stop running and he'll be important for us."

Here at The Manchester Evening News, we are dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester United coverage and analysis.

Make sure you don't miss out on the latest United news by joining our free WhatsApp group.

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And, finally, if you would rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Manchester is Red podcast, featuring The Samuel Luckhurst Show and The Midweek Debate.