United In Focus

Paul Scholes has admitted that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if he saw one thing happen in the Europa League final between Manchester United and Tottenham.

The Red Devils punched their ticket to the 2025 Europa League final after Manchester United defeated Athletic Club 4-1 at Old Trafford in the semi-finals.

United beat 10-man Athletic Club 3-0 in the first leg of the Europa League semi-finals earlier this month before hosting the Spanish side for the return leg.

Ruben Amorim’s men fought back against the La Liga outfit in the second-leg tie last Thursday and United came from behind to beat Athletic Club at Old Trafford.

United have reached the 2025 Europa League final and the Red Devils will meet Premier League side Tottenham for an all-English showdown on 21st May in Spain.

Tottenham secured their place in the final of the Europa League this season after Spurs beat Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt across both legs in the semi-finals.

Ange Postecoglou’s men beat Bodo/Glimt 3-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier this month before picking up a 2-0 victory away from home in the return leg.

The Europa League final between United and Spurs will be played at Athletic Club’s San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, with kick-off slated for 8pm UK time.

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Paul Scholes’ prediction for the best team between Man Utd and Tottenham in the 2025 Europa League final

The Europa League is the last chance for Ruben Amorim to secure major silverware as Manchester United manager in the current campaign before the season is out.

United must also lift the Europa League trophy on 21st May if they want to secure Champions League football and a route back to Europe for the 2025-26 campaign.

Paul Scholes has admitted that he could see United winning the Europa League, despite suggesting that Tottenham would “probably be the best team” on the night.

Speaking in his column for TNT Sports, the United legend said: “The way that Man Utd win games these days is that they have little bursts where they play well.

“They’ll have long periods of not playing well and then, all of a sudden, they’ll have a spell of 10–15 minutes which wins them the game, and that’s what happened in the semi-final second leg at Old Trafford.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if something similar happened in the final. Tottenham will probably be the best team on the night, but I just think that United will have enough to win.

“The worry is Man Utd are playing a Premier League team in the final but can’t win a Premier League game, and that’s the biggest issue.

“I suppose if it [were] a league game, they’d stand no chance, but it’s in the Europa League and it seems to be different and gives them a chance of winning a game.”

Paul Scholes now speaks out on Man Utd ahead of Europa League showdown with Tottenham

Paul Scholes has suggested that United’s “experience” of playing in finals and winning trophies is a “big” boost for the Red Devils for the Europa League final.

“A lot of people will favour United for the final,” he explained.

“When you look at the recent matches between the two teams, then you’ll probably have to make Tottenham the slight favourites, but Manchester United are used to being in finals.

“Even in recent bad periods, they’re still reaching finals and winning trophies and I think that experience is big.

“Tottenham have always been a good team. They were during my playing days, and they’re a good team now, although they’ve had this reputation of not being the best mentally.

“But I enjoy watching Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs team now, and we can talk about history all we want, but United have to perform better than they have in the past to win it.”

United will face Chelsea in the Premier League on Friday at Stamford Bridge before the Red Devils travel to Spain for their Europa League final against Tottenham.

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur booked their places in the Europa League final on Thursday night.

Manchester United breezed past Athletic Club, winning 7-1 on aggregate over two legs, while Tottenham had few problems in their semi-final tie against Bodø/Glimt.

With both teams sitting in the bottom half of the Premier League, the final match-up has drawn some controversy, but it also proves how strong English football is right now.

Ruben Amorim has two weeks to prepare his United first-team to take on Tottenham in Bilbao.

United’s head coach will be looking to avoid any additional injury setbacks after Matthijs de Ligt suffered a setback against Brentford last weekend.

The opposing manager, Ange Postecoglou, faces the same problems after losing James Maddison for the remainder of the season.

Some of the leading pundits are getting their Europa League final predictions in early.

Owen Hargreaves predicts Europa League success for Man Utd

Former United midfielder, who was part of the Champions League-winning side in 2008, Owen Hargreaves believes the Red Devils will taste European success this season.

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Hargreaves discussed the narrative that has been built around the showdown on TNT Sports.

In agreement with his former United teammate Paul Scholes, Hargreaves suggested United are in a good position to beat Tottenham in the final.

“It’s going to be fascinating,” said Hargreaves.

“For Ange, a European trophy: Champions League football. So much at stake for everyone.

“But if United can win a trophy in a down season, it tells you what this club is all about.

“Momentum is with United, with the energy around the club at the moment.”

Tottenham seeking first trophy since 2008

It’s no secret that Postecoglou is under pressure to deliver trophies at a club that rarely wins trophies.

Tottenham last won a trophy on 24th February 2008, in a 2-1 victory over Chelsea at Wembley Stadium in the League Cup.

They will be looking to end that drought this year, despite an abysmal showing in domestic competitions throughout the campaign.

On the other hand, United will be looking for their second Europa League triumph since 2017.

Ruben Amorim is looking to win his first-ever European Cup when Manchester United take on Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final.

After a convincing 3-0 win in the first leg, Manchester United beat Athletic Club 3-1 at Old Trafford on Thursday night to secure their place in an eagerly anticipated final against Tottenham.

A nervy first-half saw United trail 1-0 at the break, but four goals in the final 20 minutes settled the tension that was evident on another memorable night for European football.

Thanks to goals from Mason Mount (2), Casemiro and Rasmus Hojlund, United could enjoy the end of the game with their focus firmly on a Bilbao final.

Tottenham reached the final after overcoming Bodo/Glimt over two legs, winning 4-1 on aggregate. Ange Postecoglou is looking to deliver his promise of trophies, but he is facing a head coach in Ruben Amorim, who is eager to lay the foundations for future success at United.

Ruben Amorim not thinking about Champions League money

It will be an important summer transfer window for Amorim, after adding just two players to his squad in January, after becoming United’s head coach less than two months prior.

Ayden Heaven and Patrick Dorgu arrived in January as two defensive additions and their ability is already clear for United fans to see.

The Portuguese coach will be eager to add more quality to his squad when the 2024/25 season concludes, especially after such a turbulent campaign with United sitting in the bottom half of the Premier League season.

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There is no denying that qualifying for the Champions League would be a huge bonus for United in terms of financial strength ahead of the transfer window.

However, Amorim has stressed that money is not the most important thing about potentially winning the Europa League. His intentions are clear as he wants to show that he can change things during his early days at the club.

“I think that is clear and I read the money is not the most important, even the title as a coach is the feeling that we can do good things,” Amorim told reporters in his post-match press conference.

“The feeling is to give something to our fans, even in this season, so I agree, it is not just playing Champions League next year, it is that feeling that we can change things.”

After failing to win the Premier League since 2013, it’s clear that things need to change at United and it’s a promising sign that Amorim is not shying away from that.

Amorim has compared himself to Ange Postecoglou ahead of the final.

Europa League triumph would be ‘massive’

Amorim won the Primeira Liga twice as Sporting CP manager, but he held back from ranking a potential Europa League triumph when questioned by reporters on Thursday night.

Still, Amorim did not hide away from how significant Europa League success would be for United after such a difficult campaign.

He added: “Every coach will say the next one is the most important. It is the title with more exposure, but I cannot say it is the most important title.

“Your first one is more important because you want to establish yourself as a coach and to win something, so you can say you have a title. But it would be massive, especially after this season in the Premier League. For me, it is important because it is the next one.”

Manchester United are looking likely to be involved in the Europa League final, which is just over a fortnight away, with Tottenham leading the race to be the opponent.

While Manchester United are not confirmed to be in the Europa League final just yet, it would take an absolute disaster for Ruben Amorim’s side not to progress.

After a brilliant 3-0 first leg victory over Athletic Club, all the cards are stacked against the Basque side overturning the deficit at Old Trafford.

Any chance of staging a comeback looks dashed on Wednesday as Athletic Club have suffered a double injury blow to both Inaki Williams and Nico Williams.

This should mean United have a relatively simple night on Thursday with Bilbao missing their three best players. Therefore, this should mean United are overwhelming favourites to return to San Mames in a fortnight.

As of now, it looks likely that it will be Tottenham Hotspur who join United in the final.

James Maddison suffers season-ending injury two weeks before Europa League final

In their first leg, Tottenham beat Bodo/Glimt 3-1 at home, setting up a frosty affair in the Arctic Circle this Thursday where the Norwegian side are rather formidable.

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Ange Postecoglou’s side will have to do it all without James Maddison, as the extent of his recent injury has been revealed.

It comes according to Sami Mokbel and the BBC, who report that Maddison’s season is over and is even a doubt for pre-season at Spurs with a knee injury.

This, of course, will include the Europa League final, which Spurs will be hoping to play in two weeks over in Bilbao, with United the likely opponent.

Maddison does not require surgery on his knee, and the hope is that he will be fit for the start of the 2025/26 season in August.

This will weaken Spurs, with Maddison being the decider in the previous meeting between United and Spurs, in which Amorim lost 1-0.

Which Manchester United players will miss the Europa League final?

So, assuming it is Spurs who reach the final, they will be without a player who has 12 goals and 11 assists this season across all competitions.

In comparison, United look set to have a fairly healthy squad for the final, with Amad Diallo and Luke Shaw both recently returned from injury.

Absentees will, however, include Lisandro Martinez, Joshua Zirkzee, and potentially Diogo Dalot if he does not get fit in time. Additionally, the race will be on for Ayden Heaven and Toby Collyer.

Amorim will, however, more or less have his full strength side available to him for the final should he manage to deny a Bilbao comeback.

It is exactly two weeks until the final, and fans should be excited.

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Roy Carroll reflects on one of the most iconic moments of his career when Tottenham Hotspur were not given a goal after the ball had clearly crossed the line.

Roy Carroll spent four years at Manchester United, beginning in 2007 after a transfer from Wigan Athletic. It was initially thought that Carroll would become the understudy to Fabien Barthez at Old Trafford, with competition from Raimond van der Gouw.

The Northern Ireland goalkeeper cost United in the region of £2.5 million which is a cheap price to pay for a keeper who would go on to make over 600 career appearances in seven different countries.

However, Carroll never became Barthez’ replacement because he never nailed down the role of being the first-choice stopper. He still earned a Premier League winners’ medal and won the 2004 FA Cup during his spell at Old Trafford.

Carroll made 72 appearances for United during his time at the club and also played for Linfield, Notts County, Odense Boldklub, Derby County, West Ham and others.

Roy Carroll infamous mistake against Tottenham Hotspur

Most people think of his mistake against Tottenham Hotspur when they hear Roy Carroll’s name mentioned, especially in Premier League corners.

It came in his last season at United when the goalkeeper famously spilt Pedro Mendes’ long-range shot.

Although the ball crossed the line, the officials on the night didn’t award the goal and the Northern Irishman’s error went unpunished, as the game ended scoreless.

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Carroll opened up on the mistake during an interview with the Manchester Evening News, saying: “I always mention it to my young goalkeepers in training. My reactions were good.

“I didn’t see Mendes again until I played for Rangers years later. He just turned up with a big smile on his face, and I said it was never a goal! For a goalkeeper, every day is a learning day, and when you make a mistake like that, it’s a mistake because you took your eye off the ball.

“There were 70,000 people there, so it was a bad place to make a mistake. That’s what I say when I coach: when you make mistakes in training, don’t worry. It’s the place to make them.”

Carroll knows that making mistakes is part of being a goalkeeper. United fans have watched Andre Onana make plenty of errors over the past season and there are now question marks over his future at the club.

Unlike Onana, Carroll got away with his mistake against Tottenham. It wouldn’t happen nowadays due to the introduction of VAR.

Extra responsibilities as Man Utd goalkeeper

Carroll knows what Onana has been going through in the last two weeks after making two major mistakes in the first leg against Lyon.

Ever since that game, Onana’s future has been the subject of non-stop speculation. The only way he can get beyond that is by performing well and stop giving ammunition to his critics.

Speaking from experience, Carroll added: “I’m not talking about the Manchester United goalkeeper here, but I’m talking about all goalkeepers, it’s not easy.

“I know people say you start all over again and get on with it, but it’s difficult, especially when you can hear people muttering in the background.

“As a goalkeeper, you have to be mentally tough and mistakes happen in football. It’s not easy for Manchester United goalkeepers. You can be the best goalkeeper in the world for Man United, but if you make a mistake, you’re going to be all over the front page because it’s such a massive club.

“I do a lot of talks about mental health because it’s very close to me, but the massive thing about football being a goalkeeper is you probably have more downs than ups in the game.”