Europa League golden ticket offers salvation for Premiership strugglers

BILBAO, Spain — Manchester United and Tottenham will slug it out in the Europa League final on Wednesday in Bilbao, with both sides desperately seeking salvation from dismal Premier League campaigns through, not just the promise of silverware, but also a golden ticket into next season's Champions League.

A potential 100 million pounds ($133 million) honey pot for reaching Europe's top competition is on the line at the San Mames stadium for two sides languishing near the bottom of the English top flight.

Ruben Amorim's Red Devils are 16th, and, with 18 league defeats, are enduring their worst top flight campaign in half a century, since their 1974 relegation.

One place lower lies Ange Postecoglou's Spurs, which have been defeated a club-record 21 times in the league, and are on course for their worst season since returning to the top tier in 1978.

With both teams fixated on Europe, their plunge toward the table's lower echelons has only accelerated in recent weeks.

United is winless in eight league games, its worst run in Premier League history, falling away to Chelsea on Friday in its last outing ahead of the final.

Tottenham also slumped to defeat at Aston Villa, chalking up a fifth loss in six league matches.

Spurs are twice winners of this competition, but their victory in 1984 was the club's last European trophy, and they have not won any silverware for 17 years.

They reached a maiden Champions League final in 2019, but came up short in another all-English battle in Spain, losing 2-0 to Liverpool in a drab contest.

"When you look at the historical backdrop of this club for the past 20-odd years, I feel (this final) could be a turning point," said Postecoglou last week.

Despite United's gradual decline since legendary former manager Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, it did win the FA Cup and League Cup in the past two seasons under Amorim's predecessor Erik ten Hag.

The Portuguese manager has endured a torrid time since taking charge in November, winning just six of his 26 Premier League games.

But, the Europa League has been a different story, as United thrashed Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao, either side of a famous fightback from 6-4 down to beat Lyon 7-6 on aggregate in the quarterfinals, sparking memories of the club's dramatic Champions League final victory in 1999.

Amorim, though, is aware of the scale of the task he faces to turn around the fortunes of the 20-time English champion.

"I'm not concerned about the final, it's by far the smallest problem in our club," said the former Sporting Lisbon boss.

"We need to change something that is deeper than this."

Four in a row?

Overcoming Tottenham was once seen as nothing more than an irritation for an all-conquering United.

Old Trafford great Roy Keane revealed that, once, Ferguson's team talk was limited to a dismissive, "lads, it's Spurs".

This season, though, the London side has won all three meetings between the beleaguered pair, twice in the Premier League and once in the League Cup, with Postecoglou unbeaten in five matches at the helm against United.

"If you think about the odds, it's hard for the club to lose four times in a row," said Amorim.

With players like Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro, United has both experience and quality at their disposal.

"They know how to win trophies, Tottenham don't," said former United midfielder Paul Scholes, who played alongside Keane.

Despite the team's diabolical domestic form, Amorim is expected to stay, bolstered by the thrilling unbeaten surge to the Europa League final.

The same cannot be said for Postecoglou. The Australian is almost certain to depart if he fails to deliver on his promise to win a trophy in his second season in charge.

Spurs' bad luck with injuries this season continues, with midfielders James Maddison, Lucas Bergvall and Dejan Kulusevski all missing for the final. However, captain Son Heung-min is fit.

Tottenham survived its trip to the Arctic at Bodo/Glimt, but Postecoglou may still be frozen out — even if his team triumphs.

" (If we win) it's going to upset a lot of people, isn't it?" he said.

"Who cares if we're struggling in the league? I'm looking forward to it, and it should be a great game."

AFP