Tottenham claimed their third UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League trophy, their first in 41 years, after beating Manchester United with 1-0 in the final of Wednesday. Here are two statistics for each side after the final.
Tottenham Hotspur – The Stuff of Champions
6 -Tottenham ended a 17 -year -old trophy -dried with their victory in Bilbao. A Brennan Johnson finished just before the break, eventually separated the two parties from the night. Spurs are the sixth other side to win the UEL three or more occasions. They join Inter Milan, Liverpool, Juventus and Atletico Madrid over three victories. Only Sevilla has more than the quintet, with seven victories.
4 – This was the first time in 37 years that none of both parties in a European final qualified for a UEFA Club competition in their own country. Tottenham, however, are not strangers on this front. On all four occasions in which they reached the UEFA Cup/Europa League final, the North Londers were not eligible for Europe in their own country. This means that their UEL -Glorie makes them the first team that is only eligible for continental football as a title holder.
Manchester United – Rampal season complete
3 – Manchester United was about to complete a spectacular performance. If they had lifted the trophy, the Red Devils would have been the first team that was undefeated on their way to a European title in all three Champions League (1998/99), Cup Winners Cup (1990/91) and Europa League. Instead, it is the third time that United has lost a European final after he has become unbeaten during the competition. No side can match them in that respect, because they also saw their only continental defeat in a final in 2008/09 and 2010/11, both in the Champions League.
11 – Everyone always expects to see Manchester United in Europe, especially in the UCL. That will not be the case. For the first time in 11 years, United will be without European football next season. The last time they did not play in Europe was in 2014/15 after they finished seventh in the Premier League. At the time, if the Cup winners qualified for Europe through the competition, the Cup Runner-Up would take the place instead. According to the current rules, the Red Devils would have been in the Europa League qualifications.