[monks data]
Spurs logo
Europa League | Final
May 21, 2025 at 8pm UK
San Mames Barria
Manchester United logo

Spurs
1 - 0
Man Utd

Johnson (42')
van de Ven (49'), Richarlison (57'), Bissouma (68')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Diallo (35'), Zirkzee (84'), Maguire (88'), Evans (90+2')

Tottenham 1-0 Man United: Spurs' previous appearances in UEFA Cup/Europa League finals

Sports Mole looks at the Tottenham Hotspur's previous UEFA Cup/EL final appearances.

1. 1971-72 UEFA Cup final | Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur (on aggregate)

Tottenham Hotspur celebrate winning the UEFA Cup in 1972© Imago

A historically significant fixture in both English and European football, the 1972 UEFA Cup final between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur marked the first ever UEFA club competition final to be fought by two teams of the same nation.

However, this was not just one final, but two; much like in today's knockout ties, the showpiece match was a two-legged affair, the first of which took place at Wolves' Molineux home on May 3.

Bill Nicholson's Tottenham spoiled the West Midlands party, though, as a brace from Martin Chivers rendered a Jim McCalliog effort largely inconsequential in a 2-1 triumph for the North London giants, who had to wait a fortnight to finish the job at home.

In front of a 54,000-strong crowd at White Hart Lane, Tottenham simply needed to avoid defeat to hoist the trophy aloft, and avoid defeat they did, as Alan Mullery put Spurs 3-1 to the good on aggregate before David Wagstaffe's ultimately inconsequential equaliser for the Old Gold.


2. 1973-74 UEFA Cup final | Tottenham 2-4 Feyenoord (on aggregate)

Feyenoord vs. Tottenham Hotspur in the 1974 UEFA Cup final© Imago

After having their title defence ended by Liverpool in the 1972-73 edition, Tottenham were back in the championship battle just one year later, where Feyenoord sought to deny them a second European honour in the space of three years.

Still contested over two matches, White Hart Lane hosted the first leg on May 21, 1974, where Tottenham took the lead twice only to be pegged back by their Dutch counterparts on both occasions.

Mike England's opener preceded a quickfire Willem van Hamegan leveller, before Theo de Jong bailed out teammate Joop van Daele after his own goal gave Tottenham a 2-1 lead, leaving Feyenoord in control before the return fixture in Rotterdam.

A clash that was partially overshadowed by riots from Tottenham supporters, Feyenoord did the business with a 2-0 win to secure a 4-2 aggregate success over Nicholson's team, as goals in either half from Wim Rijsbergen and Peter Ressel subjected Spurs to their first-ever heartbreak in a European final.


3. 1983-84 UEFA Cup final | Anderlecht 2-2 Tottenham (on aggregate, Tottenham win 4-3 on penalties)

Tottenham vs. Anderlecht in the 1984 UEFA Cup final© Imago

From English to Dutch to Belgian, Tottenham's third UEFA Cup final in the 1983-84 season threw up another new opponent, as the Lilywhites crossed paths with Belgian behemoths Anderlecht in another two-legged showpiece event.

Now under the wing of Keith Burkinshaw, Tottenham travelled to Brussels for the opening encounter and left the happier of the two sides following a 1-1 draw, even if Paul Miller's strike did not hold up as the winner due to an 85th minute Morten Olsen equaliser.

However, it was the London giants who had to find some late inspiration at White Hart Lane, as Anderlecht took the lead through Alexandre Czerniatynski before Graham Roberts saved Spurs' bacon six minutes from the end of normal time.

Thirty additional goalless minutes followed, but first-leg hero Olsen went from hero to zero, missing his opening penalty in the shootout as Tottenham scored each of their first four.

Danny Thomas fluffing his lines gave Anderlecht a glimmer of hope, but Arnor Gudjohnsen - the father of ex-Chelsea striker Eidur Gudjohnsen - saw his effort saved by Tony Parks as Tottenham clinched their third and most recent European honour to date.

Tottenham's triumph was also a triumph for football, as over a decade later, Anderlecht's former chairman admitted to paying a referee a £27,000 "loan" before their semi-final clash with Nottingham Forest, still one of the most notable corruption scandals in European football history.


4. 2024-25 Europa League final | Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Manchester United

The first-ever UEFA club competition final to be fought by two teams finishing in the bottom of their league table, 17th-placed Tottenham and 16th-placed Manchester United clashed in a season-salvaging Europa League final in Bilbao in May 2025.

The contest was typical of that of two teams fighting at the lower end of their division, and not a phenomenal watch for any neutral fans tuning in, but the Lilywhites faithful were sent into raptures at the end of the first half when Brennan Johnson scrambled the ball home.

Ange Postecoglou's side subsequently entered park the bus mode to try to keep the Red Devils at bay, and thanks to particularly eye-catching goal-line stops from Micky van de Ven and Guglielmo Vicario, they did so.

Spurs' 1-0 victory snapped their miserable 17-year sequence without a major trophy, but perhaps more importantly continued Postecoglou's perfect streak of winning a major honour in his second year in a job, proving that he could walk the walk as well as talk the talk.


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Ben Knapton
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TeamPWDLPTS
QLazio861119
2Athletic Bilbao861119
3Man Utd853018
4Spurs852117
5Frankfurt851216
6Lyon843115
7Olympiacos843115
8Rangers842214
9Bodo/Glimt842214
10Anderlecht842214
11FCSB842214
12Ajax841313
13Real Sociedad841313
14Galatasaray834113
15Roma833212
16Plzen833212
17Ferencvaros840412
18Porto832311
19Midtjylland832311
20AZ832311
21Union SG832311
22FC Twente824210
23Fenerbahce824210
24Braga831410
25Elfsborg831410
26PAOK831410
27Hoffenheim82339
28Besiktas83059
29M. Tel Aviv82066
30Slavia Prague81255
31Malmo81255
32RFS81255
33Ludogorets80444
34Dynamo Kiev81164
35Nice80353
36Qarabag81073


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