Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur will meet for the fourth time this season when they face off in the Europa League final in Bilbao on May 21 after both came through their respective semi-finals on Thursday.
All three games between the sides so far this season — two in the Premier League and one in the Carabao Cup — have ended in Tottenham wins. United have not beaten the club from north London since October 2022. Tottenham have won four of the last six meetings in all competitions, outscoring United 14-7.
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It is never easy to glean takeaways from earlier matches during the season, especially in this case, given their fourth meeting of 2024-25 will be in a final that could salvage otherwise disappointing seasons. But their most recent clash — a 1-0 Tottenham home win in February — contained tactical elements we can expect to see in Bilbao.
By the time that match in February came about, the two teams’ league campaigns were effectively over. They had won just 16 of their 48 combined matches, with United in 14th and Spurs in 15th, 14 and 16 points off fifth place, respectively.
Both had injury concerns. Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Radu Dragusin, Richarlison and Dominic Solanke were out for Spurs, even as Guglielmo Vicario and Wilson Odobert returned. United were without Manuel Ugarte, Kobbie Mainoo, Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Lisandro Martinez, Amad, Altay Bayindir and Jonny Evans.
With only Alejandro Garnacho available as an out-and-out winger, United set up with him on the left and Joshua Zirkzee as the right-sided No 10 behind Rasmus Hojlund. Without the ball, they adopted a 5-3-2 shape with Hojlund and Zirkzee leading the press.
The issue this raised was in tackling Spurs’ fluid rotations on the left with Djed Spence, James Maddison and Son Heung-min. In the example below from the third minute, Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot are outnumbered by the trio.
Having a spare man was a theme in the first half and United’s passive approach meant Spurs could dominate possession in different ways.
In the fifth minute, Lucas Bergvall carries the ball to the left from the right while Spence inverts to draw out Noussair Mazraoui. Son holds his width, commanding Dalot’s attention, giving Maddison multiple passing options and Spurs the chance to chip away at United.
In this example from the 26th minute, Fernandes pushing high forces Mazraoui to step forward. The Moroccan is reluctant to move too far out of the defensive line, though.
With Son occupying Dalot again, Maddison and Spence are both line-breaking options with space and indecision to feed on.
This move ended with Maddison receiving and passing over the top to Son, who crossed for Mathys Tel, with the Frenchman forcing a save from Andre Onana.
Throughout the first half, Fernandes could be seen asking Dalot to push up to create the 4-4-2 shape that United often use now out of possession. Dalot was initially hesitant, but in the 23rd minute — with United 1-0 down after Maddison’s 13th-minute opener — he jumps up to dispossess Maddison after Patrick Dorgu advances on the other flank to force Dejan Kulusevski into a risky switch of play.
Fernandes flicks on Dalot’s header to the dropping Zirkzee, who pulls makeshift centre-back Ben Davies away from the middle. Pedro Porro tries to cover for Davies, which results in a haphazard defensive line and United finding Garnacho open on the left side of the box after some neat one-touch passing.
Garnacho skies the chance — United’s best of the first half — but the strategy allowed them to limit Spurs’ chances in the 15 minutes before the break.
The same move provided a glimpse of what United needed to do in attack too: get Zirkzee and Hojlund to unsettle Spurs’ centre-backs.
In the 55th minute, Zirkzee drops and United pass to him, with Davies closing him down.
United work the ball to Fernandes and Hojlund comes across, dragging Kevin Danso with him, while Davies drops off Zirkzee. That opens a massive gap at the heart of Spurs’ defence.
Zirkzee, receiving from Fernandes, uses that exact gap to find Garnacho in behind and he forces a save from Vicario.
They had an alternate strategy too: getting Hojlund and Zirkzee to drop in unison to drag the centre-backs with them and enable a pass over the top to a runner from wide like Dalot in the example below…
Dalot also forced a save from Vicario but was flagged offside.
While the strategy forced a more transitional game at times, United were largely in control, a sign of progress that they built on to use to their advantage in the Europa League knockout ties against Real Sociedad and Lyon.
The way United’s and Spurs’ seasons have unravelled has meant their September clash at Old Trafford — which Spurs won 3-0 — has long been forgotten.
With Erik ten Hag still in the home dugout, Micky van de Ven left half the United team in his wake to assist Brennan Johnson in the third minute. United were lucky not to concede more before Fernandes’ 42nd-minute red card (which was later rescinded) for scraping Maddison’s calf with a raised boot.
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Kulusevski and Solanke scored in the second half, though 10-man United could have scored a couple too.
Ahead of their League Cup quarter-final meeting in December, Spurs were caught in an injury crisis. United, just a month into the Amorim era, were only missing Shaw and Mount but played a rotated side.
United looked very much like a team transitioning from one style to another and were down 3-0 by the 54th minute — all three goals a result of errors.
There was no meek surrender this time, though, as two Fraser Forster mistakes led to goals from substitutes Amad and Zirkzee. Son then beat Bayindir with an ‘Olimpico’ before another substitute, Evans, scored as the game ended 4-3.
Ahead of the final, both teams are missing key players but also have a majority of their squad fit.
Maddison, Bergvall and Son could all miss out for Spurs. Destiny Udogie is likely to start ahead of Spence, along with Romero, Van de Ven and Porro. Van de Ven’s pace when recovering could be crucial in situations similar to what United created during the February fixture. Richarlison and Solanke should be fit too.
For United, Dalot and Zirkzee are ruled out, but Amad is available. If deployed at right-wing back, his pressing could stifle Spurs’ left-sided combinations while adding an offensive punch. Ugarte and Casemiro have played well in tandem in recent weeks, barring an early stumble against Athletic Club, and their positional interchanges with Fernandes have been fluid.
Both teams have shown signs of evolution in Europe. United are better accustomed to Amorim’s system compared to the previous two meetings. Spurs’ performances in Europe have seen them embrace the defensive side instead of relying on transitional football and high pressing.
That — and the stakes involved — should make for an intriguing final.
