EUROPA League
UEFA Europa League final head-to-head record: Tottenham vs Manchester United
All you need to know about a fixture going back 126 years that Manchester United have dominated, though there is recent cause for optimism for Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham.
Manchester United and Tottenham will meet in UEFA competition for the first time when they face each other in the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League final, but the English sides are obviously no strangers on the domestic front.
The sides have played each other 204 times since their first meeting in 1899. The Red Devils have enjoyed much the better of the fixture over the years, but there is cause for recent optimism for Ange Postecoglou’s men.
Potted history: United dominance
The first meeting between the sides came in the FA Cup on 28 January 1899, back when United were known as Newton Heath. The teams drew 1-1 at Northumberland Park in north London, meaning a replay four days later when Willie Bryant hit the fixture’s first hat-trick in a losing cause as Tottenham won 5-3.
Spurs triumphed in just one of the next nine meetings, though, and over the course of 204 fixtures United have been dominant with 96 wins to Tottenham’s 57.
Between 2001 and 2009 the Red Devils went 26 matches unbeaten, sparked by a remarkable game that saw them overturn a 3-0 half-time deficit to win 5-3. Recently, though, Spurs have had the upper hand…
This season’s games
Man Utd 0-3 Spurs, 29/09/2024
Johnson 3, Kulusevski 47, Solanke 78
Tottenham were irrepressible at Old Trafford in their first league meeting of 2024/25, the hosts’ task made harder by Bruno Fernandes’ dismissal before the break.
Spurs 4-3 Man Utd, 19/12/2024
Solanke 15 54, Kulusevski 46, Son 88; Zirkzee 63, Amad 70, Evans 90+4
Postecoglou’s men again opened up a 3-0 lead in December’s League Cup quarter-final tie, but had to survive a United fightback in a game marked by goalkeeping errors.
Spurs 1-0 Man Utd, 16/02/2025
Maddison 13
James Maddison scored the winner on his return to action as Tottenham earned a narrow league win against injury-hit visitors as Ruben Amorim was left ruing missed chances.
Postecoglou vs Man Utd
Spurs are unbeaten in six games against United, with the last five under Postecoglou (W4 D1). They have won all three meetings so far this season.
The Australian has suffered defeat by the Red Devils, though – back in 2000, his South Melbourne side lost 2-0 to United in the FIFA Club World Cup, Quinton Fortune getting both the English side’s goals. That gives Postecoglou an overall record against United of P6 W4 D1 L1.
Amorim vs Tottenham
Ruben Amorim’s Sporting CP met Tottenham in the 2022/23 Champions League group stage, picking up four points across the two fixtures though it was Spurs who ultimately topped the section: the Portuguese side finished bottom.
United have lost two out of two since his arrival this season, meaning Amorim’s overall record against Spurs is P4 W1 D1 L2.
Previous final meeting
Given the sides’ proud record in domestic club competition (only Arsenal have won more FA Cups), it is perhaps surprising that United and Spurs have met in just one previous final.
That came in the 2008/09 League Cup, when Sir Alex Ferguson’s Red Devils won 4-1 on penalties following a goalless draw. A 21-year-old Jonny Evans started at centre-back for the victors; now 37, he is still in the United squad.
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Four-times Europa League winner Unai Emery booked an astonishing sixth final in the competition as a manager on Thursday when his Aston Villa team swept aside Nottingham Forest in the second leg of their all-English semi-final.
The 54-year-old Spaniard has won three times with Sevilla (2014, 2015, 2016) and once with Villarreal (2021) – either side of a defeat with Arsenal (2019) – deservedly earning him the epithet “Mr Europa League” from some fans and media.
Now he goes to the 2026 final seeking a fifth title, this time with Aston Villa against Bundesliga side Freiburg.
“His track record speaks for itself,” said Villa striker Ollie Watkins, heaping praise on his boss as the man to guarantee Europa League success. “We need to go and win it now.”
Emery was delighted with how his team overturned a 1-0 deficit to Forest in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final to score four times at home and win 4-1 on aggregate.
“Now we have to look to the final,” he said, hoping that Villa will do “something fantastic” for their fans.
Though thrilled at Thursday’s win, Emery left the pitch quickly after the final whistle, pumping his fist a few times at the crowd before letting his players enjoy the moment with fans
He and his Villa side will be favourites at the Europa League final in Istanbul on May 20, but Emery was taking nothing for granted. “Of course German teams are so difficult, their coaches, their players are so good,” he added of the upcoming opponents.
-Reuters
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List of teams which have qualified for the next round of the Europa League after the league phase concluded on Thursday, ranked by table position:
Directly to the round of 16:
1. Olympique Lyonnais (France)
2. Aston Villa (England)
3. Midtjylland (Denmark)
4. Real Betis (Spain)
5. Porto (Portugal)
6. Braga (Portugal)
7. Freiburg (Germany)
8. AS Roma (Italy)
Knockout phase play-off places (seeded)
9. Genk (Belgium)
10. Bologna (Italy)
11. VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
12. Ferencvaros (Hungary)
13. Nottingham Forest (England)
14. Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)
15. Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
16. Celta Vigo (Spain)
Knockout phase play-off places (unseeded)
17. PAOK (Greece)
18. Lille (France)
19. Fenerbahce (Turkey)
20. Panathinaikos (Greece)
21. Celtic (Scotland)
22. Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
23. Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
24. SK Brann (Norway)
-Reuters
UEFA Europa League – Aston Villa v RB Salzburg – Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain – January 29, 2026 Aston
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Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to ban their supporters, they said on Monday.
The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.
“From hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context,” Maccabi said in a statement.
“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”
Aston Villa announced the decision last week, saying they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park.
West Midlands Police described the match as high risk, past incidents, including violent confrontations and hate crime offences involving Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters ahead of a November 2024 game in Amsterdam.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the announcement as “shameful”.
Villa are third in the Europa League standings while Maccabi Tel Aviv are 30th after two rounds.
-Reuters
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