An all-Premier League clash in Bilbao pits two English giants against one another in a continental final as Manchester United and Tottenham clash in the UEFA Europa League title contest.
Both sides face a cavernous dichotomy between the fallout from winning and losing in this pivotal match. With the two teams each suffering through a miserable league campaign — Man United in 16th and Tottenham in 17th — the Europa League is all they have left to cling to.
Winning a European trophy would do wonders to erase the woeful domestic form and would point to a better 2025/26 season, while returning home from northern Spain without a title would leave the runner-up with no way to paper over the failures of the campaign.
The Sporting News is following the Tottenham vs. Man United match live, providing score updates, commentary.
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Tottenham vs. Man United: Europa League final live score
| Score (1H) | Goal scorers | |
| Tottenham | 1 | B. Johnson (42′) |
| Man United | 0 | – |
Location: San Mames Stadium (Bilbao, Spain)
Referee: Felix Zwayer (GER)
Starting lineups:
Tottenham (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Vicario (GK) — 23. Porro, 17. Romero, 37. Van de Ven, 13. Udogie — 29. Sarr, 8. Bissouma, 30. Bentancur — 22. Johnson, 19. Solanke, 9. Richarlison.
Man United (4-3-3, right to left): 24. Onana (GK) — 15. Yoro, 5. Maguire, 23. Shaw — 3. Mazraoui, 18. Casemiro, 7. Mount, 13. Dorgu — 8. Fernandes, 16. Amad — 9. Hojlund.
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Tottenham vs. Man United live updates, highlights from Europa League final
It’s a clunky goal perfectly fitting for this match, as Johnson bundles home a deep cross from Pape Sarr on the left, denied the first time by Onana but staying with the effort and tapping it in awkwardly on the second attempt. The ball may have also clipped off Luke Shaw on its way through, which may have confounded Onana through it all.
35th min: As you might imagine in a game with such high stakes and high emotions, there has been a lot of fouling, giving German official Felix Zwayer a ton of work to do. The first booking of the match is shown to Amad Diallo, after he grabs a fist full of Destiny Udogie’s shirt with Spurs on the run.
There will likely be a good bit more of that physicality across the 90 minutes. United’s second-best creative player being shown a yellow card so early is a real problem for United, and now Ruben Amorim must sort out how long he gives the young winger before protecting him from a second offense.
28th min: Both teams have looked shaky dealing with crosses and other deliveries in and around the penalty area, this time with Patrick Dorgu chesting a ball out of play to concede a corner despite no opponent even remotely in the vicinity.
Spurs waste the chance, as Pedro Porro’s delivery falls to Richarlison near the far post but he fails to collect it cleanly.
16th min: Chance, Man United! AMAD DIALLO FIRES JUST WIDE! A Man United corner is sailed to the far post, where it’s touched away from immediate danger by Vicario. The ball falls to Diallo at a tight angle, and he takes a touch past a defender and rifles a vicious shot on goal!
It flashes just past the far post, not very far off at all! He’s only missed by inches! SO close!
HIGHLIGHT: Watch Amad Diallo chance in UK
11th min: Chance, Tottenham! A ball over the top unlocks the Man United back line down the right Spurs flank, and Brennan Johnson does extremely well to get the ball towards net along the end line. His tight-angle shot was never going to beat Andre Onana at the near post, but it gave Spurs a great chance as Onana’s save fell to Pape Sarr outside the top of the penalty area in space.
Sarr has a whip on the volley, and the effort was pacey, but it’s blocked by a Man United defender out for a corner! A good opportunity early on!
It’s been a testing start for Luke Shaw. It looks as though Tottenham have made it Brennan Johnson’s mission to try and target him at every possible opportunity. The Wales international is not giving the United defender a moment’s rest in these opening exchanges.#MUFC
— George Smith (@_GeorgeSmith99) May 21, 2025
6th min: A corner for Manchester United is dealt with very poorly by the Spurs defense, with Guglielmo Vicario forced to awkwardly turn the ball out of play around the corner of the post for another corner.
While Tottenham clear the initial delivery on the follow-up set-piece, they make a meal of the recycle and Man United nearly catch Vicario off his line, but Bruno Fernandes is closed down by three defenders and unable to put an effort on the empty net!
Kickoff: They’re under way in Basque country! So much to gain for the winner, and consequently SO much to lose for the side that comes up short. Buckle up, we’ve got a European final to play!
🎶 Take me home…🎶 #mufc pic.twitter.com/YiQ1TBAZpY
— Nathan Salt (@NathSalt1) May 21, 2025
Tottenham vs. Man United: Pre-match commentary, analysis, more
15 mins to kickoff: With the opening whistle right around the corner, here’s a closer look at what’s at stake for each club tonight, aside from the obvious: a trophy.
The prize money is paramount for both clubs moving forward, but it’s not just what they can directly earn from this match that’s got both sides salivating. Instead, it’s the potential Champions League windfall that could be earned by victory tonight, as the winner will qualify directly to next year’s league phase.
The guaranteed total from that achievement nearly matches what these clubs earned through their entire Europa League journey this season, and there’s even more on the table should they perform in UEFA’s top competition next season!
MORE: A full breakdown of the Europa League prize money and what the winner will earn in the Champions League
30 mins to kickoff: Even as Ruben Amorim has sledged his team all season long through their domestic struggles, saying he’s never sure which Man United team will show up at any given stage, he’s told the TNT crew on site that he’s “really confident” in his players before this game.
“I trust in the guys, I’m really confident” 👊
Ruben Amorim speaks to @julesbreach & @rioferdy5 ahead of the game, and the confidence he has in his team 🤩
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/HkuDSHuFDn
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 21, 2025
45 mins to kickoff: The key to this game could be the physicality in midfield that Man United possess between Casemiro and Mason Mount, while Tottenham lack the same brute force to keep up. Even United have lacked physicality at times this season — Manuel Ugarte pointed towards that as a factor for their domestic struggles — but Spurs are totally devoid of such qualities themselves.
Tottenham Hotspur 🏴🔵
Manchester United 🏴🔴Who’s winning the Europa League?
📊 Compare teams: https://t.co/McR5zrPkTO pic.twitter.com/2II4Hg3E9Y— DataMB (@DataMB_) May 9, 2025
1 hour to kickoff: The narrative behind both clubs this season has been remarkably similar — domestically putrid but strong in Europe. Both managers acknowledged this fact before the match, in a show of mutual candor.
Ange Postecoglou seemed slightly reluctant to admit this fact, but did indeed acknowledge that both clubs have had difficulties at various stages, while Ruben Amorim was more up front with his assessment by saying they are both “struggling” this season.
1 hour 15 mins to kick: Lineups are in! Tottenham’s midfield looks thin, as there is no James Maddison and no Lucas Bergvall, two injured players who were instrumental in reaching this final. However, as those absences were expected, the surprise here is that Heung-Min Son is not in the starting lineup, left instead on the bench as Richarlison and Brennan Johnson flank No. 9 Dominic Solanke.
For Manchester United, there are two real surprises. First, Luke Shaw is fit enough to start at the back, while in midfield Mason Mount starts over Manuel Ugarte.
Bruno Fernandes leads the Man United squad into the stadium ⏳
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/Xnk4aIo4Ep
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 21, 2025
1 hour 30 mins to kick: Even with so much riding on this European final, the general feeling is that likely tonight’s result will have little effect on either manager’s job status. It’s been widely reported that Ruben Amorim will stay on at Manchester United regardless of whether the Red Devils triumph today or not, while it’s expected that Ange Postecoglou is likely leaving Tottenham whether or not they win.
Our very own Joe Wright has explained why he believes that Amorim deserves far more scrutiny than he’s received, saying “There’s only so long you can walk towards a cliff edge.” It’s very much worth your time ahead of kickoff.
It’s the Europa LOLgue final.
I’ve gone rogue and tried to argue that being worse than Derby 2007/08 means we should probably talk a bit more about what the #MUFC manager is doing https://t.co/nLGr4O6sBl
— Joe Wright (@JoeWright004) May 21, 2025
1 hour 45 mins to kick: We are still 30 minutes from official team news, but there is a report that Leny Yoro will start for Man United at the back. While this was expected, it also wasn’t fully confirmed yet as he has been struggling with a slight injury in recent weeks, so his return is welcome.
Leny Yoro to start Europa League final. Centre-back ready to play from the beginning after injury recovery.
Major boost for Ruben Amorim given Yoro’s form recently. Important player on the ball, as well as speed in defence.
⬇️ #MUFC https://t.co/BrjzFyEB3V
— Laurie Whitwell (@lauriewhitwell) May 21, 2025
2 hours to kickoff: The tension promised to be oozing throughout this European final could be felt even the day before, as Ange Postecoglou had a testy moment in his pre-match press conference.
The Tottenham boss took issue with the phrase “hero or clown” used by a Spurs writer in a pre-match article to describe the huge gap in fallout from each potential result in this game. The narrative will be vastly different between win or lose, but Postecoglou was not thrilled with being potentially painted as a “clown.”
It’s been a long and arduous season, and both Spurs and United are feeling the pressure of that.
“I will tell you one thing, irrespective of tomorrow, I’m not a clown and never will be.”
Ange Postecoglou responds to a report that he would be a ‘hero or clown’ depending on the Europa League final result.
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/Lh0irPXe7O
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 20, 2025
Tottenham vs. Man United kick off time
The 2025 Europa League final kicks off from the San Mames Stadium on Wednesday, May 21 at 9 p.m. local time in San Sebastian, Spain. Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories around the globe:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| USA/Canada | Wed, May 21 | 3 p.m. ET |
| USA/Canada | Wed, May 21 | 12 p.m. PT |
| UK | Wed, May 21 | 8 p.m. BST |
| Australia | Thu, May 22 | 5 a.m. AEST |
| India | Thu, May 22 | 12:30 a.m. IST |
Tottenham vs. Man United lineups, team news
Spurs captain Son Heung-min made his first start since recovering from a foot injury in last Friday’s defeat to Aston Villa, but has surprisingly been left on the bench while Richarlison and Brennan Johnson start flanking striker Dominic Solanke.
Ange Postecoglou’s main concerns come in midfield, with James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Lucas Bergvall all ruled out.
The picture is far rosier at centre-back. Despite both missing large chunks of the campaign, influential duo Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are ready to start.
Tottenham starting lineup (4-3-3): Vicario (GK) — Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie — Sarr, Bissouma, Bentancur — Johnson, Solanke, Richarlison.
Tottenham subs: Austin (GK), Whiteman (GK), Spence, Davies, Danso, Gray, Ajayi, Moore, Odobert, Tel, Son, Scarlett.
Diogo Dalot, Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee all took part in team training on Tuesday before the United squad flew to Bilbao, and they were all in contention to be involved in the game. That said, Zirkzee was always unlikely to be fully fit after battling a hamstring injury sustained last month that was expected to sideline him for the rest of the season, and is not in the matchday squad.
Matthijs de Ligt had hoped to recover from a knee problem, but he was not included in the travelling squad.
Amad Diallo and Mason Mount have each given Amorim’s support attacking options a boost in recent weeks and are vying to start, with both included in the lineup while Manuel Ugarte has been left on the bench.
Much-maligned striker Rasmus Hojlund has scored six goals in the Europa League this season, two more than he has managed in the Premier League in 2024/25.
Man United starting lineup (3-4-2-1): Onana (GK) — Yoro, Maguire, Shaw — Mazraoui, Casemiro, Mount, Dorgu — Fernandes, Amad — Hojlund.
Man United subs: Bayindir (GK), Amass, Dalot, Evans, Heaven, Lindelof, Collyer, Eriksen, Mainoo, Ugarte, Garnacho, Zirkzee.
Tottenham vs. Man United live stream, TV channel
Here is how to watch the match in some of the world’s major regions:
