Home of football statistics and historyManchester United and Tottenham Hotspur emerged victorious from their Europa League final league-phase outings to secure automatic Round-of-16 qualification.
Both teams have stuttered in the Premier League this season and are currently in the bottom half of the standings past the halfway point of the 2024/25 campaign.
However, they’ve been near-flawless in Europe.
After all Champions League group stage results on the intense final matchday went in favour of English clubs, United and Spurs refused to disappoint in Europe’s second-tier competition.
While the Red Devils squeezed past Romanian outfit FCSB 2-0 in Bucharest, Ange Postecoglou’s charges dismantled Swedish side Elfsborg 3-0 in North London.
Consequently, both teams have reached a sought-after top-eight finish, easing the pressure on an already-congested fixture schedule.
From bottom to top
Man Utd’s Europa League journey started with a whimper rather than a bang.
Indeed, former boss Erik ten Hag oversaw an underwhelming sequence of three consecutive draws to kick off the maiden league-stage campaign.
However, the Red Devils have gone from strength to strength after sacking the Dutchman, beating PAOK 2-0 under interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Ruben Amorim picked up the mantle in November and inspired Man Utd to four consecutive Europa League victories.
Per Opta, the 40-year-old became the second United manager to win their first four European games in charge of the club since Sir Alex Ferguson in 1990/21.
Each of Man Utd’s four continental triumphs under Amorim saw the Red Devils score at least two goals en route to finishing the league phase as the fourth joint-best scorers.
More importantly, the Red Devils have progressed into the knockouts as the only unbeaten team in the Europa League this term.
Standout performer
Rasmus Hojlund’s career at Old Trafford has yet to reach its promised heights, but the Danish goal-getter can draw confidence from his European form in 2024/25.
Hojlund’s tally of five goals and one assist is the competition’s third most-prolific striker, as he remarkably contributed to 37% of Man Utd’s continental strikes.
Saving grace
Tottenham’s dreadful Premier League campaign hit a new low last weekend as a 2-1 home defeat to relegation-battling Leicester City demoted them to 15th in the standings.
With the pressure growing on Postecoglou, beating Elfsborg to lock down a knockout berth in the Europa League, the ex-Celtic coach must have breathed a sigh of relief.
According to the Daily Mail, Postecoglou admitted after the win that Spurs could add a new defender after potentially losing Radu Dragusin to a long-term injury.
Defensive frailties have often been Tottenham’s undoing under the 59-year-old, but they fared reasonably well at the back across their first eight European games this season.
Except for a 3-2 defeat at Galatasaray on matchday four and a gut-wrenching 2-2 home draw against Roma in the following round, Spurs have been defensive sound otherwise.
Indeed, they kept three clean sheets in six other matches. To put it in perspective, they’ve only registered four shutouts in 23 Premier League outings.
Standout performer
Son Heung-min is not having a season of his life in the Premier League.
However, he has been impressive in Europe. He’s the club’s joint-top scorer in the Europa League with three goals alongside Brennan Johnson.
Though he wasn’t on the scoresheet against Elfsborg, Son made history, becoming the first player to complete ten dribbles in the first half of a Europa League game.
Verdict
Despite ensuring automatic last-16 progression, the two most-fancied teams to lift the Europa League title this season were far from impressive in the league phase.
Man Utd avoided defeat in each fixture but often lacked conviction, while Tottenham must shore up their defensive woes to boost their pursuit of continental glory.
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