Tottenham take all in Spain to leave United in torment

Ange Postecoglou dared to say it, and his players have gone and done it. The Greek-Australian has won a trophy in his second season, and Tottenham Hotspur’s first in 17 years.

- MIGUEL DELANEY

The Europa League has often been discussed in terms of what it means regarding everything else in football but, for Spurs, it is suitably about glory. This is their moment, this scrappy 1-0 win over Manchester United was deserved.

That means it might also be another even longer period of pain for Ruben Amorim – if he remains at the club for that long. The promise and hope of United’s season is gone, and all because Postecoglou lived up to his own promise. United now have so many more questions, from what they do with transfers to – most pertinently – what the manager is doing with this system.

United, put bluntly, remain so much less than the sum of their parts. While they are left reeling at the worst campaign in their modern history, Spurs can forget all of that.

The end has justified some mean stuff. The decisions were worth it. Postecoglou’s appointment, despite all of the fair criticisms and remaining doubts, was worth it. He has given this club what they most wanted, through all of the agitation and frustrations from the board.

That obviously doesn’t mean they go away. It is unlikely to mean Postecoglou stays. But the beautiful, uplifting point is that they have their moment. This is what lasts.

It really is from one extreme to another, but how else to describe those emotions for the goal, and then at the end?