Tottenham ended their 17-year wait for silverware by beating Manchester United 1-0 in the Europa League final as Ange Postecoglou delivered the trophy he promised.
The under-fire Spurs boss had declared right back in August that ‘usually in my second season, I win things’, a comment which drew derision throughout a miserable Premier League campaign which currently finds them 17th in the standings.
But thanks to Brennan Johnson’s bundled finish just before half-time in a game which lacked fluidity and saw both sides struggle to create chances, Spurs end the season with a major trophy and a Champions League place.
“I’m so happy right now,” said Johnson, who got the faintest of touches to put his side ahead in what proved to be the only goal of the game.
“This season hasn’t been good at all but I swear, not one of us players right now cares about that. This is what it’s all about.
“This club hasn’t won a trophy for 17 years, honestly, this is what it means. It means so much. All the fans get battered, we get battered, for not winning a trophy. We got it done.”
United, themselves 16th in the Premier League, came into the game as favourites and had more than 70% of possession, but it took until a late Luke Shaw header for them to properly test Spurs keeper Vicario, although Micky van de Ven had earlier produced an acrobatic clearance off the line to deny Rasmus Hojlund.
Spurs defended superbly from the moment they took the lead and while Shaw’s attempt was close to forcing extra-time, in the end United simply hadn’t done enough to merit anything other than defeat.
It leaves them without European football next season as Spurs instead return to the Champions League, whether that’s with or without the manager who delivered on his promise.