Spurs have beaten Man Utd three times but it might not matter in Europa League final – Reporter’s Notebook

“Every game has its history…”

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim said these words when asked about the prospect of playing Tottenham in the Europa League final – a team that has beaten the Red Devils three times already this season.

But the question is, will their recent history matter when it comes to who wins the trophy – and that crucial Champions League place?

Sky Sports News reporter Danyal Khan looks back at the previous games between the two sides this season and wonders what can be learned from them.

Spurs domination was another Ten Hag nightmare

Perhaps the performance Spurs will take the most encouragement from is their first of the season against United, an utterly dominant 3-0 win at Old Trafford in September to put even more pressure on United’s former manager Erik ten Hag.

The game is evidence of why Ange Postecoglou is wrapping Micky van de Ven in cotton wool ahead of the final.

Van de Ven was not just defensively impressive in this game, as he typically is, he also carried the ball over half the length of the Old Trafford pitch to set up Brennan Johnson for their opening goal in the third minute.

The game then was seemingly over at the end of the first half when Bruno Fernandes was sent off – a red card that was later overturned through appeal.

But this is a different United side. Although you cannot suggest their position in the Premier League of 16th is evidence they have moved forward under Ruben Amorim, they do look better defensively, they concede fewer chances, and have shown in these big European nights that they can be a threat going forward, more so anyway, then under Ten Hag.

A fun cup tie – that we didn’t learn much from

The second time these two sides met was in the Carabao Cup quarter finals in December – a fun encounter that Postecoglou’s Spurs won once again, this time 4-3, with Amorim having taken over from Ten Hag.

But when you look at lessons both sides could take to the final, it is challenging when you consider the context around it.

First of all you look at the make-up of both sides. Spurs had Archie Gray and Radu Dragusin making up their centre-back partnership, with Fraser Forster in goal. Spurs’ main three at the back of goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and defenders Van de Ven and Cristian Romero were all injured.

For United, again, a side that will be much changed for the final with Altay Bayindir starting in goal, Lisandro Martinez, who is out for the remainder of the season, as well as Antony, who is now starring for Real Betis in Spain, also featured.

On this occasion, although Spurs were injury-hit and did well to progress, Amorim also took a calculated risk to heavily rotate many of his first-team players. It did not work out as they lost their next three games in the Premier League as well.

Maddison winner settles most recent meeting

February was the last time these two sides met and Spurs won 1-0 but I don’t think Amorim will look back at this game too closely.

That’s partly because the goal United conceded was a poor one. Andre Onana should have done much better to palm away a Lucas Bergvall shot, which ended up leaving James Maddison with a comfortable finish right in front of goal.

Amorim had very limited opportunities to change the game when you look at the squad he had to pick from at that moment. It was an injury-ravaged United side. Victor Lindelof was the only substitute who had any sort of Premier League experience.

Spurs had injuries too, with Kevin Danso and Ben Davies their centre-back pairing, two players who again are not likely to start in the final, while Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski also started but will play no part on Wednesday due to injury.

So what have we learned?

Not much, really!

Spurs will take confidence despite the circumstances. When they have taken on Untied this season, they have been able to pull out performances and perhaps more importantly, results.

Dominic Solanke has three goals in three meetings against United too, which may give him that extra edge against their opponents in the final.

Asked about facing a side who have beaten United three times, Amorim said: “If you look at the odds, we are closer to winning than losing. Both teams will play like all or nothing.”

Those last three words perfectly describe Manchester United in Europe this season: all or nothing.

United looked like they’d be out of the competition when they were 4-2 down at Old Trafford against Lyon in the quarter-finals but they miraculously came back.

In the semi-finals, as I travelled to Bilbao for their tie against Athletic Club, most pundits and fans alike would have thought a draw away to a team who had lost just once in LaLiga since August at home would have been sufficient

Man Utd won 3-0 in San Mames and 7-1 on aggregate.

We also have to consider the tactical tweaks Amorim has made since the two sides last met in February.

In the most important games, he has now settled on a midfield duo of Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte.

The Brazilian especially has become revitalised under Amorim in recent months.

Amorim told me this has been mainly down to Casemiro working on his own fitness as well as the United boss tweaking the way they press, more so with their wing-backs going high, enabling Casemiro to stay in front of the defence and not be caught out on transition.

Amorim and the players have spoken about how the physicality levels of European opponents are more suited to the players, which does pose the question of how they will deal with a physical Spurs side who will look to impose themselves as they have done in this season’s previous meetings.

But United have been illogical and unpredictable when it comes to the Europa League this season. When you consider all of the circumstances of their previous meetings with Spurs, it is clear that they won’t have much relevance.

Wednesday’s game is a different proposition for both sides.