Ange Postecoglou's vital Tottenham Europa League call and Cristian Romero's ongoing Man Utd battle

Tottenham are the 2024/25 Europa League champions after beating Manchester United 1-0 at San Mames Stadium on Wednesday evening. The result sees the club's long wait for a trophy come to an end and it also means they will be competing in next season's edition of the Champions League.

With a couple of question marks in regards to his starting XI in Bilbao, opted for Pape Matar Sarr in his team and that meant had to contend with a spot on the bench to begin with. Sarr did see a shot blocked inside the first ten minutes of the contest by Harry Maguire after Brennan Johnson's attempt was palmed away by Andre Onana seconds earlier.

The Red Devils had a couple of openings for themselves in the opening exchanges, . Tottenham were to open the scoring in the 42nd minute as was on hand to bundle the ball home from Sarr's wicked delivery from the left flank.

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Ruben Amorim's side were to see plenty of the ball after the break and Dominic Solanke was needed to hook the ball away after Leny Yoro had got a touch to Bruno Fernandes' free-kick at the near post. They were to go even closer not long after but Micky van de Ven produced the most incredible acrobatic clearance to stop Rasmus Hojlund from restoring parity, before Luke Shaw saw a header tipped wide deep into stoppage time.

Here are five things we spotted on a famous night for Tottenham in Bilbao:

Deki spotted

There were quite a few surprises on Monday afternoon when the Tottenham players made their way from Hotspur Way to the airport ahead of their flight to Bilbao. , Will Lankshear was also present following the completion of his loan deal at West Brom and unregistered players Fraser Forster, Antonin Kinsky, Radu Dragusin, Sergio Reguilon and Timo Werner were spotted.

However, there didn't look to be any sign of . The Swede underwent surgery to his right knee one week ago and it initially appeared that he had remained back in the UK so soon after going under the knife at a time when every member of the Tottenham squad had travelled to Spain.

Kulusevski was indeed present at San Mames Stadium on Wednesday evening as he was spotted on the side of the pitch on crutches a good hour or so ahead of the game. He was then seen on the pitch with his teammates at the end as they celebrated their Europa League triumph.

Sarr over Son

Postecoglou's team selection was always going to be in the spotlight when it dropped prior to 7pm. With only one position in his team really up for grabs, Son missed out on the XI as was handed a midfield berth alongside Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma.

Speaking to TNT Sports ahead of the game, . He said: “It’s disappointing losing guys likes Madders, Lucas and Deki because they’re very creative in there. But I think we’ll need running power tonight, it’s the kind of game in a final where we’re going to have to work hard defensively and in attack.

“The three boys we’ve got in there will work hard for the team and hopefully give us a good foundation.”

The last time Tottenham were in a major European final all the talk ahead of the game was whether Harry Kane would start after sustaining an ankle injury at the beginning of April. The academy product did end up getting the nod at the expense of Lucas Moura but he looked incredibly rusty in the Champions League final defeat to Liverpool in what was his first match in almost two months.

Facing a similar scenario six years on, Postecoglou opted for Son on the bench rather than putting him in from the off after recently proving his fitness in the Crystal Palace and Aston Villa matches. Maybe his thinking came down to him believing that Son would be needed in the closing stages of the match and he could make a difference with his fresh legs.

Sarr was to have a big say on proceedings with a lovely delivery that Johnson was able to bundle home to give Spurs a half-time advantage. It was a big decision but it proved to be the right one from Postecoglou.

Richarlison remonstrates

Amad was a real threat to Tottenham at San Mames Stadium with his excellent play down the wing. The winger was twisting Udogie inside and out at times and he proved to be a real handful for the Italian to try and contain.

At the other end of the pitch, the United youngster received a yellow card after pulling back Udogie when he was breaking over the halfway line at speed. A foul wasn't initially given as play was allowed to go on, with a free-kick finally awarded close to the penalty area after Fernandes had fouled Udogie.

Referee Felix Zwayer didn't immediately go over to book Amad for his foul and that resulted in charging over to the official and pointing to the Manchester United player that he had been pulling his teammate back. The Brazilian was even pulling on his own jersey to indicate to the referee what had occurred, with Zwayer taking his time before eventually brandishing the yellow card in Amad's direction.

Johnson jolly on the spot

Johnson was always going to be a key player for Tottenham in the final considering his record in front of goal this term. Registering 17 goals and seven assists in his 49 Spurs appearances prior to the Europa League final, it was no surprise at all why Postecoglou was always going to start him.

The Wales international did force Onana into a save early on but it was his play just before half-time that proved vital as he gave Tottenham the lead. Following some great work between Richarlison and Bentancur before Sarr gained possession on the touchline, Johnson took up an excellent position in the box to nip in and get on the end of his teammate's delivery.

The ex-Nottingham Forest man has a real knack of taking up the correct positions and arriving at the perfect time to score, with Spurs profiting countless times this season from his quality in the final third. It is no fluke, though, .

That Van de Ven clearance and Romero's battle

Van de Ven is crucial to Postecoglou's Tottenham team and it came as no surprise to see the boss keep his defender on ice in the past two Premier League games. Rather than take a risk with a player who has suffered injury issues at Spurs, he ensured he was fit and firing for the Europa League final.

The youngster was to produce an incredible moment midway inside the second half at a time when the Red Devils looked set to equalise after Guglielmo Vicario failed to keep hold of a ball into the box. Hojlund's goal-bound header appeared on course to go in before Van de Ven hooked the ball away with a sublime acrobatic clearance.

It was incredible defending from the ex-Wolfsburg man and he took some whack as he came crashing back down to the ground. He put his body on the line for Tottenham and it proved crucial to the outcome of the game.

Defensive partner Cristian Romero also proved to be a key player for Tottenham on the night with a solid display at the back. The World Cup winner had an ongoing battle with Maguire over the course of the game, which appeared to start in the first half with the Manchester United man wanting Romero to get up after going down in the penalty box after Hojlund had caught him in the neck.

The pair continued to battle and trade words on a number of occasions when they came into contact with one another, most notably in the closing stages. The pair do have previous with Romero previously shouting in his counterpart's face back in March 2022 after Tottenham had equalised at Old Trafford in a match they ended up losing following Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick.

It was Romero who had the last laugh this time, though, as Spurs got their hands on the Europa League trophy.