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| Reuters Yonhap News |
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| 토트넘 SNS |
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| Reuters Yonhap News |
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The English Premier League (EPL) is walking on the clouds.
The possibility of Tottenham and Manchester United's Europa League final clash has increased. Tottenham and Manchester United defeated Bodo/Glimt (Norway) and Athletic Bilbao (Spain) 3-1 and 3-0 in the first leg of the Europa League semifinals of the 2024-2025 season in London, England and Bilbao, Spain, respectively on the 2nd (Korea time).
The second round of the semifinals will be held on the 9th. Tottenham will play the last match on the road and Manchester United on the home turf. Tottenham dominated the position that they maintained enough to advance to the finals even if they lost by one goal and Manchester United by two goals.
Football statistics media 'Opta' ranked Tottenham as the number one favorite ahead of the Europa League semifinals. Tottenham's chances of advancing to the finals were 66.6% and their chances of winning were 34.9%. The next is Bilbao, with 53.8% going to the finals and 28.5% chance of winning. Manchester United ranked third with 46.2% → 24.2%, while 33.4% → 12.4% was predicted.
The figures have changed again. According to England's 『BBC』, 'Opta" has a 97% chance of Manchester United advancing to the final and 91% for Tottenham. Both teams have an 88 percent chance of reaching the final.
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| AP Yonhap News |
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| EPA Yonhap News |
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If the final match takes place, EPL will secure as many as six tickets to the European Champions League (UCL) finals next season. EPL's 1st to 4th place is basic, and as it cruises in this season's European competition, it will also qualify for the UCL finals next season.
The Europa League winners advance to the UCL next season, regardless of their league ranking. For Manchester United and Tottenham, the EPL is a disaster. Manchester United is currently ranked 14th (39 points) and Tottenham 16th (37 points).
If it ends like this, Tottenham is the worst in the EPL era, which was launched in 1992. Tottenham's lowest ranking in the EPL was 15th in the 1993–1994 season. He also recorded his 19th loss (11 wins and 4 draws) this season, tying the most losses in a season (1993-1994, 2003-2004). Manchester United is also expected to record its worst first division ranking since being relegated in the 1973-1974 season.
With the Europa League win, everything can be redeemed at once. England's 'The Sun' predicted that when Ruben Amorim (Manchester United) and Enze Postecoglou (Tottenham) advance to the Europa League final, the winner will compete for everything.'The winning team can secure a Champions League berth and a return of 100 million pounds (about 190 billion won).'
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| AP Yonhap News |
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| Reuters Yonhap News |
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If the final match between Tottenham and Manchester United is staged, it will be the sixth European final between the English teams. Interestingly, Tottenham's name is listed twice. The first was the UEFA Cup final, the predecessor of the Europa League in 1971–1972. Tottenham beat Wolverhampton to the top.
The next came 36 years later. It was the 2007-2008 UCL final, which was controversial due to Park Ji-sung's exclusion of the final entry. Manchester United won Chelsea in a penalty shootout to win Europe.
Both the UCL and Europa League finals in the 2018-2019 season made headlines as EPL teams competed. Liverpool defeated Tottenham in the UCL, and Chelsea defeated Arsenal in the Europa League. Two years later, Chelsea defeated Manchester City in the UCL final.
Tottenham is aiming to escape from the spectatorship for the first time in 17 years since winning the League Cup in the 2007-2008 season. In the case of the European competition, he is dreaming of reaching the top in 41 years after winning the UEFA Cup in the 1983-1984 season.
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| Reuters Yonhap News |
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The first leg of the semifinal was mixed early on. Tottenham took the lead 38 seconds into the match with Brennan Johnson's first goal. Pedro Porro's cross was passed by Hishalisson with a header, and Johnson again scored with a header.
In the 34th minute of the first half, James Maddison scored his second goal. After calmly controlling the long pass ball by the prisoner, he shook the net with his right foot. In the 16th minute of the second half, Dominic Solanke calmly succeeded in a penalty kick obtained by Christian Romero after an on-field review (VAR).
However, there was a 'T' in the jade. It was a situation that could have widened the gap, but it was a deep regret to allow Ulric Saltes to score a comeback goal in the 38th minute of the second half due to the momentary decline in concentration.
Tottenham, who will play the second game on the road, still cannot be relieved. Since the 2022-2023 season, the Europa League home win rate has reached a whopping 70%.
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| AP Yonhap News |
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Manchester United caught the `big fish' on the road. It was not expected to be an easy first game, but he gave a big turnaround with a three-goal complete victory. I followed my luck. Manchester United, which took the lead with Casemiro's first goal in the 30th minute of the first half, took a chance to dominate the numbers with the direct exit of Bilbao defender Dani Vivian in the 36th minute of the first half.
Bruno Fernandes scored a penalty kick from Vivian's foul a minute later and scored a net in the 45th minute of the first half. Manchester United scored all three goals in the first half and won relatively easily.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
