Manchester United face Tottenham next in the Premier League in what is the first meeting between the two clubs since last season’s Europa League final.
Ruben Amorim was just 90 minutes away from lifting silverware at Manchester United in his first season, but a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham in the Europa League final piled more misery onto the Portuguese head coach.
Amorim learned a lot from the final as he watched his United side struggle to break down a Tottenham team who were even worse in the Premier League than the Red Devils were.
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The only silver lining to losing the Europa League was that United now only play one match a week in 2025/26 and can therefore put their full focus on succeeding in the Premier League.
After a four-match unbeaten run, United are up to eighth in the table, and this Saturday’s match against Tottenham is a golden opportunity for Amorim to avenge last season and climb even further in the standings.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe consoles Ruben Amorim after the Europa League Final
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
What has changed at Man United since Europa League defeat
Amorim offered to leave United after losing the final, but Ineos and the fanbase kept faith in the Portuguese head coach to turn things around.
There are certainly signs of progress this season, both in terms of results and performances.
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Speaking ahead of the Tottenham clash this weekend, Amorim was asked what changes he has seen in his team since losing the final last season.
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In his pre-match press conference, Amorim said: “First of all, the characteristics of the players. We have different characteristics in our team but we also have a lot of players that played last year.
“So we are a better team, we play better, we understand the game better. I think we are more confident.
“We reached that final confident that we could win because we were doing well in Europe, but in this moment we play with a different confidence.
“We managed better the moments of the game, but if you remember that game they had that [one] shot on the goal, they won the game. I expect a different game, that we can play better but also to have a little bit of luck to help us win the game.”
Amorim explained three key differences: different characteristics, understanding the game better, and having more confidence.
How Man United’s XI has changed since Europa League final
As Amorim points out, there have been sweeping changes to United on and off the pitch in the last few months.
United’s XI from the Europa League final consists of several players who are no longer at the club, and Saturday’s line-up will include new faces who weren’t involved in Bilbao.
From the starting XI, Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund have both departed United this summer.
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Alejandro Garnacho lashed out at Amorim for being a late substitute in the final, and the Carrington graduate has also left to join Chelsea.
Four signings were made over the summer, and Senne Lammens, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha can all expect to take part in United’s mission for revenge this weekend.