Tottenham Hotspur FC v Manchester United FC - Premier League
Ange Postecoglou and Ruben Amorim meet again on Wednesday in Bilbao (Picture: Getty Images)
Manchester United go into the Europa League final against Tottenham with a poor recent record against their Premier League rivals.
Through the 1990s and 2000s, the Red Devils were incredibly dominant over Tottenham, leading to Alex Ferguson’s famous team talk: ‘Lads, it’s Tottenham.’
However, Manchester United are not the force they were under the Scot and their fortunes against Tottenham have changed of late.
Spurs have won their last three meetings with the Red Devils and have not been beaten in six contests with the side from Old Trafford.
Given Tottenham have hardly been the epitome of consistency, it is a disappointing recent record for Manchester United against a club they used to handle with relative ease.
Get personalised updates on Manchester United every day
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link so we can send you football news tailored to you.
That recent record will be forgotten if Ruben Amorim’s side can beat Ange Postecoglou’s in Bilbao on Wednesday night.
Spurs will be hoping to draw on their impressive run of results, though, having to go back as far as October 2022 for the last time they lost to Manchester United.
Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League
Fred and Bruno Fernandes scored last time Manchester United beat Tottenham (Picture: Getty Images)
When did Manchester United last beat Tottenham?
Manchester United’s last victory over Tottenham came on October 19 2022 in the form of a 2-0 Premier League win.
Erik ten Hag was in charge of the Red Devils and Antonio Conte was Spurs boss, with Fred and Bruno Fernandes scoring the goals.
Ten Hag deployed a front three of Marcus Rashford, Antony and Jadon Sancho, showing how much has changed since then as all three are now out on loan.
The Dutchman spoke optimisitcally after the win, saying: ‘This was the game from start to the end we were really good and I told the team it was very enjoyable to watch.
‘The plan was to get in those spaces, but you need switch of play, dynamic and get their backline back. You have to get the spaces for the shots and it was good to see the transfer of the gameplan.
‘The Spurs team is a great team so far, I have analysed them and it was difficult to play them. That is why I am so happy with the performance and it was good to see.’
Tottenham Hotspur FC v Manchester United FC - Premier League
Tottenham have enjoyed themselves against Man Utd recently (Picture: Getty Images)
Since that game the teams have played six times, resulting in four wins for Tottenham and two draws.
There have been three games this season alone, with Spurs winning all three, two in the Premier League and the other in the Carabao Cup.
Amorim has been in charge for the two most recent meetings, so is yet to avoid defeat to Postecoglou.
The last game in February was won 1-0 by Tottenham thanks to a James Maddison goal and it did not go down as a Premier League classic.
Tottenham Hotspur FC v Manchester United FC - Premier League
James Maddison scored the winner in the last meeting (Picture: Getty Images)
Speaking after the loss, Amorim said: ‘In the end, they scored, we didn’t. That was the big difference in the game. We had a lot of chances but in the end they scored one and we didn’t.
‘The first step is to create situations. We have had games where we are around the box and not created situations. This game, we create situations. But in this game with two teams not doing well, one goal was always going to make the difference.’
Manchester United and Tottenham have met in European competition before, way back in the 1963-64 Cup Winners’ Cup as the Red Devils progressed 4-3 on aggregate over two legs.
MORE: Man Utd or Tottenham? Joe Cole makes Europa League final prediction
MORE: ‘Unhappy’ Enzo Maresca says Real Betis have one big advantage over Chelsea ahead of Europa Conference League
MORE: Chelsea and Liverpool in transfer fight to sign £67m ‘maestro’ this summer