The 2025 Europa League final somehow ended up being between the 16th and 17th best teams in the Premier League this season, and Tottenham's 1-0 win over Manchester United certainly reflected the lower-lower-mid-table quality of both sides.
A scrappy, scruffy slog at the gorgeous Nuevo San Mámes stadium in San Sebastián didn't befit the venue, but it did nevertheless end Spurs' 34-year wait for a trophy thanks to Brennan Johnson's awkward, falling goal in the first half.
Perhaps the best summary of what, again, was a major European final was that the most meaningful touch on the deciding goal appeared to be the ball colliding with an unwitting Luke Shaw's hand, as Johnson may or may not have made contact to prod it over the line.
It was that kind of match. The missed opportunity of Athletic Club's fervent support packing the building and potentially celebrating a trophy on a boat — Athletic tradition sees trophy parades aboard a barge called "La Gabarra" — loomed larger than the consequences for two Premier League sides that have fallen to the status of banter clubs.
One might have hoped that these expensively-assembled teams, full of individual talents who seemingly cannot be relied upon to produce on a regular basis, might have risen to the occasion. If only. The desperation from both sides to claim a trophy that could paper over miserable campaigns meant little coherence, with touches and passes regularly going awry.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle
Amad Diallo wasted the best, and arguably only, good look by firing wide after Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicaro failed to come up with a Bruno Fernandes corner, causing chaos in the Tottenham box.
Man United would live to regret that miss, as Pape Matar Sarr's driven cross resulted in about as ugly a goal as top-level teams can score.
Sarr is blameless, as the Senegal midfielder's delivery put the Red Devils into a terrible position. What followed was something out of a Three Stooges highlight reel: Johnson didn't seem to expect the ball to make it to him, and ended up seeing it glance off of his heel and backward. That accidental collision between player and ball sent the latter into the trailing Shaw's arm, with the carom that followed spinning back in front of Johnson.
The Tottenham attacker, still falling to the ground, flailed with his right leg, while André Onana flicked his right hand out trying to keep the ball out. Johnson didn't seem to take a touch of any kind, while Onana arrived too late to do anything but tumble into the netting with the ball already over the line.
In a perfect summary of both teams in this 2024-25 season, this would go down as Tottenham's only shot on goal. Which is to say, a shot that was never taken counted as Spurs' lone effort on frame, while Man United contrived to lose to a team that in real terms never actually struck a ball towards Onana.
There was one true highlight in the match, and if Tottenham fans were to frame one image to commemorate the club's first major trophy since 1991, it would be Micky van de Ven's astounding goalline clearance in the 68th minute.
Again Vicario looked to claim a Fernandes service, but bobbled it off his face, sending it towards Rasmus Højlund. The Denmark striker lofted his header over a pack of players, only for van de Ven to save the day with an acrobatic volley.
Tottenham more or less packed it in from there, though Vicario redeemed himself deep in stoppage time with an excellent save, denying Shaw what would have been a narrative-changing equalizer.
For Tottenham, a season that has seen 21 league losses against 11 wins has nonetheless ended in a European trophy — the first in 41 years — and a place in the 2025-26 Champions League. Under-fire manager Ange Postecoglu may have earned a reprieve in the process, while Man United will have to endure yet another summer wondering how to get back to its old standards.