Alan Shearer didn't mince his words as he addressed Manchester United's shambolic display in the Europa League final, where they capped off a horrendous season with a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur
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Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer called Manchester United's play against Tottenham "embarrassing"
(Image: Getty Images)
Alan Shearer says Manchester United didn’t want to win the Europa League final as much as Tottenham did. The pundit and former England striker went on to slam the Red Devils’ tactics, calling their last-ditch attempts to score by putting Harry Maguire up front “embarrassing”.
Two of the Premier League’s worst sides this season produced a truly forgettable Europa League final on Wednesday night. Spurs, ravaged by injuries all season, took the lead 42 minutes in through Brennan Johnson after a comedy of errors by Luke Shaw and Andre Onana saw the ball brush onto the Tottenham winger and trickle in at the near post.
The north Londoners sat deep for the rest of the match as Ruben Amorim’s side chased the game and dominated the second half possession stats. But United offered no imagination in their attacking play and resorted to lumping balls into the box - to no avail - as Spurs held firm to win 1-0 and claim their first trophy in 17 years.
United even used central defender Maguire as a makeshift striker in the final 10 minutes as one last throw of the dice, which failed to come off. And Shearer, speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, blasted the Red Devils’ tactics at the end of the game while calling into question their desire to win on the night.
The former Newcastle captain said: “It was just [Spurs] bodies on the line trying to chuck themselves in front of whatever Man United were throwing at them. And they did that.
“Man United never did enough, they were rotten and they’ve been rotten all season. They’ve been awful, it’s been embarrassing for them.
"Spurs deserved it, I thought. I think they wanted it more and they were up for it more than United, that was apparent to me.”
Venting his frustration at their reliance on Maguire to score, he added: “Let me say one thing to you, Man United were an embarrassment tonight. And in the semi-final.
“They chuck a 6ft 4in centre half up to centre forward in desperation in the last ten minutes of the game, lugging huge balls into the box.
Harry Maguire and Tottenham Hotspur's Argentinian defender #17 Cristian Romero vie for the ball during the UEFA Europa League final football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at the San Mames stadium in Bilbao on May 21, 2025.
Harry Maguire went up front in an attempt to level the game for Manchester United with headers
“That’s how you’re going to get out of trouble? That’s how they got to the final, because of Maguire going into that position.
“Man United are not the club that they were 20 years ago, only by name. They’re a million miles off it both on and off the pitch. I don’t know how they’re going to get over this.”
United’s only big chances came from crosses, with Leny Yoro failing to meet a Bruno Fernandes free-kick while Rasmus Hojlund’s header was cleared off the line. Fernandes himself also fizzed a header past the post, while Guglielmo Vicario made a last gasp save to keep out Luke Shaw’s header in added time.
As Spurs lifted their first European trophy since 1984 and cemented their place in next season’s Champions League, United lost to Ange Postecoglou’s side for the fourth time this season.
The night was widely regarded as a new low for a club which has lost all sense of identity in the years since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure. For United, there will be no European football next season off the back of their worst ever Premier League finish to date.
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