In what proved to be anything but a memorable showpiece event in Bilbao, Manchester United fell to a disappointing 1-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final.
Ruben Amorim’s men held plenty of the football for large portions of the encounter. However, his side failed to deliver any meaningful attacking intent and ultimately lost out to a scrappy goal from Brennan Johnson.
Truthfully, this performance continued in the vein of much of the campaign, with nervousness, uncertainty and a lack of confidence in the final third playing into the hands of a defensively rugged Spurs outfit.
With heads in hands at the final whistle, the realisation of what had occurred hit many of the United players, as a season without continental football was the reward for defeat alongside an unthinkably poor Premier League position.
For Amorim, the expected wave of criticism and critique will inevitably follow, as a disgruntled supporter base attempts to come to terms with its latest setback.
Manchester United lacked cutting edge and guile to unlock Spurs
Frailties in confidence were evident between both sides early on, with little to separate an expectedly nervy opening half hour.
As play expanded and transitions became more dynamic, Amad began to impose pressure on the right wing, offering a constant threat to the Spurs’ backline with his lightning-quick trickery.
In contrast, Ange Postecoglou’s men sat deep and relied heavily on set pieces through Pedro Porro, profiting from the inevitable anxieties of a season-saving European final.
This led to very few moments of quality from either side, and although United controlled the majority of possession, the Londoners were content to absorb pressure. Inevitably, the fixture suffered as a spectacle.
Somewhat befitting of United’s campaign, Spurs opened the scoring with minutes of the first half remaining in scrappy fashion. Johnson beat Luke Shaw to a dangerous cross before his attempted swipes appeared to connect with the defender and past the outstretched hand of Andre Onana.
The second half began as the first ended, with Manchester United witnessing endless waves of attacking endeavours routinely denied by a white wall.
Rasmus Hojlund came closest to levelling proceedings following a Guglielmo Vicario error, before his looped header was acrobatically cleared off the line by Micky van de Ven shortly after the hour mark.
Plenty will point fingers at Amorim’s decision to drop Alejandro Garnacho for Mason Mount in an attempt to find fault. But, on a day when Bruno Fernandes failed to wave his wand, this side simply lacked the guile to claw a way back into proceedings.
Seven minutes of injury time signalled a semblance of hope for another famous European evening, and Shaw came close in the dying seconds. But those days were but a memory for the masses of travelling Reds in Bilbao.
In many ways, the struggles of a dejected Hojlund throughout a forgettable season epitomise those of everybody associated with this iconic football club.
Like his teammates, the Dane’s success story throughout the second half of the previous campaign is lost in a river of anguish, indecision and uncertainty.
Amorim has the weekend arrival of Aston Villa before jetting off for a post-season tour of Asia. He retains the backing of the hierarchy and will receive some form of financial aid in the summer.
However, an immediate improvement is the minimum expectation, and the former Sporting chief will be aware of the backlash to come.
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