Fifth to last vs sixth to last! Europa League final, Premier League "lagged" Derby

Reporter Han Bing reported that Manchester United won 4-1 at home, eliminated Athletic Bilbao 7-1 in the total score and advanced to the UEFA Cup final. Tottenham also defeated Norwegian dark horse Bode 2-0 away in the Arctic Circle, and doubled his opponent 5-1 in two rounds to enter the final - this is the 14th English Civil War in the Expo Cup/League Cup/Europa League finals in the history of the history of the English Civil War, and the fifth English Civil War in the history of the three major European Cups. The two "lagged students" who ranked last in the Premier League not only won the opportunity to compete for the final championship of the season and the UEFA Champions League next season, but also won the 6th UEFA Champions League place next season, setting a record for the number of teams participating in the UEFA Champions League in a single league and a single season.

Athletic Bilbao, who lacked 4 main players, scored the first goal in the 31st minute. In the second half, Manchester United, who played at home and had a 3-goal advantage, completed the reversal. Relying on Mount's double score, Casemiro and Hoylen scored 4 goals in a row, Manchester United beat their opponents 7-1 in two rounds, and could only watch Manchester United and Tottenham compete for the trophy at their home court, San Mames.

Tottenham, which completely gave up the league like Manchester United, although the three main players, central defender Draguchin, midfielder Madison and winger Son Heung-min, still ended Bode away in the Arctic Circle, home wins for 5 consecutive home wins this season. Postkoglu's dismissal is almost a foregone conclusion, and it is still expected to use an Europa League as the best farewell ceremony.

With the restructuring of the three major European Cups this season, the Champions League has been expanded and changed to the Swiss round-robin system, and no Champions League teams are "airborne" in the Europa League knockout round. After the draw in the Europa League last year, Tottenham and Manchester United ranked among the top two favorites to win the championship. After the draw in the January 8 finals in February this year, the two teams are still the most promising favorites to win the championship. In the end, they also met in the final as they wished.

Manchester United entered the UEFA Cup final with an unbeaten record of 9 wins and 5 draws in 14 games. It is the seventh team to enter the finals after the reform in 2009. The English team that entered the UEFA Cup final last unbeaten record was Chelsea in the 2018/19 season. The UEFA Cup final was also the English civil war. In the end, Chelsea defeated Arsenal 4-1 to win the championship. This is the 9th time Manchester United has entered the European Cup finals for the 3rd European Cup in history. It has won five championships, including the 2007/08 Champions League final in the 2007/08 Champions League final. Manchester United beat Chelsea to win the championship in Moscow.

After Tuchel led Chelsea to advance to the Champions League final in the 2020/21 season, Amorin was the first coach to advance to the three major European Cup finals in his first season. Since the 1997/98 League Cup/Europa League final was changed to a single knockout match, the English team has entered the finals and won the championship 4 times. Manchester United had already met Tottenham Hotspur in the 1963/64 European Cup 1/8 final. At that time, Manchester United advanced 0-2 away and 4-1 at home. The total score was 4-3. Manchester United beat Ajax to win the championship 8 years ago. This time, Red Devils fans naturally hope to relive their old dreams.

This is the sixth time that Tottenham has entered the European Cup finals for the three major European Cups. It has won three championships before, including the English Civil War in the 1971/72 League Cup final. At that time, they defeated Wolves 3-2 in two rounds to win the cup. However, in the 2018/19 Champions League final, Tottenham lost to Liverpool 0-2 at the Wanda Metropolitan Stadium in Madrid. The UEFA Cup final this season is still in Spain (San Mames Stadium in Bilbao), and there is no psychological advantage for Tottenham. After the

final opponent was released, despite being "three-killed" by Tottenham this season, Manchester United, who is in better form, still has a slightly higher odds of winning the championship (1.72) than Tottenham (2.10). After all, Manchester United is better, regardless of paper strength or final experience. The last time Tottenham won the championship was in the 2007/08 English League Cup, and then entered the Cup finals four times in 2017 and all failed. During the same period, Manchester United entered the Cup finals 23 times and won the championship 15 times.

However, Manchester United (15th place in the Premier League) and Tottenham Hotspur (16th place in the Premier League) also set the record for the worst rankings in the two teams in the International Expo Cup/League Cup/Europa League finals - there has never been a situation where both parties ranked outside the top ten in their respective leagues. Of course, Manchester United and Tottenham still have room to improve their rankings before the finals to avoid becoming the worst ranking champions in the event league.

The previous worst record was Inter Milan (13th place) in the 1993/94 season, Schalke 04 in the 1996/97 season, and Arsenal (12th place) in the 1969/70 International Expo Cup ranked slightly better. When Tottenham Hotspur won the championship in 1971/72 and Manchester United in 2016/17, they were still ranked 6th in the domestic league.

It is worth mentioning that the worst-ranked champions in the history of the Champions League, the European Cup, and the newly established UEFA Cup are also from England. The Champions League is Aston Villa (1981/82 season, No. 11), the Cup of Winners is Manchester City (1969/70 season, No. 10), and the UEFA Cup is West Ham United (2022/23 season, No. 14).

In addition, Chelsea successfully defeated Sweden's Jurgaden and entered the European Cup finals, and once again entered the European Cup finals after 4 years. They will face Betis led by Isco and Anthony. Blues coach Maresca won the "European Champion" in his first season like Tuchel four years ago. Chelsea has previously completed the old "Three European Cups" Grand Slam in the Champions League, Europa League and the Winners Cup. If they can defeat Real Betis this time, they will be the first team to complete the new "Three European Cups" Grand Slam.