News Images

Rio Ferdinand heaps praise on Tottenham defensive duo for helping beat Manchester United

Originally posted on To The Lane And Back
By Rohan Sengupta | Last updated May 22, 2025 5:16 PM ET

Tottenham Hotspur produced a defensive masterclass to prevail against Manchester United in the Europa League final in Bilbao

Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United both viewed the UEFA Europa League final as the fixture that would salvage their season, and it was a close contest from start to finish in Bilbao.

It was not a cup classic, a cagey affair that did look like a clash between teams lying 16th and 17th in the Premier League table. But, Spurs got the job done thanks to a goal from Brennan Johnson in the first half of the game.

Ange Postecoglou has been hellbent over the last two years that he will not change his open, attacking style of football, especially this term despite so many injury problems in the squad. His team have continued to play in the same manner and lost 21 times in 37 league games—the most in the club’s history since they got promoted to the top flight.

However, on Wednesday, the Australian tactician made tactical adjustments to his team’s style of play. After taking the lead in the first half, Tottenham dropped deeper than expected, absorbed pressure and played on the break in the second 45 minutes. And that plan worked, thanks especially to the back four along with goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

The backline of Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie were excellent throughout the night. Porro and Udogie dealt extremely well with Man United’s wing-backs, barely giving them any space to make late overlapping runs.

Cristian Romero arguably delivered his best performance in a Tottenham shirt, getting under the skin of Harry Maguire, while Micky van de Ven produced the highlight of the game with his extraordinary goal-line clearance after the interval. Vicario also made a match-winning stoppage-time save from Luke Shaw’s header, keeping his clean sheet intact in the process.

Former Man United defender Rio Ferdinand felt getting Romero and Van de Ven back fully fit and firing was crucial for Tottenham in winning the Europa League final. He also felt they dealt with United’s auxiliary striker Harry Maguire very well in the box late in the game, whilst praising the entire backline for defending for their lives in Bilbao.

“Getting those defenders back was critical for this team,” Rio Ferdinand told TNT Sports (h/t BBC Sport).

“Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven wanted to defend that penalty area. They were not bothered about Harry Maguire being up – they enjoyed the battle. They defended for their lives and they got what they needed.”

It was truly a defensive masterclass from Tottenham, uncharacteristic from what we have witnessed from an Ange Postecoglou side over the last two years. After refusing to alter his tactics for most of his time in North London – even during injuries and a poor run of results – Ange’s more pragmatic approach in the European competition of late eventually became the recipe for success.

Indeed, as Ferdinand mentions, having Romero and Van de Ven fresh and healthy after all their injury worries throughout the campaign was extremely vital in helping Spurs execute this plan against Ruben Amorim’s United. it also demonstrated that when the first-choice centre-backs are fit, along with the full-backs and Vicario, the Lilywhites do have a strong defensive base to rely upon and keep clean sheets.

This article first appeared on To The Lane And Back and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: