(LEAD) Son Heung-min lifts 1st trophy as Tottenham beat Man United for Europa League title

(ATTN: ADDS photos, details throughout)
By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, May 22 (Yonhap) -- For the first time in his 15-year European career, Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean captain Son Heung-min can finally call himself a champion.

Tottenham defeated fellow Premier League side Manchester United 1-0 in the final of the UEFA Europa League at San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, Spain, on Wednesday (local time). Brennan Johnson scored the match's only goal in the 42nd minute, and Spurs held on tenaciously for their first trophy in 17 years.

Son, who replaced Richarlison in the 67th minute, lifted the first trophy of his club career, which began in 2010 with Hamburger SV in Germany.

Son joined Spurs in 2015. He had played and lost in two major finals with the North London club -- at the 2019 UEFA Champions League and the 2021 English Football League (EFL) Cup. The team's most recent trophy before this week had come at the 2008 EFL Cup.

Spurs were also the runners-up to Chelsea in the Premier League for the 2016-2017 season.

This was Tottenham's first continental trophy since they won the UEFA Cup, the previous incarnation of the Europa League, in 1984.

Johnson put Spurs on the board late in the first half when his shot, set up by a Pape Sarr cross, deflected off defender Luke Shaw on its way into the net.

Man United kept pushing for the equalizer that never came, as Spurs successfully locked things down in their own end in the second half.

Spurs dodged a couple of bullets. Defender Micky van de Ven cleared the ball heading into the gaping net with a dramatic volley above the goal line in the 68th minute. In the dying seconds, goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario made a match-saving stop on a header by Shaw.

After the final whistle, Son, with the South Korean national flag, Taegeukgi, draped over his shoulders, hugged one teammate after another. As the team's captain, Son was the last Tottenham player to be greeted by UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin during the on-field ceremony.

After the two exchanged a few words, Son received the trophy from Ceferin and walked toward his teammates and staff. With the Taegeukgi now wrapped around his waist, Son hoisted the trophy above his head to set off celebrations.

The final was a matchup between two struggling Premier League clubs, with Tottenham sitting in 17th place and Man United in 16th place, just above the relegation zone in the 20-team league.

Son himself has endured a season marred by injury and inconsistency. A foot injury kept him out of the second leg of the quarterfinals and both legs of the semifinals at the Europa League, along with a few Premier League contests.

He becomes the fourth South Korean player to have won a UEFA Cup or a UEFA Europa League, joining Cha Bum-kun with Eintracht Frankfurt in 1980 and Bayer Leverkusen in 1988, and Zenit Saint Petersburg teammates Kim Dong-jin and Lee Ho in 2008.

With this victory, Tottenham secured a spot in the UEFA Champions League, the top European club competition, for the 2025-2026 season.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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