The maiden edition of the league phase of the Europa League came to an end on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Bilbao, where Tottenham Hotspur beat Manchester United to end a 17-year trophy drought in an all-English final.

Spurs, with the only goal of the game, scored by Welsh forward Brennan Johnson just before the interval, ended a run of five final games without scoring, since their last one through Jonathan Woodgate in a 2-1 League Cup win over Chelsea in 2008.

The 2024–25 UEFA Europa League featured a total of 189 matches, marking an increase from the previous season's 141 matches. This expansion was due to the introduction of a new format that replaced the traditional group stage with a 36-team league phase.

Between the kickoff of the league phase in September and the final in May, histories were made, odds were defied, and egos were burst. We navigate the avalanche of narratives in Europe's second-tier club competition in the first year of a new format.

New Milestone In The UEFA Europa League 

• The 2024-25 Europa League final featured Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, who placed 17th and 16th, respectively, in their domestic leagues. This marked the first time in history that two teams, both outside of the top 10 in their leagues, competed in a major European final.

• Eintracht Frankfurt matched Chelsea's 18-game unbeaten record in the Europa League, adding five to their 13 from the 2021-22 season when they won the competition, before finally losing to Lyon in round six of the concluded edition.

• Dries Mertens set a new record for the most Europa League appearances, bringing his total to 73, which is four more than the previous record of 69 set by Portuguese goalkeeper Rui Patricio.

• Bruno Fernandes set a new record for assists in the Europa League with four assists in this edition, bringing his total to 22, surpassing Dries Mertens' previous record of 21 assists.

• Tottenham Hotspur's Ange Postecoglou became the first Australian manager to win a major European trophy.

• Mikey Moore of Tottenham Hotspur, at 17 years and 283 days old, is the youngest-ever player to win the UEFA Cup/Europa League title.

Stat Leaders | Europa League 2024-25

Top Scorers

Three players finished the Europa League campaign tied for the most goals. Ayoub El Khaabi of Olympiakos Piraeus, who won the top scorer award in the Conference League with 11 goals during the 2023-24 season, scored seven goals in this Europa League season, making him the highest scorer for this tournament.

He is joined by Bruno Fernandes from Manchester United and Kasper Waarts Hogh from Bodo/Glimt, making up the three top scorers of the competition. 

This marks the fourth time in the history of the competition that three or more players have finished as joint top scorers.

Best Scorers

With an average of 1.05 goals every 90 minutes, young striker Malick Fofana of Olympic Lyon is the best scorer of the Europa League season, netting six goals in 513 minutes of play. 

Close behind him is another young talent, Manchester United's Kobbie Mainoo, who has scored twice in just 173 minutes, averaging a goal every 86.5 minutes in the competition.

Best Playmaker | Rayan Cherki Masterclass 

21-year-old Rayan Cherki was the star of the competition thanks to his playmaking brilliance, which almost saw Olympique Lyon past Manchester United in the quarter-finals, before a late capitulation after his substitution led to a United comeback.

Undisputed creative force of the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League, topping five key playmaking metrics. He registered the:

• Most assists: 8
• Most goal contributions: 12
• Most chances created: 46
• Most expected assists: 5.85
• Most big chances created: 15

In a season where numbers told the story, Cherki’s brilliance left no doubt—he was the most influential playmaker in the competition, and his eye-catching performances have made him one of the most sought-after in the winter as he prepares to leave Lyon.

Other Stats | Individuals

• Most saves: Nikita Haikin of Bodo/Glimt: 65
• Most clean sheets: Konstantinos Tzolakis of Olympiacos: 6
• Most Clearances: Jostein Gunderson of Bodo/Glimt: 104
• Most tackles: Patrick Berg of Bodo/Glimt: 66
• Most Successful Dribbles: Nico Williams of Athletic Club: 44
• Most fouls won: Marco Jankovic of Qarabag: 33
• Most touches in the opposition box: Alejandro Garnacho of Manchester United: 100
• Most final third passes complete: Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United: 285
• Most penalties won: Mikel Oyarzabal of Real Sociedad, three
• Most penalties scored: Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United, four out of four.

Team Stats | Europa League 2024-25

• Most goals: Manchester United: 35
• Most goals conceded: Bodo/Glimt: 25
• Least goals conceded: Olympiacos: 7
• Most clean sheets: Olympiacos, Athletic Club, Tottenham Hotspur: 6
• Most big chances: Manchester United: 51
• Most big chances missed: Galatasaray: 33
• Penalties awarded: Real Sociedad: 5
• Penalties conceded: Real Sociedad, Malmo, Maccabi Tel Aviv: 4
• Most Yellow Cards: Fenerbache: 39
• Most Red Cards: Braga: 4
• Longest Winning Run: Athletic Club: 6
• Longest Unbeaten Run: Manchester United: 14
• Longest Active Unbeaten Run: Tottenham Hotspur: 6
• Longest Losing Run: Dynamo Kyiv: 6
• Longest Active Losing Run: FK Qarabag: 6
• Longest Winless Run: Nice: 8
• Longest Active Winless Run: Nice: 8

Award Winners | Best Players

Best Player | Cuti Romero 

Cuti Romero of Tottenham Hotspur was awarded the Best Player prize. The Argentine played seven matches, six of which were in the knockout rounds. 

He made crucial contributions to the Spurs' defense, helping the team achieve three clean sheets and ensuring they never conceded more than one goal in any of his appearances. Additionally, he delivered a standout performance in the final, making it difficult for United to trouble his goalkeeper.

Best Young Player | Rayan Cherki

If only Paulo Fonseca could turn back time, he would undoubtedly choose to leave Rayan Cherki on the pitch rather than take him off—a decision that ultimately backfired when Manchester United rallied from a 4-2 deficit to claim a 5-4 lead.

Cherki was unstoppable during his 106 minutes on the pitch, as he had been all through the tournament. Despite Lyon being down a man, he helped the team come back from a 2-0 deficit to take a 4-2 lead at Old Trafford in the quarter-final second leg. Unfortunately, they were unable to advance past that round.

Cherki could have easily won the best player award, but after missing out in the final two rounds, he will see this recognition as a worthy consolation for his impressive outing. But surely, it could have been better.

Best Goalkeeper | Guglielmo Vicario

Although no award was presented, the Italian goalkeeper was recognized with a spot in the Europa League Team of the Season.

Vicario, who spent several months sidelined during the season, put in solid performances during his nine appearances, keeping four clean sheets, including one in the final against a dominant Manchester United.

He achieved an impressive save percentage of 83.9% and never conceded more than one goal in any match. Vicario was crucial for Spurs in goal, contributing to a team that prides itself on its strong backline.

Team of the Season | Finalists Dominate 

Goalkeeper: Guglielmo Vicario of Tottenham Hotspur.

Defenders: Fredrik André Bjørkan of Bodo/Glimt. Robin Koch of Eintracht Frankfurt. Cuti Romero of Tottenham Hotspur. Pedro Porro of Tottenham Hotspur.

Midfielders: Patrick Berg of Bodo/Glimt. Casemiro of Manchester United. Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United.

Attackers: Rayan Cherki of Olympique Lyon. Dominic Solanke of Tottenham Hotspur. Nico Williams of Athletic Club.