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'WE COULD HAVE WON IT' 22:57, 21 May 2025 Devastated Manchester United fans have branded their Europa League final loss to Tottenham an 'absolute shocker.' There was a

carnival atmosphere in the city centre throughout the day as thousands of fans gathered ahead of the showpiece match against Spurs in Bilbao's San Mames Stadium. But, just before

half-time, the scenes of celebration turned into scenes of despair when Brennan Johnson flicked home what proved to the winning goal. United were given an official allocation of around

15,000 tickets for the match, but thousands more were said to have made the trip to northern Spain, with reports saying 80,000 fans of both clubs descended on Bilbao. For those unable to

travel, a huge screening was being held inside the AO Arena, with more than 16,000 fans snapping up tickets. Ahead of kick-off, fans gathered in the pubs in and around Shambles Square. Red

smoke bombs were let off with United chants ringing out. Many then made their way inside the arena, whilst others packed into pubs and bars to watch the match. Inside the arena, the fans

were in good voice. But there was a stunned silence when Johnson's 42nd minute effort went in off Luke Shaw. There were opportunities for United to equalise, but they couldn't take

them, and Spurs clung on to win their first piece of silverware in 17 years, a place in next season's Champions League. Whilst the Reds passed up the chance to rescue success from a

disappointing league campaign. Following the final whistle, the arena emptied in a matter of minutes as gutted supporters trudged their way out into the night. Several shared their

devastation. Colin Cywinski, from Bolton, said: “Absolute shocker. We could have won it. There were loads of chances. I’m not sure for the future, hopefully we can get somewhere good.”

Brandon Coker: “I’m sad. We tried things the best we could. It’s the owners. “We tried our very best. We couldn’t have done much better with the resources that we’ve got. That’s the best we

could have done. Spurs deserved to win.” Noah Prince, from Stoke, said: “I was expecting to win. Coming out of that, it’s like they didn’t want to win the game. The second half we were the

better team, but substitutions came too late.” However, Summer Aspin said: “There’s always hope.” Article continues below United have one Premier League remaining, against Aston Villa at Old

Trafford on Sunday.