After edging past Manchester United with a narrow win in the final, Tottenham have lifted the Europa League for the third time in their history. 

The previous two came in the old UEFA Cup days, back in 1971/72 and 1983/84. This time, it was Brennan Johnson who sealed the deal, netting the only goal and ending a 17-year wait for silverware.

As well as ending their long trophy drought, Spurs managed to do it in one of the strangest seasons imaginable. Sitting 17th in the Premier League, they’ve now become Europa League winners with the worst domestic league form of any champion in the competition’s history.

There’s still one league game left, and they could climb as high as 14th – but the record stands.

Before this, the worst league finish by a Europa League (or UEFA Cup) winner was Inter Milan back in 1993/94, when they ended the Serie A season in 13th.

That win didn’t even earn them a Champions League spot as at the time, Europa League (then UEFA Cup) winners didn’t qualify automatically. In fact, the rule granting Europa League champions a place in the Champions League only came into effect from the 2014/15 season.

Four other clubs have won the competition despite finishing in the bottom half of their domestic leagues: Borussia Mönchengladbach (10th in 78/79), Schalke 04 (12th in 96/97), Eintracht Frankfurt (11th in 21/22), and Sevilla (12th the following season).

So, Spurs have officially become the team with the worst league finish to qualify for the Champions League – thanks to their European success.

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