Tottenham Hotspur won their first trophy in 17 years last night after one of the strangest European finals in a long time.
Will Spurs be ‘on the beach’?
Ange Postecoglu dropped an all-timer quote months before the final even kicked off, claiming that he “always” wins things in his second season. Quite the claim, which he backed up against Manchester United.
The good news, we hope Spurs can party all the way into the weekend, as even captain Heung-Min Son joked about the possibility of cancelling the Brighton game.
Fans’ drama didn’t stop there, as Spurs fans flooded the pitch whilst climbing on the screens at their home stadium during a live beamback viewing. The stadium announcer pleading for fans to leave the pitch because they’ve “got Brighton on Sunday” was particularly hilarious.
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On the pitch, the players are bound to be coasting. Tottenham have nothing else left to play for except some pride, although even that cannot be up for debate after last night.
What’s in it for us?
Contrary to Albion, who come into this game needing at least a point to stay somewhat in the race for European competition.
All eyes will be on Aston Villa and Chelsea, key fixtures that’d largely determine the fate of how next season is shaped up to be.
Throughout my analysis of this season, I have never wanted to check other scores, but to only focus on ourselves. It sounds cliché, but sometimes that truly is the best way to keep yourself not going crazy when competing for the highest position finish by the end of the season.
This, however, has gone completely out of the window for the remaining game of the season.
Brighton must do what they need to do, but our destiny is largely out of our control.
If Aston Villa pick up points, and Chelsea lose at the City Ground against Nottingham Forest, it’ll come down to whether Chelsea can beat Real Betis in the final of the Europa Conference League.
If Chelsea still finish seventh but fail to win the Conference League, then the position will not be awarded to eighth place.
An unfortunate, but still possible scenario for Albion.
On the squad front, Albion hope to have Georginio Rutter return (confirmation during tomorrow’s press conference).
A major boost for the Seagulls in their quest for goals. Despite having three goalscorers with 10 or more goals this season; Danny Welbeck, Kaoru Mitoma, and João Pedro, there is a doubt that the latter will be available after a chaotic week.
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The Brazillian has contributed beyond Albion’s wildest dreams in terms of goals and assists. 40 goal contributions in 70 appearances is a quite remarkable return on a £30 million signing from Watford in the Championship. But, Pedro has been disappointingly subject to media coverage over an ‘altercation’ claimed by the Athletic during the week.
Coming off the back of an impressive 3-2 victory over Champions Liverpool will give Fabian Hürzeler’s side a huge wave of confidence, espeically in the manner of the last two performances. Beating both Arne Slot and Vitor Pereira is impressive no matter how you look at it.
Albion’s known intensity could cause Tottenham problems, as we saw in the final, they were still vulnerable.
For the final time this season, we will see where the journey takes us next. Up the Albion, let’s get Europe together.
