UEFA Europa League: Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United's route to the final

It has taken them 14 games of ups and downs to get there, but Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United will be looking to rescue their miserable seasons with a Europa League triumph in Bilbao on Wednesday.

Spurs have fallen to three defeats along the way after negotiating eight league-phase matches and three knockout rounds to reach the final, while United remain unbeaten, having ended Athletic Bilbao’s hopes of a home final with a comprehensive semi-final success.

Tottenham Hotspur's route to Bilbao

League Stage

• Qarabag (home) - won 3-0
• Ferencvaros (away) - won 2-1
• AZ (home) - won 1-0
• Galatasaray (away) - lost 3-2
• Roma (home) - drew 2-2
• Rangers (away) - drew 1-1
• Hoffenheim (away) - won 3-2
• Elfsborg (home) - won 3-0

Last 16

• AZ (away) - lost 1-0
• AZ (home) - won 3-1

Quarter-finals

• Eintracht Frankfurt (home) - drew 1-1
• Eintracht Frankfurt (away) - won 1-0

Semi-finals

• Bodo/Glimt (home) - won 3-1
• Bodo/Glimt (away) - won 2-0

Strong start and then digging in

Tottenham put themselves in a commanding position in the 24-team league structure by winning their first three games against Qarabag, Ferencvaros and AZ, but things got tougher from that stage.

A 3-2 defeat to Galatasaray was a setback, before Ange Postecoglou’s team had to settle for draw against Roma, where they were stung by a late equaliser.

Another draw against Scottish giants Rangers followed, but victories over Hoffenheim and Elfsborg were enough for Spurs to finish fourth and go straight through to the knockout stage.

AZ and Frankfurt cause problems

A Richarlison penalty had been enough to see off AZ in London in the league phase but Spurs faced a deficit in the return game of their last-16 tie after a Lucas Bergval own goal away handed the Dutch side a narrow first-leg advantage.

However, Spurs they got the job done in front of their own fans with two Wilson Odobert goals and a James Maddison strike that helped them earn a 3-1 second-leg win.

Eintracht Frankfurt were their opponents in the quarter-finals and they had to come from behind at home in the first meeting before full-back Pedro Porro ensured they would go to Germany on level terms.

There, Spurs put in their best defensive performance of the season in keeping the Bundesliga outfit at bay and a Dominic Solanke penalty was enough to get them over the line.

Arctic adventure provides reward

There were a few nerves around when Norwegian outfit Bodo/Glimt provided the semi-final opposition, but those were eased when Brennan Johnson gave Spurs a first-minute lead in the home first leg.

Further goals from Maddison and Solanke put them in a commanding position, but allowing a late goal at least meant the tie was not over with the second leg taking place inside the Arctic circle.

However, Spurs put in another strong defensive display and Solanke and Porro did enough to keep Tottenham on course for their third overall success in this competition.

Manchester United's route to Bilbao

League Stage

• Twente (home) - drew 1-1
• Porto (away) - drew 3-3
• Fenerbahce (away) - drew 1-1
• PAOK (home) - won 2-0
• Bodo/Glimt (home) - won 3-2
• Viktoria Plzen (away) - won 2-1
• Rangers (home) - won 2-1
• FCSB (away) - won 2-0

Last-16

• Real Sociedad (away) - drew 1-1
• Real Sociedad (home) - won 4-1

Quarter-finals

• Lyon (away) - drew 2-2
• Lyon (home) - won 5-4 after extra time

Semi-finals

• Athletic Bilbao (away) - won 3-0
• Athletic Bilbao (home) - won 4-1

United ease into the competition

While Tottenham started with three wins in the league stage, it took Manchester United a little longer to find their feet as they kicked off with draws at home to Twente and in tricky away ties at Porto and Fenerbahce.

However, they were soon in the groove and five wins on the bounce against PAOK, Bodo/Glimt, Viktoria Plzen, Rangers and FCSB ensured they finished third in the 24-team league and qualified automatically for the knockout stage.

Sociedad seen off before Lyon epic

A last-16 tie against Real Sociedad looked a tough assignment, but a 1-1 draw was a good result in Spain and confidence was high for the second leg.

That was dented somewhat when they fell behind to an early penalty, but Bruno Fernandes turned the tie on its head by netting two spot-kicks himself before completing a hat-trick in the second half with Diogo Dalot’s late goal the icing on the cake.

Their quarter-final against Lyon, meanwhile, will go down as an absolute Old Trafford classic following a 2-2 draw in the first leg in France.

Manuel Ugarte and Dalot looked to have the hosts firmly in control but Lyon struck twice in the second half to take the game to extra-time and then twice more in the additional period to leave United floundering.

The hosts gained a lifeline with a Fernandes penalty and injury-time goals from Kobbie Mainoo and Harry Maguire capped an amazing recovery.

Bilbao put to the sword in last four

United’s semi-final task looked harder than Tottenham’s as they were handed a tie against Athletic Bilbao, who were hoping to host the final a few weeks later.

However, the Red Devils stormed to a 3-0 lead in the first leg away, and their progress from that moment was never in doubt as they eased to a 4-1 win in the return at Old Trafford to progress very convincingly, 7-1 on aggregate.