Will MU and Tottenham Benefit from the New Europa League Format?

Arsene Wenger, the legendary coach from France, has sparked a new debate. He is less in favor of the rewards for the winning team of the Europa League that have been given over the past decade. For him, the prize of direct qualification to the Champions League is excessive in the current situation.

"No. They (the champions) should automatically qualify for the Europa League again, not the Champions League. Especially now you have five teams that will qualify from the Premier League. I think it's time (for UEFA) to think and review that," Wenger said on BeIN Sports last weekend.

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou disagrees. According to him, Wenger only discusses the matter due to personal reasons, as Spurs have the potential to win the second-tier tournament this season. Wenger, on the other hand, is a former manager of Arsenal, the city rival of Tottenham.

Why wasn't that an issue last season? It was all the same.

Postecoglou stated that everything has been fine in recent years. Such habits should continue as there are no issues. "Why was it not an issue last season? Everything is the same. I respect Arsene, but when Spurs are discussed, he is interested in that," he said on Thursday (8/5/2025).

Postecoglou's statement is correct, but not entirely accurate. This season, there has been a drastic change in the format of the Champions League and the Europa League. Teams finishing third in the group stage of the Champions League are no longer automatically relegated to the Europa League. The format, which had been in effect since the 1999-2000 season, has officially been abolished.

The quality standards of the Europa League are also being questioned. There are no longer eight teams from the top-tier tournament participating in the knockout stage, as in previous seasons. Moreover, the number of participants in this season's Champions League has increased from 32 to 36 clubs. This significantly reduces the number of major teams in the Europa League.

Interestingly, in the previous five seasons, teams relegated from the Champions League have almost always been able to enliven the competition. A total of seven teams have successfully reached the semifinals from the 2019-2020 season to the 2023-2024 season. Among them, four teams have successfully advanced to the final match.

The balance of competition in the Europa League was even disrupted in the 2023-2024 season. Juventus, Bayer Leverkusen, and Sevilla dominated the top four after failing to advance from the Champions League group stage. Sevilla emerged as the champion of the tournament nicknamed the "Friday Night League."

Coincidentally, Manchester United and Tottenham successfully secured tickets to the Europa League final early Friday morning WIB. They have once again created an all-English final, the first since the 2018-2019 season. Behind this success, a question arises: are they benefiting from the new format?

On paper, giant teams in the English League such as MU and Tottenham should be able to make a significant impact. This is especially true given the absence of teams from the top tier. This hypothesis becomes even more relevant when considering Tottenham's opponent in the semifinals, the "dark horse" team from Norway, Bodo/Glimt.

Bodo/Glimt has reached the semifinals of a European tournament for the first time in the club's history. In the three previous seasons, they were consecutively eliminated in the knockout stage of the UEFA Europa Conference League, which is the third-tier tournament. Meanwhile, Tottenham advanced to the final after defeating Bodo/Glimt with an aggregate score of 5-1.

Bodo/Glimt coach Kjetil Knutsen was left bewildered after losing 0-2 at home in the second leg on Friday early morning WIB. For him, the difference in quality between the two teams was reflected in the result. "Tottenham were far better than us and deserved to advance to the final. I felt like we were not in this match at all," he said.

Nevertheless, the advantages of the new format seem less relevant when viewed from MU's perspective. They are faced with teams that have a considerable reputation in Europe since the round of 16. Starting from Real Sociedad, Olympique Lyon, and most recently Athletic Bilbao. As for Bilbao, MU's opponent in the semifinals, they hold the status of the fourth-ranked team in La Liga.

MU indeed achieved a significant victory over Bilbao (7-1) and Sociedad (5-2). However, these results were obtained thanks to the resistance of the team coached by Ruben Amorim against the real threats posed by their opponents, especially during the first leg. In the match against Lyon (7-6), MU even required a magical moment at the end of extra time to secure the win.

Ernesto Valverde, the Head Coach of Bilbao, was a witness. Bilbao managed to reduce the aggregate difference by winning 1-0 at Old Trafford Stadium. However, Manchester United was able to turn the situation around with four goals in the last 20 minutes. This shift in momentum seemed to echo the story of the first match at San Mames Stadium.

Valverde stated that his team played well in both matches, but Manchester United was far more efficient. "We played well in the match until the 80th minute, trying to pressure them in their own penalty area. Then, we performed poorly in the last ten minutes. Unfortunately, football is played for 90 minutes," said the former Barcelona coach.

At first glance, teams with big names have indeed decreased. However, this does not automatically diminish the level of competition. Each competition is different and has its own challenges, including in the Europa League. This is what has resulted in only one team, in the last five seasons, being able to win while being a reject from the Champions League.

Those discarded teams do enliven the competition, but they may not necessarily succeed. MU proved this during the 2020-21 season. The "Red Devils" were eliminated from the Champions League group stage and moved to the knockout round of the Europa League. They managed to reach the final, only to lose to Villarreal, who had been immersed in the competition since the group stage. (AP/REUTERS)