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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Jonathan Wilson in Bilbao

Europa League final lineup has been roundly mocked but it still matters

A composite image of Ange Postecoglou and Spurs players (left) and Ruben Amorim and Manchester United players
Spurs and Manchester United have a huge incentive to win in Bilbao. Illustration: Guardian Design

Gatwick on Tuesday morning was full of Spurs fans. They were in the Pret a Manger, they were in the Pizza Express, they were in the Wagamama, but mostly they were standing gawping at the destination board, which featured a baffling number of Vueling flights to Bilbao, a squeezing of the schedule that led to inevitable delays and confusion.

The queue for the three open booths at passport control in Bilbao was a vast python of white shirts, speckled with the occasional tree green or purple. The bus into town was almost entirely Spurs, with a handful of businessmen and a bewildered older couple returning from their holidays, who admitted they had no idea their city was hosting a major European final.

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