Tottenham beat Manchester United 1-0 to win the Europa League final and lift its first European trophy in more than four decades on Wednesday.

It is the first major title for Tottenham since it won the English League Cup in 2008, and first European triumph since it won its second UEFA Cup — the equivalent of the Europa League now — in 1984.

Brennan Johnson squeezed in the winner at the end of the first half to help Spurs salvage a dismal season in which it will finish near the bottom of the Premier League standings.

The title guarantees Spurs a spot in next season’s Champions League, and brings some much-needed relief for manager Ange Postecoglou after he struggled to keep his team on track all year.

The victory in Europe’s second-tier competition comes six years after Tottenham fell short against Liverpool in the Champions League final.

No team has won more games in the UEFA Cup-Europa League than Tottenham, according to UEFA. Its 98th victory in the competition on Wednesday moves it clear of the joint record of 97 it previously held with Roma.

The defeat adds pressure on United coach Ruben Amorim, whose team sits in 16th place — just ahead of Tottenham — in the Premier League. The club won’t play in any European competition next season.

United came close to equalizing the match on Wednesday when a header by Rasmus Hojlund was cleared at the goal line by Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven in the 68th. Deep into stoppage time, a header by Luke Shaw prompted a difficult save by Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

It had been an even match, with neither team creating many significant scoring opportunities, until Tottenham got on the board in the 42nd minute after a cross by Pape Sarr into the area. The ball ricocheted off Shaw and fell in front of Johnson, who seemed to get just enough of it to poke it across the goal line.

United pressed forward after conceding but was not able to get the equalizer in front of a mostly split crowd of nearly 50,000 at Athletic Bilbao’s San Mames Stadium.

There were some confrontations between the clubs’ supporters overnight as more than 50,000 English fans converged in Bilbao and other nearby Basque Country cities. But it was all mostly peaceful throughout the day of the final on Wednesday.

United had last won a trophy in the 2024 FA Cup, and its last European triumph was at the 2017 Europa League under manager Jose Mourinho.

The Red Devils lost all four matches against Tottenham this season and is winless against its rival in seven straight games, with the last six under Postecoglou.

United and Tottenham had met in just one previous final — the 2009 League Cup when Alex Ferguson’s United won 4-1 on penalties after a 0-0 draw.

Tottenham striker Son Heung-min, who came off the bench in the 67th, finally ended the title drought in his career. He was the one lifting the trophy in front of his teammates in the awards ceremony.

Racing

Penske fires top 3 in wake of cheating scandal >> Roger Penske fired team president Tim Cindric, IndyCar managing director Ron Ruzewski and IndyCar general manager Kyle Moyer in the wake of an Indianapolis 500 cheating scandal.

“Nothing is more important than the integrity of our sport and our race teams,” Penske said in a statement. “We have had organizational failures during the last two years, and we had to make necessary changes. I apologize to our fans, our partners and our organization for letting them down.”

Penske is owner of the three-car team, IndyCar, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500. He has won the Indy 500 a record 20 times.

Two-time defending Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden and teammate Will Power were found to have an illegally modified part on their cars ahead of Sunday’s final round of qualifications for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500.

Baseball

2-time all-star Segura retires >> Jean Segura, a two-time All-Star infielder who hit .281 in a 12-year major league career with six teams, announced his retirement.

The 35-year-old Segura last played in the major leagues in 2023, with the Miami Marlins.

He was an All-Star in 2013 with the Milwaukee Brewers and 2018 with the Seattle Mariners. Segura led the National League with 203 hits in 2016, while with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Pirates pitcher Jones out for season >> Jared Jones’ second season in the big leagues is over before it even began.

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ right-handed pitcher underwent elbow surgery and will not return in 2025.

The 23-year-old Jones initially complained of elbow pain in mid-March. Jones was in the process of rehabbing the injury when he felt discomfort in the elbow last week while doing long toss (100 feet).

Tennis

Djokovic gets first clay court win of year >> Novak Djokovic finally won a match on clay this season, beating Marton Fucsovics 6-2, 6-3 in the second round of the rainy Geneva Open.

Djokovic lost his two previous matches on clay in the European spring season, and his next opponent at the last warmup event for the French Open is one of those players who already beat him.

In the quarterfinals scheduled Thursday, the second-seeded Djokovic will play Matteo Arnaldi who earlier advanced past Fabian Marozsan 6-3, 7-6 (3). Arnaldi beat Djokovic in two sets at the Madrid Masters.

Boxing

Pacquiao unretires for fight in Las Vegas >> Manny Pacquiao is coming out of retirement.

The 46-year-old boxing great is scheduled to face WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on July 19, nearly four years after his last professional fight.

“I’m back,” Pacquiao posted on social media.

Pacquiao’s team announced the comeback last week, just hours after he conceded defeat in a bid for another seat in the Philippines Senate.