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Tottenham advance to the Europa League with just one point
Tottenham Hotspur will face off against Sheffield United in the 38th round of the Premier League (PL) in the 2023-24 season at Bramall Lane in Sheffield, England, at 0:00 a.m. on the 20th (Korea time). Currently, Tottenham is ranked fifth with 63 points and Sheffield is ranked 20th with 16 points.
Tottenham left for Manchester City in the last round. Tottenham had to win in order to maintain its chances of making the UEFA Champions League (UCL). Manchester City was expected to dominate, but fans had a small hope because Tottenham has been strong against Manchester City.
However, there was no reversal. Tottenham endured the first half well. It released the pressure well and did not concede a point due to the defense's performance in every crisis. Manchester City was not an easy team. A counterattack led the team, and Erling Holland scored a penalty kick at the end of the match to win 2-0.
Tottenham failed to beat Manchester City and failed to advance to the UCL. Tottenham had 63 points and Aston Villa could not reverse the ranking in the remaining one game with 68 points. For Tottenham, it was inevitable that they lost four consecutive games from the 33rd round.
Still, chances are high that the team will advance to the UEFA Europa League. Chelsea ranks fifth with 60 points. It is three points shorter than Tottenham. If Tottenham loses the final league match and Chelsea win, the team will be tied for sixth. However, Tottenham will be pushed to sixth place with Chelsea leading by points difference.
Even if it becomes 6th place, there is still a possibility of advancing to the UEL. Manchester City needs to beat Manchester United to win the FA Cup final. Manchester City has already qualified for the UCL, so the 6th place receives the UEL. Rather than relying on the results of other teams, Tottenham will want to make it to the UEL on its own in this game. Tottenham will confirm its advance to the UEL because adding one more point will widen the gap with Chelsea.
Ahead of the match, Postecoglou was also asked about playing in the UEL if he earned any points. Postecoglou said, "Put a bus? Getting to the UEL is important. I think people misunderstand that I don't care about UCL. What I kept saying was that I wanted to perform as high as possible. I will not hide what we have to do."
"The same applies to this tournament. I want to win. We have to win. Then we are in fifth place. It is also important to know where we end up and what kind of tournaments we are going to play next season. But I don't change my mind about what we have to do," he added.