Sheff Utd 0 – 3 Tottenham

Dejan Kulusevski’s brace helped Tottenham beat bottom side Sheffield United 3-0 on the final day to secure fifth place and Europa League qualification.

Spurs needed to avoid defeat at the already relegated Blades to finish fifth and any early nerves for Ange Postecoglou’s side were calmed in the 14th minute when Kulusevski struck an opener off the post.

Pedro Porro then thundered in a second in the 59th minute, with victory secured just six minutes later when Kulusevski completed James Maddison’s pull-back.

Tottenham’s win ensured they will play Europa League football next season to return to the competition for the first time since 2021.

Postecolgou’s side will now travel to Australia for a post-season friendly against Newcastle at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday.

Sheffield United, meanwhile, return to the Championship after finishing bottom with just 16 points and a goal difference of -69 after conceding 104 goals.

How Spurs did their job to seal Europa League qualification

Spurs started slowly and nervously at Bramall Lane as Ben Brereton Diaz fired home in the third minute and the Blades look to end their horror season on a high.

But the hosts had Tottenham’s first shot on target in the 14th minute when Kulusevski slotted past Wes Foderingham and the ball hit the bar.

The Swede’s opener calmed Spurs as they pushed for a second with three missed chances in the space of a minute as Rodrigo Bentancur hit the bar, followed by a save from Foderingham to deny Heung’s volley -Min Son, before Cristian Romero pushed away Porro’s cross.

Sheffield United remained dangerous as Cameron Archer dragged a deflected shot wide on the counter-attack before the break.

But any doubt of a Spurs victory was removed for the traveling support when Porro struck home early in the second half.

Kuluevski then added his second, guiding an effort under Foderingham from Maddison’s cross, meaning the Blades equaled Derby’s worst goal difference in the Premier League era since the 2007/08 relegation season.

Chris Wilder’s side’s afternoon looked to have taken a turn for the worse when referee Andy Madeley showed substitute Andre Brooks a red card in the 76th minute after he collided with Son at a corner, but Madeley overturned the decision after he was sent off to the on-field monitor by the VAR.

Spurs then played to claim fifth in Postecoglou’s first year in charge, with the Australian now planning European football next season.

Ange is looking to continue next season

Tottenham head Ange Postecoglou in the post-match press conference:

“It’s a big challenge in the Premier League and taking over a big club that didn’t have a great year last year, you understand it’s not going to go well,” Postecoglou said.

“I enjoyed the whole season. I have some big ambitions for the football club and until we get to that point I won’t be smiling too much.

“I loved it and I’m looking forward to moving on from here.

“Obviously I’m not happy with the way we finished the season, but to be fair to the players and the staff, we’ve been in the top five all season in a year where there’s been a bit of turmoil.

“We finished eighth last year, player turnover, different football, different way of training, it’s not easy to maintain a level when you’re trying to do that.

“Even in our tough times this year, we were still competitive for the most part. I think we gave maximum effort, which is all a manager can ask for.”

Wilder: My biggest challenge comes next

Sheff Utd head Chris Wilder in the post-match press conference:

“We don’t take chances and then any opportunity the opposition have to put us to bed they take it. The first half hour summed up our season.

“It was a familiarity with what happened, big chances, it should be two up, then a mistake leads to two, three.

“When adversity hits us, we haven’t been able to get out of it. The league was too strong for us, we can’t get away from it.

“We have to work hard in the summer to get into the position that Leeds and Southampton are in to give themselves a chance to come back.

“This is my biggest challenge ahead, I’m the most determined and determined I’ve ever been to do the right thing and create a team that everyone can recognize and represent us.”

Stats Opta: Spurs defeat deepens Sheff Utd’s horror season

• Sheffield United have won just three games and 16 points in the Premier League this term (D7 S28), with only Derby County in 2007-08 (1) winning fewer games in a single campaign and only the Rams in the same season (11) and Sunderland in 2005-06 (15) taking the fewest points in a single season in the history of the competition.
• Sheffield United have conceded 57 Premier League goals at Bramall Lane this season, the most ever conceded by a team in a single top-flight campaign; meanwhile, the Blades’ final goal difference of -69 is the worst for a team in a Premier League campaign (tied with Derby County in 2007-08), only Darwen in 1891-92 (-74) has ever recorded a poorer goal difference. overall in the top.
• Sheffield United suffered their sixth home defeat by a margin of 3+ goals this season in the Premier League, the most joint defeats by any team in a single campaign. They also become only the third team to lose their last seven games of a Premier League season, after Sunderland in 2002-03 (lost their last 15) and Norwich in 2019-20 (lost their last 10).

When does the 2024/25 Premier League season start?

The 2023/24 season has come to an end, but planning for the new campaign has already begun.

Several Premier League teams have confirmed pre-season friendlies before that Term 2024/25, which starts on the weekend of 17/18 Augustwhile others gave fresh kits an early broadcast.

The Premier League games – all 380 of them – will be shown on Tuesday 18 June at 9am, with full coverage on Sky Sports News and Sky Sports’ digital platforms.

The new EFL season kicks off on the weekend of 10/11 August and marks the launch Sky Sports+, offering more options to sports fans through live streams and a new dedicated channel at no additional cost. In a broadcast first, every EFL match across all three divisions – Championship, League One and League Two – will be broadcast live on the opening weekend.

Stay tuned for another busy summer in transfer window – clubs can do business from June 14 to August 30 and Sky Sports Transfer center will keep you up to date with all the latest news and rumours.

Euro 2024 is also only a few weeks away. Keep track of Euro parties in Englandcheck the full tournament schedule in Germany and join us skysports.com or Sky Sports app to follow every match with our live match blogs.