Tottenham reach semis as they close in on first trophy in 17 years

Photo by:JOERAN STEINSIEK / STEINSIEK.CH)

Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur (1-2 on agg)

Goals: Solanke

By Jack Burford

Tottenham are through to the Europa League semi-finals after beating Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 at the Deutsche Bank Park in a nail-biting affair.

Spurs and Postecoglou have Dominic Solanke to thank after the England striker calmly slotted his penalty down the middle, silencing the ear-deafening Frankfurt ultras. It was enough to see Spurs find themselves in the final four of the competition.

This was not a typical Ange Postecoglou performance; it was a well-rounded defensive display that showed fight and character to drag them over the line.

The Australian even opted to bring on Kevin Danso for Brennan Johnson in the 85th minute to shut up shop—an uncharacteristic move that does not align with his usual attacking philosophy.

However, Spurs fans will be delighted with their side and Ange Postecoglou for showing tactical flexibility and understanding the importance of getting over the line.

In Postecoglou’s pre-match interview, he said he wouldn't go down without “fighting tooth and nail for it.” That is exactly what he and his side did this evening.

James Maddison also had a crucial role to play in Tottenham’s victory, as he put his body on the line—an act that saw Frankfurt keeper Santos uncontrollably clatter into the midfielder.

Initially, the penalty was not given, but after a VAR check, Tottenham were awarded the spot-kick and Santos was shown a yellow card.

Maddison, after receiving treatment and originally playing on, was eventually taken off due to the incident.

Mathys Tel initially picked up the ball to take Spurs’ penalty, but the more experienced Dominic Solanke looked to be favoured for the moment by Ange Postecoglou, as he was seen pointing towards the English striker.

Solanke eventually took the ball and confidently dispatched it into the back of the net.

Tottenham began to sit deeper and looked to hit Frankfurt on the break.

Although Spurs were defensively impressive for most of the match, Frankfurt full-back Kristensen will still be wondering how he didn’t level the tie with two glaring opportunities in a matter of minutes.

After the ball kindly deflected off Romero into the Dane’s path, he failed to take the opportunity, dragging the ball wide.

Just one minute later, Kristensen once again had a glaring shooting opportunity, but his effort was scuffed, leading to a comfortable save from Vicario.

With the score still 1-0, Spurs regained composure and stood strong in the remaining minutes, resulting in a place in the Europa League final four.

They will now face Norwegian outfit Bodø/Glimt, who defeated Lazio on penalties.

The North London outfit are now only three games away from a first trophy win in 17 years.

Tottenham Line-up:

Vicario, Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Udogie, Bentancur, Bergvall, Maddison, Tel, Solanke, Johnson

Substitutes used:

Kulusevski for Maddison (45), Sarr for Tel (79), Danso for Johnson (85)

Eintracht Frankfurt Line-up:

Santos, Theate, Tuta, Koch, Kristensen, Skhiri, Larsson, Brown, Götze, Bahoya, Ekitike

Substitutes used:

Chaïbi for Götze (17), Uzun for Bahoya (58), Wahi for Larsson (76), Knauff for Brown (76)