Match Report: Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 Tottenham: Big step towards Bilbao

18/04/2025 05:00

Tottenham Hotspur beat Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 away in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League quarter-final (2-1 on aggregate), courtesy of a first-half penalty from Dominic Solanke. The result sees them book a spot in the semi-finals, where they will face Bodø/Glimt.

Against all the odds, Spurs have done it. After a nervy 1-1 draw in the first leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and a poor showing at Molineux days ago, few would've predicted a confident European away win in Frankfurt.

It was a night to remember for Spurs fans. No mistakes. Everyone stepped up. That's something we haven't seen from this side all season.

This wasn't the typical 'AngeBall' if you thought Ange Postecoglou’s footballing style was only about all-out attack. Tonight, he proved otherwise and that was a defensive masterclass. Spurs have had some of the best defensive masterminds in their dugout; Conte, Mourinho, Nuno – but this might just be the best display of pragmatism we've seen. And it bizarrely came from Ange.

The Australian made just one change to the XI that started the first leg: Mathys Tel came in for Heung-Min Son, who missed the trip with a foot injury. Djed Spence was once again rested – a decision that didn't go down too well with supporters. However, Destiny Udogie was arguably Spurs' standout performer on the night.

First half: Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur

Since the tie was level, there was a cautious approach from both sides early on, with the home side enjoying a slight advantage and starting the brighter. Frankfurt got the first efforts on target through Jean Bahoya and Mario Gotze. But both were comfortably dealt with by Guglielmo Vicario.

Most of Spurs’ early possession remained with their backline, while the hosts looked more dangerous from set-pieces and counters.

Their first real attack came after 10 minutes when Destiny Udogie's dangerous run down the left wasn't met in the middle.

Shortly after, a simple long ball had split the Spurs defence wide open, with Hugo Ekitike racing through on goal. But Van de Ven, starting yards behind put in a perfect sliding tackle from behind, denying what looked like a certain opener.

Spurs slowly grew into the game. After Dominic Solanke squandered a few good chances, he teed up Brennan Johnson, who picked out Mathys Tel. The Bayern Munich loanee however, sliced an awkward shot.

Tel almost made up for it soon after, forcing a full-stretch save from Santos with a powerful shot outside the box.

Then came the moment of the half; and perhaps the match. After a long ball over the top by Romero, Kaua Santos completely mistimed a challenge on Maddison, clattering into him inside the penalty area. Despite initial protests, the penalty was rightly given.

Although Mathys Tel initially held the ball, Postecoglou was seen instructing "Dom" to take it. Dominic Solanke dinked the ball down the middle to give Spurs the lead just before the break.

Santos escaped with a yellow card, and James Maddison, who played a huge part in winning the spot-kick, was forced off soon after – replaced by Dejan Kulusevski.

The half ended with a few scuffles, cards being shown unnecessarily, and of all people, Cristian Romero playing peacemaker. Spurs led 1-0 at the break and statistically dominated with an xG of 1.32 compared to Frankfurt's 0.18.

Second half: Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur

The fans may have called for the bus to be parked, but no one expected Postecoglou to do it quite like this. Spurs initially pushed for a second, while Frankfurt chased an equaliser.

Chaibi's free-kick sailed narrowly wide, and Udogie continued his personal duel with Kristiansen, who was eventually booked for persistent fouling. Solanke, now confident after his goal, linked well with Kulusevski and Johnson.

Around the hour mark, Spurs nearly doubled their lead. Johnson's low effort deflected wide, Romero's header from the resulting corner edged past the post.

Udogie continued making his runs and tried setting up Johnson on his trademark far post run, but the Welshman’s shot was toed away for a corner. Porro's corner was met by Bentancur, whose header too flew just over the bar.

Frankfurt had their chances too. Vicario made a crucial instinctive stop to deny Chaibi in a congested Spurs’ box. Meanwhile, Kristiansen fluffed two more golden opportunities, one blazing wide, the other straight at the Italian keeper. Ekitike also went down in the box late on calling for a penalty, but the appeals were waved away.

In the final five minutes, Ange introduced Kevin Danso for Johnson, shifting to a ‘never-seen-before’ five-man defence. Spurs shut shop and cleared their lines on every opportunity.

After a long 45 minutes and multiple crosses into the Spurs’ box, the full-time whistle brought wild celebrations.

FT: Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur. (1-2 Aggregate)

What’s next for Spurs?

It was the perfect night for Spurs to finally grab a clean sheet, and Vicario deserved redemption after his Wolves wobble. Like him, Cristian Romero, too. The Argentine ended the game with 13 duels won, 10 recoveries, 8 clearances, and 3 blocks. Every player seemed to step up. Every player played for the badge. The green shirt meant something again.

They now look ahead to facing Norwegian champions Bodø/Glimt in two weeks in the semifinals hoping to secure a spot in the finals against Manchester United or The Athletic Club. The road to Bilbao is still long, but this was a massive step in the right direction.

The last time Spurs reached the Europa League semi-final, it was 1984. That was the year they went on to lift the trophy. Time to repeat history.

Next up is a home tie against Nottingham Forest on Monday night.

COYS

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