That’s me done for the night. Thanks for reading and for your emails! Congratulations to Spurs, that was a proper performance.
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou speaks to the cameras:
Romero and Van de Ven are a big part of what we do. I thought the whole back four were magnificent. Ekitike is a top striker and they kept him quiet.
Our fans have been through a tough time. Hopefully this gives them something to look forward.
I’m the same coach that I was yesterday. The players have never lost belief. People like to mock and diminish my achievements but I’ll leave that there.
Another goal at Old Trafford! For 10-man Lyon!
This is Sid Lowe’s match report from Bilbao.
Ed Aarons's match report from Frankfurt
So, we know two of the four Europa League semi-finalists, Tottenham and Athletic Bilbao, who have beaten Rangers 2-0.
Spurs will face one of Bodø/Glimt or Lazio. That one has gone to extra time in Rome, with Lazio now leading 3-2 on aggregate.
We are also into extra-time at Old Trafford, with Lyon coming back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 in normal time. The visitors are down to 10 men though. You can follow that live here, with Scott Murray.
Email of the night from Andrew Dalzell.
“Knew Spurs were going to win for the simple fact that Spurs always win big European games on 17 April. Today is my son’s sixth birthday, so I remember vividly six years ago to the day when I held him for the first time while Poch wept on the pitch after Fernando Llorente’s hip-flexor goal against City in the Champions League quarterfinals. #coys”
What a ridiculous game that was.
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“The Christian Romero Experience,” emails Evan Crocker. “Imperious for 90 minutes, probably exaggerates a head injury extending stoppage time, makes a ridiculous challenge giving Frankfurt one last set piece and also gets himself a yellow. What a player.”
That sums up his night nicely. Romero was excellent but benefitted from having Van de Ven alongside. The Dutchman makes such a difference to this backline. This was the first time since early December that Postecoglou has been able to name his first-choice back four.
“Never expected to see Ange’s Spurs put in a doughty defensive performance, but here we are and here they are, in a European semi-final,” emails Kári Tulinius. “Are Tottenham having a good season, actually?”
No, Kári. No, they are not. Yet Spurs are one semi-final away from a European final and potential Champions League qualification.
On the Frankfurt bench, Ekitike is slouched down, head in hands. The young striker looks absolutely devastated.
Tottenham’s players celebrate wildly, and why the heck not! European semi-finals don’t come along very often, and Spurs dug deep there to repel intense Frankfurt pressure. It wasn’t pretty at time, but the players looked united under Postecoglou’s gameplan tonight. Full credit to the manager and full credit to the players.
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Full-time: Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 Tottenham (1-2 agg)
Spurs have done it! They are through to the semi-finals!
90+8 min: The free-kick is cleared. That is surely that! The referee put the whistle to his lips …
90+6 min: Play restarts and Romero loses his head, flying wildly into a slide tackle. The Argentinian is booked and Frankfurt have a dangerous free-kick. Up comes Santos, Frankfurt’s keeper!
90+4 min: It’s raining cats and dogs in Frankfurt. Frustration as well as water in the air, as Theate goes to confront Romero for wasting time. Romero, famously a wallflower, responds angrily. Theate is booked.
90+3 min: Tottenham survive yet another Frankfurt corner and Udogie does well to earn a Spurs throw in. Romero falls to the deck, clutching his head. Frankfurt fans whistle wildly, they think the Tottenham defender is playing silly buggers and wasting time. It’s not clear if they are right or not.
90+2 min: Santos again comes out to claim a loose ball, clearing out Solanke! In truth it was probably a foul by the Tottenham man on the keeper, if anything. But there is confusion as the referee initially waves play on and then stops play, much to the fury of Postecoglou.
90 min: This has not been Tottenham at their fluent best. But this is a defensive performance to be proud of.
Five minutes added on!
88 min: It’s all Frankfurt now. Tottenham are clinging on for their season. Bergvall, who has been excellent for Spurs, hacks the ball away. Anywhere will do now.
86 min: Spurs make a change, they are shifting to a back five as they attempt to protect this slender lead. Danso and Sarr are on for Tel and Johnson.
Frankfurt have also made changes: Wahi and Knauff on for Brown and Larsson.
84 min: Kristensen, Frankfurt’s biggest threat, has yet another chance, this time on his stronger right foot. But the defender snatches at the chance, and it’s straight at Vicario.
82 min: Kristensen misses an extraordinary chance for Frankfurt! Spurs are flagging and really, this tie should be all square once again. A low Frankfurt cross flies across the six-yard box, and Kristensen is all alone at the back post, completely unmarked! The ball falls beautifully to the right back, albeit on his weaker left foot but just eight yards out, and the Dane curls a shot well wide of the far post!
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80 min: Should flag that Bentancur was booked a moment ago for a late challenge.
78 min: Kulusevski has been dreadful since coming on. Hasn’t contributed at all.
76 min: Massive save from Vicario to keep Spurs in front! Frankfurt get a lucky break as the ball falls to Kristensen on the byline. The full-back zings a low cross to the near post towards (I think) Ekitike. The striker gets a little nick on the cross but Vicario makes a point-blank save with his feet! Great stop!
The ball is recycled and Kristensen again finds some space at Tottenham’s back post, but the Danish full-back can only head wide. Vicario was stranded if he got that effort on target.
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75 min: Frankfurt give the ball away cheaply and suddenly Tottenham have three on three going forward! But Johnson picks the wrong pass to Solanke and the move fizzles out as the striker’s shot is blocked.
73 min: Outrageous skill from Ekitike as he traps a high ball coming down from the heavens before twisting and turning away from Tottenham defenders, who in fairness to well to shepherd the Frankfurt striker away from goal.
71 min: Penalty shout for Frankfurt! Ekitike goes down in a heap after a tangle with Romero, but play is waved on and VAR clears the decision. Ekitike did beat Romero to the ball, but there wasn’t enough contact to send the Frenchman to the deck. They were also checking for handball, but again not enough to overturn the referee’s on-field decision.
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68 min: Tel fires an effort over, chastising himself for getting under the ball. Two minutes later, Spurs earn another corner, from which Bentancur heads over! He should have scored at least one header in the first leg. Frankfurt simply can’t handle him in the air.
65 min: Better from Spurs! Not only are they creating chances and earning corners, but Frankfurt’s full-backs and midfield are increasingly squeezed for time and space. Tottenham are … dare I say it … comfortable at the moment.
63 min: Up from the back for Frankfurt, Tuta tries his luck from range. It’s a powerful but sliced effort that slides a few yards high and wide of Vicario’s goal.
62 min: From the resulting corner, Romero heads just wide! That was a real chance as Santos had come to claim the cross, but got nowhere near it. The goal was gaping, but Romero couldn’t get a clean header on target. To be fair to the World Cup winner, he was under severe pressure from at least a couple Frankfurt defenders.
61 min: Sensational centre-forward play from Solanke as he outmuscles Koch, putting the former Leeds defender on his arse, before linking the play beautifully. Johnson and Kulusevski combine nicely in the Frankfurt area, with the latter having a shot blocked from an acute angle.
59 min: Frankfurt make their first change of the second half: Can Uzun for the speedy Bahoya.
57 min: Udogie wins a foul on the half-way line, drawing the challenge of Kristensen, who is booked. The Dane’s yellow card means he will miss the semi-final first leg, if Frankfurt progress.
55 min: Tottenham need to take the sting out of the game. A boring period of possession, to quieten the supporters and halt the momentum of Frankfurt, would suit the English side just fine.
51 min: Chaibi nearly scores from a direct free-kick 30 yards out! Not for the first time, Kulusevski has clumsily careered into his man. Chaibi took aim and curled a magnificent free kick only a couple of inches wide of the top corner! Vicario was scrambling across his goal and replays show that he wouldn’t have got there if Chaibi was just a few inches to the right!
50 min: Both the crowd’s energy and the on-field clashes have contributed to this being an incredibly tense affair. What a huge 40 minutes for Tottenham and Postecoglou.
48 min: Van de Ven is having an excellent evening. There was that last-ditch tackle on Ekitike, numerous headed clearances and now the Dutchman flies across to help Udogie after Spurs were caught cold by a quick Frankfurt free-kick.
Peeeeeeeeep!
We’re underway again in Germany.
Half-time reading:
Elsewhere, Manchester United are in control against Lyon. But it is Manchester United, so anything could happen.
Here are a couple more emails that were sent after the penalty but before the Frankfurt coach was sent off.
“I feel like that could and probably should have been a red card,” writes Evan Crocker. “Outrageously dangerous play. Though the way things are going, there’s definitely a red in this match.”
“I am absolutely flabbergasted that Kaua Santos was given a yellow and not a red,” emails Andy Palmquist. “Even leaving aside the denial of a goal scoring opportunity, it was a reckless tackle that endangered his opponent and was hopelessly late. He should’ve been sent off. Here’s hoping Maddison is OK”.
The challenge gets worse with every viewing. It wasn’t on the same level as Schumacher’s shocking collision with Battiston, but it wasn’t far off. Maddison was lucky that his head hit the relatively soft torso of Santos, rather than a head/knee/shoulder/elbow.
Half-time: Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 Tottenham (1-2 agg)
Solanke’s first goal in over three months has given Spurs a precious lead on the night and in the tie!
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45+6 min: Johnson clashes with Theate and emotions bubble over in both nearby dugouts. Postecoglou sprints over the half-way line as both sets of players come together. Frankfurt’s staff are furious with something. It’s all calms down a little. Brennan Johnson is shown a yellow for the initial challenge, and a Frankfurt staff member is shown a red card! Not sure what for!
45+4 min: Spurs just need to get to half-time now as Frankfurt desperately try to get back into the game before the break. Bentancur needlessly loses the ball and Frankfurt win a corner, from which Bentancur redeems himself, rising highest to head it away. The Uruguayan has been dominant in the air over the two legs, and was unlucky not to score in the first leg.
45+2 min: “The ‘coming together’ thing on the penalty by the commentators is a bit of a red herring,” emails Hugh Molloy. “Yes, that’s allowed after a regular save, no problem. It’s a pen because the challenge from the keeper was reckless and high”.
Yep, that’s the polite way of putting it.
45 min: Maddison is going to have to come off. He’s limping, so thankfully this is not a hangover from that clash with the keeper for the penalty. Maddison is replaced by Kulusevski.
Six minutes added on. There were lengthy stoppages for the injuries to Gotze, Maddison and the penalty of course.
44 min: Frankfurt players and fans are not happy but they really can’t complain at that. The atmosphere has again exploded and only intensifies as Kristensen goes through the back of Tel for a foul.
GOAL! Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 Tottenham (Solanke 42, 1-2 agg)
There is a brief drama as Tel again tries to grab the ball for the penalty, but Postecoglou tells the Frenchman to hand the ball over to Solanke. Solanke grabs the ball, puffs out his cheeks and slots the ball down the middle from 12 yards! Tottenham lead!
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Penalty to Tottenham!
The referee consults the monitor and awards the penalty! Santos is given a yellow card. That’s the right decision.
39 min: Penalty shout for Tottenham! Romero plays a clever lofted ball forward over the top, Maddison breaks the offside trap and is first to the ball, heading it towards goal. The ball hits Frankfurt’s keeper in the face, but Santos completely clears out Maddison in the follow through. Oooooo, it’s a nasty collision as Maddison crumples in a heap. That is surely a penalty! Maddison got to the ball first and then was completely taken out in the area? The game continues, but the referee stops play because Maddison requires treatment.
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37 min: Spurs not bossing this game, although they have to be wary of Frankfurt on the counter attack. Ekitike is no slouch, and Bahoya is the fastest ever player in the Bundesliga. The teenager set a new Bundesliga speed record last month, 23.09 mph (37.16 km/h).
35 min: This time it’s Maddison who has to endure a barrage of missiles from the home fans. Not cups, but scrunched up tape from the pre-match tifo. Maddison curls a lovely corner to the near post, but Van de Ven misses his header!
34 min: Signs of life from Spurs, who are enjoying their best period of the match in terms of possession and pressing Frankfurt when they lose the ball. Udogie is beginning to enjoy plenty of room on the left and gets forward to win another corner for Spurs.
31 min: Frankfurt strategy offensively seems to be focused on crossing. Five or six times in the last few minutes have they tested Spurs’ backline aerially. So far, Romero and Van de Ven has stood firm.
29 min: Every time Spurs have the ball, there are deafening whistles from the home crowd. I can barely hear myself think.
27 min: Santos denies Tel, who strikes fiercely from distance, not a dissimilar effort to the Ekitike goal in the first leg. Tel curls a shot towards the top corner, but Santos sticks out a left hand and just tips it wide! From the resulting corner, Porro is pelted with cups (I think) from the stands as he prepares to take the set-piece. Frankfurt clear the danger.
25 min: Chaibi again pops up in space, Tottenham’s midfield haven’t got to grips with the Algeria international since coming on, and glances a header at the near post, saved by Vicario.
23 min: Chaibi has shown some excellent energy since coming on, and is willing to run in behind, something Gotze probably wouldn’t be capable of. Chaibi breaks the offside trap and earns a corner for Frankfurt, but Romero heads away.
20 min: Chance for Tel! Tottenham break down the right through Johnson and the forward crosses low towards the penalty spot. Tel is waiting, but completely scuffs his finish, dragging a dreadful shot wide.
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18 min: Gotze, clutching his hamstring, is going to have to come off. That’s a real shame, as a neutral, and a huge blow to Frankfurt. He’s the fulcrum through which Frankfurt play. Chaibi comes on.
16 min: Huge chance for Ekitike! From a Frankfurt goal kick, Kaua Santos punts a long ball up field. Not only does it bounce, but it splits the two Spurs centre backs, and Ekitike simply runs onto the ball, through on goal! Just as Ekitike is about to shoot, Van de Ven sprints back and makes a crucial tackle to deny the Frankfurt striker! Eeeeeesh, Van de Ven’s pace really got Spurs out of jail, there!
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14 min: Tel, on Tottenham’s left, has his first opportunity to run at Kristensen, but the Frankfurt right back makes an excellent tackle.
12 min: Pleased to see Koch is up and about, and we’re back underway. Should flag that Frankfurt’s right back, Rasmus Kristensen, is another former Leeds player in the home XI tonight.
10 min: Solanke crashes into Koch, catching the former Leeds defender (now Frankfurt’s captain) in the chops. There is going to be a stoppage in play here. That was a heavy blow to the head from Solanke’s shoulder.
9 min: Spurs have survived the first wave of early pressure from Frankfurt and should be given credit for that. It’s a cauldron of noise, and they have come through the first period well, only conceding one chance: that Gotze shot.
7 min: “Having been a Spurs supporter since 2010, I remember once saying around our Champions League run in 2019 that I wouldn’t count the Europa League as a legit trophy,” emails Owen Dodd. “Oh how far we’ve come (fallen). Hoping for a decisive win today. And I’m not big on Tel either to add to your point, hasn’t really shown enough in his time here for me.”
5 min: From a Frankfurt corner, Gotze finds a pocket of space on the edge and pings a shot straight down the throat of Vicario. That would have troubled the Spurs keeper if it had been a few yards either side.
4 min: I cannot impress just how raucous the atmosphere is in Frankfurt. The home fans are absolutely having it. Every time Eintracht win possession or a tackle, the place just erupts.
2 min: Tottenham haven’t conceded in the first two minutes, which is more than they managed at the weekend against Wolves. Bahoya does threaten in behind and hits the deck as home fans scream for a foul, but the Italian referee waves play on.
Peeeeeeeep!
We’re underway in Germany!
The teams are out! The stadium is absolutely bouncing. Frankfurt in their all-white home shirt. Tottenham are in their slime green away kit.
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It’s over eight years since we wrote this 2017 piece.
It’s amazing to see Gotze, Frankfurt’s midfield creator tonight, playing such an important part in a European quarter-final in 2025, over a decade on from his World Cup final-winning goal.
Five minutes until kick-off. Frankfurt fans are unfurling a huge tifo as the teams prepare to come out. I’ll get a pic of that on the blog as soon as I can.
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I went to Frankfurt’s stadium at the Euros to watch England against Denmark and it’s a brilliant arena (although that might have been because the Danish supporters were so loud). Beers in the stands, too.
Eintracht Frankfurt have some great nicknames: they are known as the Eagles, but also ‘Moody Diva’ (due to the often mixed nature of their results down the years) and my personal favourite, Schlappekicker (the Slipper Kickers), after J. & C. A. Schneider, a local manufacturer of shoes and especially slippers (called Schlappe in the regional Hessian dialect), who was a major financial backer of the club in the 1920s.
The big miss for Spurs is captain Son Heung-min, who is sidelined. The South Korean hasn’t travelled to Germany after sustaining a foot injury.
Tottenham fans, what’s the verdict on Son’s replacement in Mathys Tel? There are reports that Spurs want to keep the Frenchman permanently – Bayern’s asking price is around £50m. I haven’t watched him week-in, week-out but he hasn’t massively impressed from afar. And I didn’t think much about his decision to deny Brennan Johnson a hat-trick the other day against Southampton! Tel took an injury-time penalty with Johnson asking for the ball. He scored in fairness but Tel has just three goals in 25 games this season.
The teams!
Eintracht Frankfurt (4-2-3-1): Kaua Santos, Kristensen, Kock, Tuta, Theate, Skhiri, Larsson, Bahoya, Gotze, Brown, Ekitike.
Subs: Grahl, Siljevic, Amenda, Chaibi, Wahi, Dahoud, Can Uzun, Chandler, Nkounkou, Batshuayi, Collins, Knauff.
Tottenham (4-3-3): Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie, Bergvall, Bentancur, Maddison, Johnson, Solanke, Tel.
Subs: Austin, Whiteman, Danso, Bissouma, Richarlison, Gray, Kulusevski, Spence, Odobert, Sarr, Davies, Moore.
The Europa League has definitely been enhanced with the carrot of Champions League qualification, first introduced in 2014-15. The only thing is that, in certain cases, the glory of winning a European trophy sometimes feels a little overshadowed by that same carrot.
For Manchester United, for example, who have a proud history of winning the European Cup/Champions League, adding another Europa League probably doesn’t mean a great deal to the trophy cabinet/board/fans, despite all the noise about creating winning habits, etc. Champions League qualification is invaluable, though, especially for a club that has so publicly pleaded poverty and cut costs. United are in action tonight in their own quarter-final, remember, against Lyon. You can follow along with Scott Murray here.
Tottenham are a different beast. They are not at Newcastle levels of silverware droughts but winning the Europa League would be their biggest scalp in at least 34 years (1991 FA Cup) and perhaps back to the Uefa Cup triumph of 1984. I perhaps did Spurs a disservice in the preamble – this competition means more than just Champions League qualification to Tottenham – although that is a huge bonus.
This is what Postecoglou had to say in the lead up to tonight’s match:
Because I don’t define my career and me as a person by what people think about me. I never have. Never will. If you don’t think I’m a good coach today, you won’t think I’m a good coach tomorrow, even if we win. One game ain’t going to make a difference to that. You either think I’m capable of doing the job now or you don’t.
That’s where I sit with these things. If people think that us winning tomorrow all of a sudden makes me a better manager than what I am today or us losing tomorrow somehow makes me a worse manager, I guess that’s their burden, not mine. I don’t think that way and I don’t think most people think that way. Or I’d like to think they don’t, in terms of their own sort of self-esteem and who they are as people. I couldn’t care less.
Preamble
Rarely has a quarter-final been so decisive for a team’s season, or a manager’s future. If Tottenham lose this game, and exit the Europa League, then their season is definitely over and it will almost certainly spell the end of Ange Postecoglou’s tenure. Spurs are 15th in the Premier League, and while they are not mathematically safe from relegation, there is nothing left to play for domestically, apart from pride. Managers in N17 have been booted out with a much better record than that.
But win? Tottenham will be just three games from silverware and the promise of the Champions League. And should they qualify for Europe’s elite competition next season – with all the riches and prestige that that entails – then the season, and Ange’s job, will be saved. In a footballing world full of permutations and and and is a thrill (for the neutral, at least) for things to be so binary.
Things are a little rosier for Frankfurt, and not only because they survived the Tottenham onslaught last week to escape the first leg with a 1-1 draw. Now, with the second leg at home, the German side are probably favourites to progress to the last four. This is a club with serious pedigree – the Eagles won the Europa League in 2022 under Oliver Glasner (beating Rangers on penalties in the final) and are currently third in the Bundesliga, well on course to qualify for the Champions League. Tottenham might shout about how ‘the game is about glory’ (and not ‘meeting PSR requirements by qualifying for the Champions League’) but for Frankfurt, the Europa League really is just about winning a major trophy.
Spurs should be thankful that Omar Marmoush made the January switch to Manchester City but in Hugo Ekitike, Eintracht have another of the most exciting young forwards in Europe. Signed from PSG in 2024, in effect replacing Randal Kolo Muani who had gone the other way a year previous. From André Silva, Sébastien Haller, Kolo Muani, Luka Jovic, Frankfurt certainly know how to pick a striker, and Ekitike is the latest off the wagon. With 21 goals in all competitions this season, he’s very good in front of goal, and very nervous when petting the club’s mascot, Attila the eagle.
It’s the eagles against the cockerel. Join me.
Kick-off: 8pm BST.
