Eintracht Frankfurt vs Tottenham LIVE: Dominic Solanke penalty secures Spurs’ spot in Europa League semi-finals
Ange Postecoglou’s men are through to the last four with a hard-fought win over the 2022 champions
Tottenham Hotspur secured a spot in the Europa League semi-finals with a narrow and dramatic 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt courtesy of Dominic Solanke’s first goal in three months.
Ange Postecoglou’s side have endured a dismal domestic campaign and were dealt another blow by Wolves between the two legs of this quarter-final tie, but bounced back with a strong defensive performance amid a hostile atmosphere in Germany.
They came into this tie after a 1-1 home draw and clung on by the skin of their teeth after Solanke put them ahead from the spot in the 42nd minute.
The visitors were awarded a penalty when James Maddison - who was withdrawn shortly before half-time - was brought down by a reckless challenge by goalkeeper Kaua Santos. The youngster was the hero of last week’s tie but could not replicate his heroics at home as Solanke waited for him to dive the wrong way before coolly slotting down the middle.
Tottenham face the winner of Lazio versus Bodo/Glimt, with that quarter-final heading to extra time after the Italian side fought back from 2-0 down in the first leg to finish 2-2 down in normal time in the second leg.
Follow all of the latest from Frankfurt with our live blog below:
Spurs to face Bodo/Glimt!
A Norwegian side is into the Europa League semi-finals for the first time!
Bodo/Glimt beat Lazio 3-2 on penalties after their second leg finished 3-3 on aggregate in extra time. A hugely dramatic end and it’s the Norwegians who will play Spurs in the last four!
Who next?
On a crazy night in Europe, Lazio vs Bodo/Glimt has gone to penalties after a 3-3 goal in extra time.
Elsewhere, Manchester United won a nine-goal thriller with Lyon deep in added time to reach the semis 7-6 on aggregate,
'Couldn't be prouder' - Postecoglou
More from the manager: “Couldn't be prouder. We earned the right and deserved to go through.
On Solanke: “He was awesome. People look at his goals but what he does for this team his unbelievable. The whole team worked so hard, you have to do it and be disciplined. Credit to all the lads.”
On Maddison: “Courage personified. He has been working so hard for this team. He copped a whack, which he is sore with, but he will take that to go through."
On Romero and Van de Ven: “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.”
'People like to mock and ridicule' - Ange Postecoglou
Postecoglou speaks to TNT Sports now.
On the travelling fans, he says: “Hopefully they enjoy it, they deserve it. Our fans have been through a tough time and we understand their disappointment.
Will this silence the critics? “Doubt it! My pleasure comes from seeing this group of players rewarded. They have never lost belief. Super proud of them.
“I will leave that. People like to mock and ridicule. They diminish my achievements, I will keep doing what I do.
“We are in the final four. Semi-final of a Europe competition. We are not often there.”
'Playing in semi-finals is what we dream of' - Solanke
"It’s something we have been looking forward to all season, being back in Europe,” he continues. From the start of the season we’ve wanted to win the thing and obviously we’re a step closer now. Hopefully we can do it.”
On responding to the criticism of Ange Postecoglou: “Of course [this is the best way to respond]. We haven’t had the best of seasons in the Premier League but ultimately we want to win trophies.
"We have a good chance to do that this year with this cup.
“Playing in semi-finals is what we dream of. We want to play in big games and we’re definitely looking forward to it.”
How things stand
We know two of the semi-finalists: Tottenham and Athletic Club are both through, with the latter winning 2-0 over Rangers tonight and on aggregate.
Elsewhere, Manchester United vs Lyon and Lazio vs Bodo/Glimt have both gone to extra time and are at half-time in that ET now. The scores in those two are 2-3 (agg 4-5) and 3-0 (agg 3-2).
Tottenham will play the winner of Lazio vs Bodo/Glimt.
'Worth the wait' to end goal drought - Dominic Solanke
Dominic Solanke chats to TNT Sports.
Did they deserve to win? “I think so, over the two legs,” the goalscorer says. We probably should have won at home. We knew it would be difficult today. They are a top side, tough stadium to come to, but we got the job done.
On his penalty: “It was always going to be a penalty, I don’t know why it took so long. Great bravery to get there before the keeper [from James Maddison]. We managed to get the goal from it.
“It’s been a few games without [a goal] now so to get one in a game like this was worth the wait.”
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