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The visitors were awarded a penalty when James Maddison - who was withdrawn shortly before half-time - was brought down by a reckless challenge by goalkeeper Kaua Santos.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:
Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 Tottenham (1-2 on agg)
60 mins: Back down the other way! Kulusevski pulls it back for Johnson but he’s got too much momentum and trips over his own feet trying to set up for a goal. Kulusevski has a dig of his own but it takes a deflection and goes out for a corner.
Romero gets his head to it but knocks it just wide of the far post!
Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 Tottenham (1-2 on agg)
59 mins: Frankfurt swap one 19-year-old for another as Can Uzun comes on for Bahoya.
Udogie does brilliantly to set up a Spurs counter but Chaibi tracks back to beat Kulusevski; now Frankfurt try on the counter and get all the way forward before Bergvall does well to punt it away.
Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 Tottenham (1-2 on agg)
57 mins: End to end at the moment. Tottenham press and Udogie does down looking for a foul, but the referee isn’t interested. Now Eintracht nick the ball and counter, with Ekitike weaving his way towards goal, but it’s eventually dealt with.
Spurs need to calm things down a little. This half has had a frantic feel so far and the visitors haven’t been able to impose themselves in midfield since Maddison went off.
Kristensen goes into the book for a challenge and will miss the semi-final, if Eintracht get there.
Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 Tottenham (1-2 on agg)
54 mins: Tottenham play with fire. Ekitike is given loads of time on the ball in the box before laying it off for Kristensen, but Udogie gets there just in time to send it off the Eintracht man and out for a goal kick.
CLOSE! Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 Tottenham (1-2 on agg)
50 mins: Kulusevski and Theate collide and the referee stops play. He awards Eintracht a free-kick, with Chaibi to take, pretty central about 30 yards out.
He curls it goalward and Vicario is scrambling to get there, but it drifts a fraction wide of the post! That looked to be heading into the top corner but it’s a lucky escape for Tottenham.
Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 Tottenham
48 mins: Bentancur does well to intercept the ball early doors.
Frankfurt have started this half looking lively but Van de Ven darts in to snuff out a move. He’s been immense so far tonight.
Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 Tottenham
46 mins: Can Tottenham hold on?
TNT Sports comms remind us that the last time they had a clean sheet was the 16th February. With only a one-goal lead they could do with ending that run tonight.
HALF-TIME: Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 Tottenham
Johnson was also shown a yellow for that late challenge. Not entirely sure what the Frankfurt coach was given a red for, though.
The sides have 15 minutes to take a breather after that intense end to the half. As it stands Spurs have one foot in the Europa League semi-finals - but there’s still a long way to go.
HALF-TIME: Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 Tottenham
45+6 mins: A dramatic end to quite a dramatic half. Both sides really piled the pressure on as momentum swung back and forth in the absolute cauldron that is the Deutsche Bank Park.
In the end it was a reckless challenge by keeper Santos, and an inspired, composed penalty by Solanke, that made the difference. Tottenham lead 1-0 on the night and 2-1 on aggregate.
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