Tottenham v Elfsborg LIVE: Result as debutant Damola Ajayi hits Europa League beauty
Spurs booked their place in the last 16 of the Europa League with victory over their Swedish visitors
Tottenham Hotspur booked their berth in the Europa League's last 16 with a 3-0 victory over Swedish side Elfsborg on Thursday, with youngsters Dane Scarlett, Damola Ajayi and Mikey Moore netting their debut goals for the London club.
The victory spares Ange Postecoglou's injury-hit team the two-legged knockout round. It was not all good news for the manager as Radu Dragusin had to leave the pitch with an apparent knee injury.
Spurs thoroughly dominated the game, but struggled to break a well-organised defence down, before Scarlett finally broke the deadlock in the 70th minute when Dejan Kulusevski curled the ball into the middle of the six-yard box and the 20-year-old striker headed it into the bottom corner.
The 19-year-old Ajayi netted in the 84th minute when he played a one-two with Scarlett before slotting it into the corner. Moore, 17, celebrated his first goal in a Spurs shirt seconds before the final whistle, driving forward and then beating his man before lashing a shot into the far corner.
Tottenham team news
So Micky Van de Ven comes straight back into the starting XI after his recent injury. That didn’t end well when he started against Chelsea in his previous outing after an injury layoff, so Ange Postecoglou must be confident that the defender is fully fit and ready to go.
Van de Ven for Radu Dragusin is one of three changes following the defeat by Leicester at the weekend. Goalkeeper Brandon Austin comes in for Antonin Kinsky, and Mikey Moore starts in place of Dejan Kulusevski.
Tottenham line-up v Elfsborg
Here is how Spurs line up this evening:
Tottenham XI: Austin; Porro, Gray, Van de Ven, Davies; Sarr, Bentancur, Bergvall; Son, Richarlison, Moore.
Subs: Forster, Whiteman, Hardy, Dragusin, Cassanova, Bissouma, Olusesi, Kyerematen, Ajayi, Kulusevski, Scarlett, Lankshear
Tottenham v Elfsborg – Europa League
The teamsheets will be dropping very shortly...
Kulusevski backs Postecoglou to turn Spurs' season
When Kulusevski provided a defence of Postecoglou's credentials, he referenced impressive away wins at Manchester United and Manchester City earlier in the campaign before the squad became depleted.
The Sweden attacker, who has arguably been the club's most consistent performer this season with nine goals and eight assists, has helped Spurs reach the Carabao Cup semi-finals and be on the verge of the last 16 in the Europa League.
Asked why Postecoglou is the right man, Kulusevski insisted: "Because we had games when we showed perfect football - football that not many teams can play in the world.
"We played beautiful games against United, against City 4-0, so I think he is the right man. We play for him. We want to win for him and to be honest we have similar ideas.
"I am very positive as a guy and I always want to play the football he wants. I have to fight for him because I believe in that football too. Yes, I think he's the right man.
"The league (position) is very bad and the game on Sunday was tough to lose but you have to stay clear-minded and focus on the goals. We have done mistakes, don't get me wrong.
"We have done a lot of mistakes. We are 10 to 11 fit players in four competitions and that's not OK and that's why the team is paying that price in the league especially.
"You can look at the manager and the players but it's bigger than that, it's everything involved.
"We play three games a week with nine or ten players. That's all I need to say, it's nothing more than that.
"I think everybody has got to watch the picture and ask themselves how we came this far. That's it."
Kulusevski backs Postecoglou to turn Spurs' season
Dejan Kulusevski is convinced Ange Postecoglou is the right man for Tottenham and will fight to help his under-pressure head coach achieve "big things" during the rest of the season.
Spurs slipped to a sixth loss from their last seven Premier League fixtures on Sunday, with a dismal 2-1 defeat at home to Leicester increasing the scrutiny on Postecoglou.
Postecoglou has battled with an injury crisis over the last two months and will be without 12 players for Thursday's Europa League game against Elfsborg, but the Australian has repeatedly stated his belief that Tottenham - well placed in three cup competitions - can enjoy a special season.
"Yeah, I agree with him," Kulusevski said. "Three cups, we're doing really well in the cups so it's easy to focus on league, but we're doing really well in the cups.
"This is an important game and if we win we go to the next round, so I think we can do big things in these last four months."
Predicted line-ups
Here is how the two sides could line up tonight:
Tottenham: Austin; Porro, Dragusin, Davies, Gray; Bissouma, Bentancur, Bergvall; Kulusevski, Moore, Son.
Elfsborg: Petterson; Buhari, Holmen, Yegbe; Hedlund, B Zeneli, Ouma, Hult; A Zeneli, Abdullai, Rapp.
Tottenham team news
Tottenham centre-back Micky van de Ven will make his comeback in the game. Van de Ven has not featured for Spurs since a 4-3 loss to Chelsea on December 8, which was his first appearance in five weeks following a hamstring strain.
James Maddison will be absent for two to three weeks with a calf injury, but Yves Bissouma trained on Wednesday and will be available alongside Pape Sarr. Richarlison also featured in training after he was forced off on Sunday.
Guglielmo Vicario was involved in the session alongside his fellow goalkeepers, although is not expected to be in contention yet. Cristian Romero was described as a "slow burner" amid an expectation he could be back for this weekend's trip to Brentford.
How to watch the game on TV
The Europa League game kicks off at 8pm GMT tonight, Thursday 30 January, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on TNT Sports 2, with coverage on the TV channel from 7.30pm GMT. Subscribers can stream via discovery+.
Tottenham v Elfsborg – Europa League
Tottenham take on Swedish side Elfsborg tonight as Ange Postecoglou’s side bid to book their place in the last 16 of the Europa League.
Spurs come into the final night of the initial league phase in sixth place and victory would guarantee them a top-eight finish and therefore automatic qualification to the knockout rounds.
However, a draw or defeat could see them knocked down from one of the top eight spots and sent into the play-offs, meaning an extra two fixtures for Postecoglou’s injury-ravaged squad to navigate before reaching the last 16.
Elfsborg are currently in their off-season after finishing seventh in the 2024 Swedish top flight. They have plenty to play for too, lying 20th as they aim to finish in the top 24 and qualify for the play-offs.
Tottenham v Elfsborg – Europa League
Good evening and welcome along to live coverage of Tottenham v Elfsborg in the Europa League.
We’ll have all the team news and build-up to kick-off before updates from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Spurs aim to book their place in the last 16.
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