Tottenham Hotspur needed great performance to breathe life into their season – and in one of the most intimidating arenas in Europe, they delivered it.
Waldstadion by Eintracht Frankfurt was a bubbling whirlwind for this quarter-final of the Europa League, but the Spurs kept their heads and released a 1-0 victory gracious from Dominic Solanke’s penalty in the first half.
It was enough to win a place in the semi-finals, where they will face the Norwegian team Bodo / Glimt, And relieve part of the pressure on head coach Ange Postcoglou, with James Maddison’s injury – suffers to win the space kick – the only sour night for the London club.
Here we analyze the big discussion points.
Why was the most important victory of the spurs of the season
Tottenham has won exciting victories this season, some fighters, but it could be the most surprising And The most important.
By grinding a 1-0 victory against Eintracht Francfurt, the Spurs showed a few sides of their game that they kept hidden all season. They were patients, intelligent, well organized and deeply engaged in the cause. It was deeply different from the miserable side that we saw drifting through recent championship matches.
And, of course, this victory puts the Spurs in the semi-finals of the Europa League. There are only two games of the Bilbao final, and the possibility of their worst season of recent history ending with glory. It would be a huge justification for the besieged postcoglou. But this victory was also a justification.
Postcoglou had undergone strong pressure in Tottenham Tie (Maja Hitij / Getty Images)
It was a season of nauseating high and stockings. And there have been much more than high in recent months. But tonight in Frankfurt, when the season and indeed the whole postcoglou mandate watched, Spurs produced a performance that no one expected.
The roller coaster rolls.
Jack Pitt-Brooke
Solanke keeps his cool and ends his drought
It took an age for Tottenham’s penalty at the end of the first half to finally be attributed after James Maddison was broken by Frankfurt goalkeeper Kaua Santos.
James Maddison is destroyed by Kaua Santos (TNT Sports)
When that was the case, Postcoglou could be seen screaming from the technical zone so that Solanke le take, rather than Mathys Tel, which stops at that time. Earlier this month against Southampton, there had been a row between Tel and Brennan Johnson for whom a penalty would suffer, but the issues were much higher tonight than they were at the time.
In the end, Solanke intensified and buried the ball in the net. It was his first goal since January 4, before the knee injury that spoiled the second half of his season. It was his eighth departure in a row after almost two months, but it was a slow trip to his old self.
Dominic Solanke is rolling in his penalty (Alex Grimm / Getty Images)
The pressing and maintaining Solanke was an integral part of the Spurs match in the first half of the season, as well as its goals. He was one of the players who operated the system. And Tottenham fans will be as satisfied with the return of his full match this evening, as with his crucial penalty.
Jack Pitt-Brooke
How such has proven his courage
It is clear that such has had trouble getting involved so far during his Tottenham career and – sometimes – he has tried too much. It is an old habit of Bayern Munich, who developed when her minutes became rare and each touch had to be impressive.
It was much better; more measured. At this stage of his career, such as more comfortable biting from the left, rather than carrying responsibility for a n ° 9, and there was a threat in the gap between Rasmus Kristen and Tuta, the right rear of Frankfurt and the central defender.
The culmination of the first half was the curling shot that Kaua Santos climbed around the post, but the performance of such had an instinctive rhythm that he rarely showed since his arrival. This has also helped to remove Kristensen who was one of the most dynamic rear in the Bundesliga this season and who prefers to sometimes function as an auxiliary winger.
Mathys Tel spent a lively night in Frankfurt (Bradley Collyer / PA Images via Getty Images)
As the game develops and the defensive line of the Spurs has dropped, it was also an asset on the counter, often working hard to follow the pace of defense ruptures and offer a crossing option to the FAR Post. Halfway through the second half, he again had another dart field, beyond Kristensen, just raising a high and wide shot.
It was nothing revealing and there were still faults, but it was an important display.
Seb Stafford-Bloor
Romero stands from above – finally
It was the good side of Cristian Romero.
There was a moment in the first half when Postcoglou cried angry in the direction of his captain. Romero simply turned to his head coach and motioned to calm down.
No, Romero is not known for his uniform temperament and has spent his entire career in Tottenham – when he is available – playing directly on the edge. But when it is good, it is really good, and Thursday it was almost perfect.
He is at his best when he is aggressive without becoming reckless. When he does not collect the first unnecessary yellow cards that neutralize his assault and when he defends as if it was a point of honor. A large part of the game occurred in front of him and Micky Van de Ven, but there were still a lot of cowardly bullets in the box that required good timing to get rid of.
Romero was huge for Spurs (Maja Hitij / Getty Images)
There were also difficult headers on the way to full time, and Romero was difficult and without compromise in the way he contributed under these bullets, taking physical punishment which was the inevitable cost. And although there was a late reservation for a reckless tackle, it did not cost his team on this occasion.
He did not have a few good weeks. His molinine performance was particularly lame. But it was an effort as captain and Romero was the key to a first white sheet since mid-February.
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor
How the Spurs attracted the bite of Francfurt
Frankfurt did not particularly face the adversities of the evening. Losing Mario Gotze, their older statesman, was deeply embarrassing a night who called for a composure. Frankfurt is a young side subject to volatility, and even if Gotze is far beyond its peak, the experience it offers is precious.
Tottenham did well to continue to dig the coasts of their opponents. The penalty decision made the crowd angry and still disrupted the players, and it was probably not a coincidence that most of the physical confrontations subsequently brought the players of Francfurt to rush from all sides and – in the first half – saw a member of their coach staff sent to the stands.
Frankfurt was irritated by the penalty decision (Alex Grimm / Getty Images)
Spurs have managed this well. They were aggressive enough in response without ever losing control. The tenor of their football was surprisingly measured, never allowing the chaotic energy of their opponents to be a force for good. They drained the clock when they could. The attack and risk when they died were put back, and their game management was much better accordingly.
For all the noise in the Waldstadion and despite Eintracht’s urgency, they created very little clear chances, with two Kristesen scratches the only times when they really threatened to score.
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor
What does Postcoglou say?
Spurs’ head coach was proud of his team’s efforts to guarantee a granular victory, but said he did not think it would help relieve pressure on his post.
Questioned by TNT Sports if victory would help repress speculations around work, he replied: “I doubt it.
“There was a lot of noise around the team, but you wouldn’t know it in the camp. They were so focused on making what we want, and I’m super proud of them.
“You know what you faced, and we had to work hard and defend. We had to be well organized and have our moments specific to the future. I think that on both legs we deserve to cross. ”
What is the following for the Spurs?
Monday April 21: Nottingham Forest (Home), Premier League, 8 p.m. UK, 3 p.m.
(Top Photo: Alex Grimm / Getty Images)
