Tottenham Hotspur could only manage a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final with Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday night, with question marks still remaining of Ange Postecoglou's long-term future.
Even though the Premier League have been awarded an extra Champions League place, Spurs' only viable route to Europe's top table for 2025-26 comes via Europa League glory this term, given they sit 14th in the standings. Postecoglou's job is reportedly dependent on delivering this trophy and may feel disappointed his side didn't take advantage of their home leg, particularly given they had the better of the chances on the night.
Before Spurs could barely set themselves, Frankfurt broke the deadlock. James Maddison turned the ball over in midfield and the visitors were able to move the ball upfield, with the in-form Hugo Ekitike able to carry the ball 30 yards towards goal cut inside from the left and pick out the bottom corner of Guglielmo Vicario's net with a piercing low drive inside five minutes.
But Tottenham hauled themselves off the canvas in some style midway through the first half. Son Heung-min's ball into the channel found Dominic Solanke, who held it up for Maddison to attack the left side of the Frankfurt defence. He scampered to the byline and cut it back for Pedro Porro to flick in with deft precision.
After the break, the hosts nearly edged themselves in front in stunning fashion. Lucas Bergvall dropped his shoulder away from several chasing bodies and let fly from 25 yards, only for his effort to cannon back off the crossbar. Kaua Santos then made a stunning save to deny Son's top corner-bound strike soon after, and Rodrigo Bentancur's header from the following corner smacked the upright.
Another opportunity for Spurs came and went when Maddison weaved his way inside from the right and forced another save out of Santos, while Djed Spence's low cross for Brennan Johnson ended up in row Z.
With one final attack in stoppage time, Tottenham nearly snatched the win. Porro's in-swinging free-kick found Rodrigo Bentancur, whose flick on was headed towards goal by Micky van de Ven and tipped over the bar by Santos.
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