Tottenham Hotspur’s Europa League campaign is back in rude health after they clawed themselves past AZ and booked their place in the quarter-finals.
Wilson Odobert was the star of the show as he scored his first two goals in a Spurs shirt either side of a James Maddison strike to ultimately cancel out a 1-0 first-leg defeat in the Netherlands last week.
It was far from plain sailing at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with AZ’s Peer Koopmeiners briefly making the tie 2-2 on aggregate and the visitors failing to make some late pressure count but Ange Postecoglou’s side booked their place in the last eight, where they will face Eintract Frankfurt in April.
Jack Pitt-Brooke and Elias Burke break down the main talking points from a pivotal Spurs victory.
A Europa League lifeline still burns brightly
Tottenham Hotspur kept their season alive.
Ange Postecoglou’s men produced their best performance in months, energised by the return of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven at centre-back.
After a tentative first half, they clicked into gear after the break, creating enough chances to win the game easily and scoring twice more. Odobert scored his first two goals for Tottenham, producing his best ever display for the club. It was strikingly different from the flat performance in the first leg in the Netherlands last week.
James Maddison toasts his second-half goal (Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)
This means that Spurs now have a European quarter-final to look forward to, their first since their legendary 2019 Champions League run. They will host Frankfurt here on April 10 before travelling to Germany the following week.
This also means that Spurs are now just four games away from a potential Europa League final in Bilbao, which would be a remarkable finish to a season where they have struggled so badly in the league.
But with returning players developing some more sharpness, and the hope of Dejan Kulusevski coming back next month, a narrow but clear path still exists for this season to end with a historic triumph and vindication for Postecoglou, despite everything that has happened this year.
Jack Pitt-Brooke
Odobert opens his account at the right time
Wilson Odobert has teased a breakout performance in a Spurs shirt since his electric second-half cameo in last month’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester City. Fortunately for Postecoglou, it arrived when they needed it most.
The first sign that the 20-year-old was in the mood to torment AZ’s defence came in the 15th minute when he latched on a loose ball and embarked on a marauding dribbling run through their midfield. AZ quickly got bodies around him and Odobert eventually lost the ball on the edge of the box — but his desire to drive Spurs forward didn’t diminish.
The young Frenchman continued to attack AZ’s defence whenever he got the ball, and he earned his reward in the 26th minute. Heung-min Son blocked Seiya Maikuma’s pass down the line and won the loose ball, quickly squaring to an unmarked Dominic Solanke in the box.
Descending on goal, Solanke played a square pass to Odobert and the France Under-21 international fired into the top-right corner with his left foot. He was instrumental in their second, too, carrying the ball from his half into AZ’s, before laying a pass off to eventual goalscorer James Maddison.
As it transpired, Odobert had a crucial hand in every goal on the night — even inadvertently playing a part in Koopmeiners’ finish that briefly brought the tie back on level terms as the ball bounced off him.
However, it would go down as Odobert’s night for all the right reasons, with the former Burnley mangrabbing the winner from close range at the far post.
Wilson Odobert, left, celebrates scoring Spurs’ opener with Dominic Solanke (Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)
Elias Burke
Spurs rediscover their physical side
Perhaps the most exciting thing about this Spurs performance, especially in the second half, was the sight of them hitting a physical level we have not seen from them for months.
Ever since their injury crisis started in the autumn, Tottenham have had to try to survive from game to game, forced to use the same tiring core of players time after time.
But this was close to a full-strength side, with only Dejan Kulusevski injured and Rodrigo Bentanur suspended. And we saw a new physical intensity from Spurs, one not seen since December. The first goal came from Son Heung-min pressing Wouter Goes, the bounce ending up with Odobert finishing well.
In the second half, Spurs cranked it up another level. Odobert drove through the middle of the pitch, leading to Maddison’s goal. Spurs were all over AZ, who could not live with their physicality.
Tottenham should have won the game early in the second half but they let AZ back into the tie. However, Postecoglou’s team kept going and the move for Odobert’s second was another sign of the level they can hit.
It felt like watching Spurs from earlier in the season, and suggested there may be some life in Angeball yet.
Jack Pitt-Brooke
Van de Ven’s transformative return
It’s been a long wait to see Romero and Van de Ven line up together – and they hardly missed a beat.
AZ striker Troy Parrott was a menace for Archie Gray and Kevin Danso in the first leg, with the former Spurs man often getting the better of that inexperienced centre-back partnership. On this occasion, he cut an isolated figure at the point of AZ’s attack as Romero and Van de Ven dominated on the ground and in the air.
Crucially, the Dutchman’s electric pace allowed Spurs to push up the pitch and pen AZ into their own half without the threat of their speed in transition. On one occasion in the second half, AZ winger Ernest Poku, who is no slouch, ran beyond the Spurs defence and looked to be bearing down on Vicario’s goal before Van de Ven sprinted back and eased him to the ground.
Tottenham Hotspur have missed Micky van der Ven (Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)
His partner Romero also contributed with several well-timed tackles to prevent AZ counters and passed the ball forwards intelligently, offering an incisive directness Spurs lacked from the backline in the first leg.
Almost immediately after Van de Ven was substituted on the hour, AZ pulled level on aggregate, with the Eredivisie side hitting Spurs quickly on the break. While Gray has deputised excellently in his absence, there’s no-one quite like Van de Ven.
Elias Burke
What did Ange Postecoglou say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Spurs?
Sunday, March 16: Fulham (away), Premier League, 1.30pm UK, 10.30am ET
Recommended reading
(Top photo: Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)
