Tottenham Hotspur have come within touching distance from the Europa League final after the victory they recorded in the first leg of their semifinal tie against Bodo/Glimt.
It took just over 30 seconds for Brennan Johnson to head the home side in front, and a fine James Maddison finish doubled their lead in the 34th minute. In the 61st, Dominik Solanke scored their third goal from the penalty spot, before Ulrik Saltnes restored some small hope for the Norwegian side in the 83rd.
Teams
Notable names were missing from Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou’s list of players available for this clash: Captain Son Heung-min, defender Radu Dragusin and midfielder Lucas Bergvall.
Guglielmo Vicario was in goal. Both rested for Liverpool’s title-winning game on Sunday, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven returned to pair up in the heart of defence, as well as right-back Pedro Porro, while left-back Destiny Udogie kept his place in the team. With no Bergvall, Yves Bissouma was joined by Rodrigo Bentacur in the middle of the park, while James Maddison played in a more advanced, No. 10 role. In attack, striker Dominic Solanke was flanked by Richarlison and Brennan Johnson.
As for Bodo/Glimt, coach Kjetil Knutsen couldn’t call upon injured midfielder Daniel Bassi, as well as the suspended trio of midfielders Patrick Berg and Hakon Evjen, and forward Andreas Helmersen.
Nikita Haikin stood between the posts, and centre-backs Villads Nielsen and Jostein Gundersen were flanked by Fredrik Bjorkan on the left and Fredrik Sjovold on the right. Jens Hauge anchored the midfield, joined in that section by Ulrik Saltnes and Sondre Fet. In attack, striker Kasper Hogh had Ole Didrik Blomberg on the left, and Isak Dyvbik Maatta on the right.
Match recap
It was obviously a dream start for Spurs as Richarlison headed a Porro cross back across from the back post and the unmarked Johnson rose high to nod past Haikin from close range after just 37 seconds.
The early goal put some wind into the sails of the home side and five minutes later, Maddison came very close to adding a second, but as he latched on to a long pass from Romero, he failed to control his first-time volley properly an it floated over the bar. However, it was a sign of things to come.
After Richarlison wasted a good opportunity by shooting tamely straight at Haikin from a favourable position, Van de Ven won the ball in his own half and used Vicario to switch sides for Porro to join in. The right-back hit a trademark long ball in behind the Bodo defence, and this time, Maddison showed more composure as he received it skillfully and, with just a bit of luck, sent it bouncing past Haikin into the net.
Postecoglou’s men could’ve added a third soon after, but Bentancur’s powerful volley from the edge of the box prompted an excellent save from the Bodo ‘keeper. Meanwhile, the visitors created preciously little in the first half, and their first real chance came with the 45 minutes already expired as Maatta beat Udogie with pace to deliver the ball to the edge of six yards, from where Hogh fired just over the bar.
Determined to kill the tie off completely as soon as possible, Spurs continued attacking after the restart, and they were rewarded for their efforts on the stroke of 58 minutes when Romero got to the ball ahead of Sjovold and received a kick on the back of the ankle. Referee Jose Maria Sanchez initially missed it, but the VAR intervened and sent him to have a look at the pitch-side screen. Having seen the footage, he changed his decision and pointed to the spot, and Solanke made no mistake from there.
Romero, the penalty-winning centre-back, got very close to scoring himself a few minutes later as his header drifted inches wide of the post. With 12 of the 90 minutes left, Udogie broke through the visitors’ lines down the left and entered the six-yard box, forcing Haikin to palm his shot from a tight angle away. Substitute Mathys Tel also almost scored, seeing his shot after a corner-induced scramble deflected just wide.
But Spurs dropped off in the final 10 minutes and they were punished swiftly, with Saltnes having more luck than Tel as a deflection off Van de Ven took his close-range shot out of Vicario’s reach and found its way in to reduce the hosts’ lead. It was Bodo’s only shot on target of the game.
Still, the last chance of the game fell to Spurs again as Dejan Kulusevski, another substitute, fired on the turn from around 10 yards, just wide, mere seconds before the referee blew the final whistle.
Bodo’s glimmer of hope
Saltnes’s goal certainly made things a bit more interesting ahead of the second leg in Norway, but it remains to be seen if Bodo can muster a response needed to turn the tie around next week. Based on what they showed in North London, it’s hard to believe that they do; their best hope might lie in their small, artificial pitch to which a team from England may find it difficult to adapt.
Be that as it may, there’s no doubt that Bodo have done magnificently well in reaching the semifinals of a European competition, and even if they fail at this stage, they’ve already given their supporters a lot to be happy for.
What’s interesting about Knutsen’s men is that the scoreline of this first leg belies their team quality up to a point. For most of the match, they looked like a properly assembled unit, with each player sticking to his task to the best of his ability. However, the individual quality of the players was mostly found wanting against the Premier League opposition – when the team organization failed, there simply wasn’t someone good enough to rectify the situation in their ranks.
But still, Bodo/Glimt should be proud of their 2024/25 European exploits.
Would Europa League success save Postecoglou’s job?
That’s probably the most-discussed topic in the aftermath of this match. Spurs sit 16th in the Premier League table, and only the awful achievements of the bottom three sides stood between them and the prospect of a fight to avoid relegation.
But as the difference in the lineup and the performance of their team between their 5-1 loss to Liverpool several days ago and this victory shows quite clearly, at this stage of the season, they’ve completely prioritized Europe over the domestic league. Manchester United have also gained a significant advantage over Athletic Bilbao in the other semifinal, and a clash between Premier League underachievers in the Europa League final appears to be on the cards. For either side, it represents the only chance of qualifying for Europe next season.
But would it be enough for Postecoglou to be given another chance to get things right at Tottenham?
In all honesty, it seems too little too late, and it’s not easy to imagine the Australian tactician remaining in his job after the summer.
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