Tottenham Hotspur wrote a new chapter of club history by downing Bodo/Glimt 2-0 to reach the 2024-25 Europa League final.
Boasting a 3-1 advantage from the first leg of their semi-final in North London, Tottenham simply needed to avoid a catastrophic collapse to punch their ticket to the showpiece match.
Despite atrocious conditions and the plastic surface, Ange Postecoglou‘s men weathered the storm – literally and metaphorically – before delivering two sucker-punches in the Arctic Circle.
Dominic Solanke continued his hot streak with the game’s opening goal, before Pedro Porro‘s cross-cum-shot deceived Bodo/Glimt goalkeeper Nikita Haikin and sealed a 5-1 aggregate victory for the Lilywhites.
As well as advancing to a blockbuster Europa League final with fellow Premier League strugglers Manchester United, Tottenham have now claimed a total of nine wins in this season’s Europa League.
Tottenham break new European ground in Bodo/Glimt win
© Imago
In doing so, Spurs set a new club record for their most match victories in a single European campaign, and a 10th would offer them a route to the Champions League for the 2025-26 term.
Both the Lilywhites and Man United have under-performed significantly in the 2024-25 Premier League, leading to the consensus that European glory for either side would ‘save’ their season.
However, Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim affirmed that winning the Europa League would not salvage his side’s campaign, and Postecoglou did not take kindly to being asked the same question in his post-game press conference.
“What do I care what Man United think,” he said. “Why is that relevant to me? You know better than me, you follow this club more than I have. What do you think a trophy would do for this club?
“People are fearing that it might actually happen. They’re trying to tear it down and diminish it and try to compare us to Man United.”
Postecoglou hails Tottenham’s “maturity” growth in Europa League win
© Imago
The Australian cut a more jovial figure when giving his initial reaction to TNT Sports, though, saying: “Couldn’t be prouder of the lads. We knew it was a difficult place to come.
“We’re aware of the record they have here, the pitch. I think the lads handled it well. Excited, we’re in a final. We’ve grown in maturity and we understand exactly what’s required. I think that’s where we won the game.
“We kept them to a minimum in the first half and did what we needed to do. We’ve used every player in the squad. We’ve overcome adversity. I felt when we got into the knockout, it helped we got players back.”
Before Tottenham and Man United’s thoughts turn to European glory, both sides have abysmal Premier League campaigns to complete, and Spurs continue theirs at home to London rivals Crystal Palace on Sunday.
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