Football – A first-half penalty by Dominic Solanke secured Tottenham Hotspur a 1-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final yesterday for a 2-1 aggregate victory.
They will face Norway’s Bodo/Glimt in May for a spot in the final.
Solanke gave Tottenham the lead from the spot two minutes before halftime after the visitors were awarded a penalty for a foul by goalkeeper Kaua Santos on Spurs midfielder James Maddison.
Maddison headed the ball before clashing with the arriving Santos, and the referee pointed to the spot following a VAR review.
Tottenham continue their quest to win a first European trophy in more than 40 years after their 1984 UEFA Cup success, something that would give them redemption for a disappointing domestic season.
They reached the last four of a European competition for the first time since their run to the 2019 Champions League final, where they lost 2-0 against fellow Premier League side Liverpool.
Playing in a heavy rain, Eintracht showed more intent in the opening stages but lost Mario Goetze early on after the veteran playmaker suffered what looked like a hamstring injury.
He was replaced by Fares Chaibi, who wasted no time and had a chance with a header soon after but was denied by Tottenham keeper Guglielmo Vicario.
Tottenham were without their captain Son Heung-min, who did not travel due to a foot injury.
Mathys Tel, who signed for Spurs on loan from Bayern Munich in January, started in his place.
The 19-year-old had the visitors’ first attempt on target after 26 minutes, sending a lofted shot from outside the box that forced Eintracht goalkeeper Kaua Santos into a save.
Eintracht were the better side but fell behind when Solanke sent Santos the wrong way converting coolly with a low shot down the middle of the goal.
The German side, champions in 2022, were far from willing to accept their fate and pushed for an equaliser after the restart but were missing a finishing touch.
The hosts stormed Vicario’s goal with 15 minutes to go when the goalkeeper denied Chaibi from close range just before Rasmus Kristensen flashed a header just wide.
The Denmark defender had two more chances within the next minutes, shooting wide and being denied by Vicario.
Tottenham won the competition twice, including its inaugural edition in 1972 when they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-2 on aggregate in a two-legged final.
Athletic Bilbao advanced to the Europa League semi-finals with a 2-0 home win over Rangers in their quarter-final second leg yesterday, winning by the same score on aggregate to keep alive their dream of reaching the final at their San Mames stadium.
Harry Maguire scored in the dying seconds of extra time to help Manchester United snatch a place in the Europa League semi-finals with a sensational 7-6 aggregate victory over Olympique Lyonnais in their quarter-final.
A thrilling second leg tie was taken into extra time after United threw away a two-goal lead on the night to be pegged back to 2-2 after 90 minutes, with goals from Rayan Cherki and Alexandre Lacazette putting Lyon on the verge of the semi-finals at a stunned Old Trafford.
However, United made their numerical advantage, given to them after Corentin Tolisso’s late red card in normal time, count. Maguire sent Old Trafford into delirium with his 121st-minute header which sealed a 5-4 victory in the second leg.
Nikita Haikin made the vital save as Bodo/Glimt pulled off a stunning penalty shoot-out win away to Lazio to become the first Norwegian team to reach the semi-finals.
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