In a frustrating season where nothing has been straightforward for Tottenham Hotspur, Ange Postecoglou’s side handled their business in a thoroughly professional manner manner to reach the semifinals of the Europa League with a 1-0 victory (2-1 on aggregate) over Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday.
MORE - Europa League schedule & bracket | Premier League race for European places
After conceding six minutes into the first leg at home, Spurs, who sit 15th in the Premier League table, went 174 minutes without giving up a goal to the Bundesliga’s 3rd-place side and rode Dominic Solanke’s penalty kick — his first goal since Jan. 4 (11 appearances) — to the final four and within 270 minutes of the club’s first trophy since 2008.
James Maddison was lost to injury in the penalty incident after he Eintracht goalkeeper Kaua Santos clattered into him. Cristian Romero played a brilliant ball over the top to find Spurs’ no. 10 who reached it first, just before Santos arrived and barged through him. Maddison was checked for concussion and cleared by the medical staff but limped off shortly after the restart, apparently holding his hip.
Eintracht had their chances — particularly right back Rasmus Kristensen, formerly or Leeds United — but Guglielmo Vicario only had to make two saves in the second half as Postecoglou made a pair of defensive-minded subs to shore up his midfield and defense.
Spurs will face the winner of Bodo/Glimt vs Lazio (currently 3-2 in favor of Lazio in extra-time) in the semifinal beginning with the first leg in north London on May 1.
Player ratings - Eintracht Frankfurt vs Tottenham Hotspur
What’s next?
- Augsburg vs Eintracht Frankfurt — Sunday, 9:30 am ET
- Tottenham Hotspur vs Nottingham Forest — Monday, 3 pm ET
- Tottenham Hotspur vs Bodo/Glimt or Lazio — May 1 (semifinal first leg)
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Tottenham Hotspur live updates - by Andy Edwards
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Tottenham Hotspur final score: 0-1 (1-2 agg.)
Goalscorers: Dominic Solanke (43' - PK)
GOAL! Eintracht 0-1 (1-2 agg.) Spurs: Solanke converts from the spot to take the lead (43')
Dominic Solanke converts his first Spurs penalty to give them the lead 2–1 on aggregate ⚪️💫 pic.twitter.com/v8YDicY19g
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 17, 2025
PENALTY! Kaua clatters into Maddison after Romero plays a brilliant ball in (41')
James Maddison received lengthy treatment and was presumably checked for concussion after being blindsided. A couple minutes later, he’s down again and going to be subbed off, though he appears to be holding his hip rather than his head. Dejan Kulusevski coming on to replace him.
Eintracht Frankfurt starting lineup
Kaua - Kristensen, Koch, Tuta, Theate - Skhiri, Larsson, Gotze - Bahoya, Brown, Ekitike
Tottenham Hotspur starting lineup
Vicario - Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie - Bentancur, Bergvall, Maddison - Johnson, Solanke, Tel
How to watch Eintracht Frankfurt vs Tottenham Hotspur live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 3 pm ET Thursday
Venue: Waldstadion — Frankfurt
Streaming: Paramount+
The two sides drew 1-1 in north London last week — a disappointing result for the Premier League side, but their better overall performance (bar the only few minutes) in quite some time — putting Spurs’ trophy chase on thin ice. Winning in Frankfurt will be no easy task, as Eintracht have only last three times at home this season (all in the Bundesliga) and drawn just once in the Europa League, back in September on matchday 1. Spurs, meanwhile, have won just three of their last 11 away games (3W-0D-8L in all competitions). Strength vs weakness, no doubt about it.
Sunday’s 4-2 defeat to Wolves was a demoralizing blow for a team that had, for the most part, kept their belief and togetherness throughout the tough times this season. Individual errors by Cristian Romero, Lucas Bergvall and Guglielmo Vicario handed Wolves three of their four goals on a silver platter and left the manager with more questions than answers after the game. On the plus side, center back Micky van de Ven was rested at the weekend while midfielder Dejan Kulusevski came off the bench after missing the previous seven games due to a foot injury.
Eintracht Frankfurt team news
QUESTIONABLE: Kevin Trapp (calf), Eric Ebimbe (illness), Krisztian Lisztes (illness), Ansgar Knauff (knee)
Tottenham Hotspur team news
OUT: Heung-min Son (foot), Radu Dragusin (torn ACL - out for season)
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Tottenham Hotspur prediction
At some point, Romero and Van de Ven will achieve match sharpness after being out for months; at some point, Heung-min Son and/or* Dominic Solanke will make a big contribution in a big moment; at some point, James Maddison pull the strings and run the game from midfield. The problem is: Can all of those things (or, at least two of the three) happen in the same game? Because that’s what Spurs need in order to advance, and it’s been hit or miss for a long time now. (*Son didn’t travel with the team due to a foot injury, so that clarifies that point.) Eintracht 2-1 (3-2 agg.) Spurs.
