Ange Postecoglou is poised to lead Tottenham into a Europa League final against Premier League rivals Manchester United after the English teams dominated their semi-final first legs on Friday (AEST).
Bathing in a warm evening more reminiscent of his homeland than north London, the under-siege Australian coach led Spurs to a 3-1 win over Bodo/Glimt.
A late concession slightly took the gloss off a dominant display, and the Norwegian club will still have hopes of a turnaround on their synthetic pitch inside the Arctic Circle next week.
Postecoglou, who has looked increasingly like a dead man walking at Spurs with the team in EPL freefall, is still on track to honour his boast of winning a trophy this season.
Brennan Johnson opened the scoring in the first minute while James Maddison added a second 10 minutes before the break. A penalty from Dominic Solanke should have wrapped it up for Spurs but a deflected goal seven minutes from time from Ulrik Saltnes kept the tie alive.
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“The key moment in this tie was the Bodo/Glimt goal,” warned former England goalkeeper Rob Green on BBC Sport.
“Spurs looked to be running away with it and cruising. And that one attack, the one shot on target changes everything.
“This is still in the balance.”
Johnson said: “We’re pleased. If before the game you would have said that we’d have a two-goal cushion, then we’d be happy with it. They are a tough team. There is a reason why they have beaten other teams in the past. Disappointed to concede at the end but we are happy with the performance.”
Meanwhile, Manchester United smashed 10-man Athletic Bilbao 3-0 on the road to move towards the final, which will be held in the same stadium in three weeks time.
The hosts started strongly as Inaki Williams missed with a header from close range and the United defender Victor Lindelof blocked Alex Berenguer’s shot on the line.
The game shifted on 30 minutes when Harry Maguire, who scored the late goal to win the quarter-final, produced some twinkling feet ahead of Casemiro’s opener.
Seven minutes later VAR intervened to award United a penalty foul on Rasmus Hojlund by Dani Vivian, who was subsequently sent off.
Bruno Fernandes expertly placed home the penalty amidst chaotic crowd noise, then silenced them further just before halftime.
Ruben Amorim’s side could have had a fourth in the second half as Casemiro the hit post with a header from a corner.
“The first 20 minutes were difficult, the crowd were super loud and the intensity was high,” said Maguire.
“We made a few errors and we looked a little bit nervous at times in the first 20 minutes. I thought the lads grew into the game really well, we weathered the storm and we knew we’d get our chances and we were really clinical in that first half.
“The tie isn’t done we’ll be focused, ready at Old Trafford next Thursday and I’m sure Old Trafford will be like this place.
“All the pressure is on us now, everyone will expect us to get into the final, so next Thursday we need to make sure we prepare like we’ve done in this game, and if we do we give ourselves a great opportunity to make the final. It’s been a great night for us, one foot in the final but it’s still not done.”
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Tony Harperhttps://https://ift.tt/rOIbG7k on the verge of Europa League final date with Man United as English teams dominate semis
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