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That’s me done for the night. Thanks for reading and for your emails! Congratulations to Spurs, that was a proper performance.
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou speaks to the cameras:
Romero and Van de Ven are a big part of what we do. I thought the whole back four were magnificent. Ekitike is a top striker and they kept him quiet.
Our fans have been through a tough time. Hopefully this gives them something to look forward.
I’m the same coach that I was yesterday. The players have never lost belief. People like to mock and diminish my achievements but I’ll leave that there.
Another goal at Old Trafford! For 10-man Lyon!
This is Sid Lowe’s match report from Bilbao.
So, we know two of the four Europa League semi-finalists, Tottenham and Athletic Bilbao, who have beaten Rangers 2-0.
Spurs will face one of Bodø/Glimt or Lazio. That one has gone to extra time in Rome, with Lazio now leading 3-2 on aggregate.
We are also into extra-time at Old Trafford, with Lyon coming back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 in normal time. The visitors are down to 10 men though. You can follow that live here, with Scott Murray.
Email of the night from Andrew Dalzell.
“Knew Spurs were going to win for the simple fact that Spurs always win big European games on 17 April. Today is my son’s sixth birthday, so I remember vividly six years ago to the day when I held him for the first time while Poch wept on the pitch after Fernando Llorente’s hip-flexor goal against City in the Champions League quarterfinals. #coys”
What a ridiculous game that was.
“The Christian Romero Experience,” emails Evan Crocker. “Imperious for 90 minutes, probably exaggerates a head injury extending stoppage time, makes a ridiculous challenge giving Frankfurt one last set piece and also gets himself a yellow. What a player.”
That sums up his night nicely. Romero was excellent but benefitted from having Van de Ven alongside. The Dutchman makes such a difference to this backline. This was the first time since early December that Postecoglou has been able to name his first-choice back four.
“Never expected to see Ange’s Spurs put in a doughty defensive performance, but here we are and here they are, in a European semi-final,” emails Kári Tulinius. “Are Tottenham having a good season, actually?”
No, Kári. No, they are not. Yet Spurs are one semi-final away from a European final and potential Champions League qualification.
On the Frankfurt bench, Ekitike is slouched down, head in hands. The young striker looks absolutely devastated.
Tottenham’s players celebrate wildly, and why the heck not! European semi-finals don’t come along very often, and Spurs dug deep there to repel intense Frankfurt pressure. It wasn’t pretty at time, but the players looked united under Postecoglou’s gameplan tonight. Full credit to the manager and full credit to the players.
Rodrigo Bentancur celebrates at the final whistle. Photograph: Christopher Neundorf/EPA
Tottenham Hotspur’s keeper Guglielmo Vicario celebrates with the team’s staff and subs. Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters
Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou and assistant manager Matt Wells celebrate after the final whistle. Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Action Images/Reuters
Spurs have done it! They are through to the semi-finals!
90+8 min: The free-kick is cleared. That is surely that! The referee put the whistle to his lips …
90+6 min: Play restarts and Romero loses his head, flying wildly into a slide tackle. The Argentinian is booked and Frankfurt have a dangerous free-kick. Up comes Santos, Frankfurt’s keeper!
90+4 min: It’s raining cats and dogs in Frankfurt. Frustration as well as water in the air, as Theate goes to confront Romero for wasting time. Romero, famously a wallflower, responds angrily. Theate is booked.
90+3 min: Tottenham survive yet another Frankfurt corner and Udogie does well to earn a Spurs throw in. Romero falls to the deck, clutching his head. Frankfurt fans whistle wildly, they think the Tottenham defender is playing silly buggers and wasting time. It’s not clear if they are right or not.
90+2 min: Santos again comes out to claim a loose ball, clearing out Solanke! In truth it was probably a foul by the Tottenham man on the keeper, if anything. But there is confusion as the referee initially waves play on and then stops play, much to the fury of Postecoglou.
90 min: This has not been Tottenham at their fluent best. But this is a defensive performance to be proud of.
Five minutes added on!
88 min: It’s all Frankfurt now. Tottenham are clinging on for their season. Bergvall, who has been excellent for Spurs, hacks the ball away. Anywhere will do now.
86 min: Spurs make a change, they are shifting to a back five as they attempt to protect this slender lead. Danso and Sarr are on for Tel and Johnson.
Frankfurt have also made changes: Wahi and Knauff on for Brown and Larsson.
84 min: Kristensen, Frankfurt’s biggest threat, has yet another chance, this time on his stronger right foot. But the defender snatches at the chance, and it’s straight at Vicario.
82 min: Kristensen misses an extraordinary chance for Frankfurt! Spurs are flagging and really, this tie should be all square once again. A low Frankfurt cross flies across the six-yard box, and Kristensen is all alone at the back post, completely unmarked! The ball falls beautifully to the right back, albeit on his weaker left foot but just eight yards out, and the Dane curls a shot well wide of the far post!
Eintracht Frankfurt’s Rasmus Kristensen reacts after missing a chance to score. Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters
80 min: Should flag that Bentancur was booked a moment ago for a late challenge.
78 min: Kulusevski has been dreadful since coming on. Hasn’t contributed at all.
76 min: Massive save from Vicario to keep Spurs in front! Frankfurt get a lucky break as the ball falls to Kristensen on the byline. The full-back zings a low cross to the near post towards (I think) Ekitike. The striker gets a little nick on the cross but Vicario makes a point-blank save with his feet! Great stop!
The ball is recycled and Kristensen again finds some space at Tottenham’s back post, but the Danish full-back can only head wide. Vicario was stranded if he got that effort on target.
Tottenham’s goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is pretty happy to have kept his side ahead. Photograph: Ronald Wittek/EPA
75 min: Frankfurt give the ball away cheaply and suddenly Tottenham have three on three going forward! But Johnson picks the wrong pass to Solanke and the move fizzles out as the striker’s shot is blocked.
73 min: Outrageous skill from Ekitike as he traps a high ball coming down from the heavens before twisting and turning away from Tottenham defenders, who in fairness to well to shepherd the Frankfurt striker away from goal.
71 min: Penalty shout for Frankfurt! Ekitike goes down in a heap after a tangle with Romero, but play is waved on and VAR clears the decision. Ekitike did beat Romero to the ball, but there wasn’t enough contact to send the Frenchman to the deck. They were also checking for handball, but again not enough to overturn the referee’s on-field decision.
Hugo Ekitike (left) of Frankfurt tussles in the box with Cristian Romero of Spurs. Photograph: Ronald Wittek/EPA
68 min: Tel fires an effort over, chastising himself for getting under the ball. Two minutes later, Spurs earn another corner, from which Bentancur heads over! He should have scored at least one header in the first leg. Frankfurt simply can’t handle him in the air.
65 min: Better from Spurs! Not only are they creating chances and earning corners, but Frankfurt’s full-backs and midfield are increasingly squeezed for time and space. Tottenham are … dare I say it … comfortable at the moment.
63 min: Up from the back for Frankfurt, Tuta tries his luck from range. It’s a powerful but sliced effort that slides a few yards high and wide of Vicario’s goal.
62 min: From the resulting corner, Romero heads just wide! That was a real chance as Santos had come to claim the cross, but got nowhere near it. The goal was gaping, but Romero couldn’t get a clean header on target. To be fair to the World Cup winner, he was under severe pressure from at least a couple Frankfurt defenders.
61 min: Sensational centre-forward play from Solanke as he outmuscles Koch, putting the former Leeds defender on his arse, before linking the play beautifully. Johnson and Kulusevski combine nicely in the Frankfurt area, with the latter having a shot blocked from an acute angle.
59 min: Frankfurt make their first change of the second half: Can Uzun for the speedy Bahoya.
57 min: Udogie wins a foul on the half-way line, drawing the challenge of Kristensen, who is booked. The Dane’s yellow card means he will miss the semi-final first leg, if Frankfurt progress.
55 min: Tottenham need to take the sting out of the game. A boring period of possession, to quieten the supporters and halt the momentum of Frankfurt, would suit the English side just fine.
51 min: Chaibi nearly scores from a direct free-kick 30 yards out! Not for the first time, Kulusevski has clumsily careered into his man. Chaibi took aim and curled a magnificent free kick only a couple of inches wide of the top corner! Vicario was scrambling across his goal and replays show that he wouldn’t have got there if Chaibi was just a few inches to the right!
50 min: Both the crowd’s energy and the on-field clashes have contributed to this being an incredibly tense affair. What a huge 40 minutes for Tottenham and Postecoglou.
48 min: Van de Ven is having an excellent evening. There was that last-ditch tackle on Ekitike, numerous headed clearances and now the Dutchman flies across to help Udogie after Spurs were caught cold by a quick Frankfurt free-kick.
We’re underway again in Germany.
Half-time reading:
Elsewhere, Manchester United are in control against Lyon. But it is Manchester United, so anything could happen.
Here are a couple more emails that were sent after the penalty but before the Frankfurt coach was sent off.
“I feel like that could and probably should have been a red card,” writes Evan Crocker. “Outrageously dangerous play. Though the way things are going, there’s definitely a red in this match.”
“I am absolutely flabbergasted that Kaua Santos was given a yellow and not a red,” emails Andy Palmquist. “Even leaving aside the denial of a goal scoring opportunity, it was a reckless tackle that endangered his opponent and was hopelessly late. He should’ve been sent off. Here’s hoping Maddison is OK”.
The challenge gets worse with every viewing. It wasn’t on the same level as Schumacher’s shocking collision with Battiston, but it wasn’t far off. Maddison was lucky that his head hit the relatively soft torso of Santos, rather than a head/knee/shoulder/elbow.
Solanke’s first goal in over three months has given Spurs a precious lead on the night and in the tie!
45+6 min: Johnson clashes with Theate and emotions bubble over in both nearby dugouts. Postecoglou sprints over the half-way line as both sets of players come together. Frankfurt’s staff are furious with something. It’s all calms down a little. Brennan Johnson is shown a yellow for the initial challenge, and a Frankfurt staff member is shown a red card! Not sure what for!
45+4 min: Spurs just need to get to half-time now as Frankfurt desperately try to get back into the game before the break. Bentancur needlessly loses the ball and Frankfurt win a corner, from which Bentancur redeems himself, rising highest to head it away. The Uruguayan has been dominant in the air over the two legs, and was unlucky not to score in the first leg.
45+2 min: “The ‘coming together’ thing on the penalty by the commentators is a bit of a red herring,” emails Hugh Molloy. “Yes, that’s allowed after a regular save, no problem. It’s a pen because the challenge from the keeper was reckless and high”.
Yep, that’s the polite way of putting it.
45 min: Maddison is going to have to come off. He’s limping, so thankfully this is not a hangover from that clash with the keeper for the penalty. Maddison is replaced by Kulusevski.
Six minutes added on. There were lengthy stoppages for the injuries to Gotze, Maddison and the penalty of course.
44 min: Frankfurt players and fans are not happy but they really can’t complain at that. The atmosphere has again exploded and only intensifies as Kristensen goes through the back of Tel for a foul.
There is a brief drama as Tel again tries to grab the ball for the penalty, but Postecoglou tells the Frenchman to hand the ball over to Solanke. Solanke grabs the ball, puffs out his cheeks and slots the ball down the middle from 12 yards! Tottenham lead!
Tottenham Hotspur’s Dominic Solanke slots home from the spot. Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters
Tottenham’s Dominic Solanke celebrates after scoring from the penalty spot against Eintracht Frankfurt. Photograph: Bradley Collyer/PA
The referee consults the monitor and awards the penalty! Santos is given a yellow card. That’s the right decision.
39 min: Penalty shout for Tottenham! Romero plays a clever lofted ball forward over the top, Maddison breaks the offside trap and is first to the ball, heading it towards goal. The ball hits Frankfurt’s keeper in the face, but Santos completely clears out Maddison in the follow through. Oooooo, it’s a nasty collision as Maddison crumples in a heap. That is surely a penalty! Maddison got to the ball first and then was completely taken out in the area? The game continues, but the referee stops play because Maddison requires treatment.
Ooof. Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters
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