Tottenham battled to a 1-1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final, leaving the tie hanging in the balance.
Pedro Porro’s clever finish rescued a point for Spurs after Hugo Ekitike’s early strike had given the visitors a shock lead, extending Tottenham’s unbeaten home run in European competitions to 19 matches.
The match exploded into life within six minutes when Frankfurt’s Ellyes Skhiri robbed James Maddison in midfield and fed Ekitike, who cut inside and rifled an unstoppable shot past Guglielmo Vicario for his 20th goal of the campaign.
Spurs, however, refused to buckle. Dominic Solanke tested Frankfurt’s goalkeeper Kauã Santos with a header, and Brennan Johnson nodded just over, as the hosts piled on pressure.
Their persistence paid off in the 26th minute. Solanke found Maddison in the box, and the midfielder’s precise pass allowed Porro to produce a moment of magic, flicking the ball past Santos with his heel.
“It was a good response from the lads,” Ange Postecoglou said after the match. “We conceded early, which wasn’t ideal, but we stayed composed and controlled the game.”
The second half saw Spurs dominate, with chances raining down on Frankfurt’s goal. Lucas Bergvall rattled the crossbar with a long-range effort, while Son Heung-min forced a sharp save from Santos. From the resulting corner, Rodrigo Bentancur’s header crashed against the woodwork.
Maddison went close again, only for Santos to deny him with another fine stop. “We hit the bar three times, their keeper made some outstanding saves,” Postecoglou added. “On another night, we’d have won comfortably.”
Despite their dominance, Spurs couldn’t find a winner, leaving the tie finely poised. Postecoglou remained optimistic about their chances in the second leg. “If we play like that in Germany, we’ll give ourselves a great opportunity,” he said. “We overwhelmed them with our football, our pressing, and our intensity. We’ve got to go there and fight for it now.”
Recent updates from Tottenham’s official channels underline their determination. A post on X from the club highlighted Porro’s goal as a “moment of brilliance” and praised the team’s resilience, while Son Heung-min told reporters the squad are “fully focused” on finishing the job in Frankfurt.
Frankfurt, meanwhile, acknowledged Santos’ heroics on their X account, crediting him with keeping them in the tie.
This was the first competitive meeting between the sides since Spurs’ 2-0 win over Frankfurt in the 1982 Cup Winners’ Cup. History suggests Tottenham have the pedigree to progress, but they’ll need to sharpen their finishing to overcome a resolute Frankfurt side in the cauldron of Deutsche Bank Park.
