Tottenham Hotspur is officially in the Europa League's quarterfinals following a 3-1 victory at their home ground against AZ Alkmaar. The Lillywhites lost in the Netherlands by 1-nil and needed to revert that first-leg result from continuing their dream to win a trophy in the 2014/2025 season. It was a so much-needed win not only for the team but especially for Ange Postecolglu, who could see himself out of White Hart Lane with a negative result.
The team started well but still struggled to create clear chances in the first 20 minutes of the match. Suddenly, a deflected pass gave Dominic Solanke an easy assist to Wilson Odobert, who scored his first goal for the club after a long period of injury. Following the opening goal, Spurs completely dominated the match and took up a notch in the second half.
James Maddison scored the second earlier on after halftime with a superb strike and a beautiful Heung-min Son assist. However, when things seemed to be calm, Spurs always (unnecessarily) enjoyed staying within the storm. A given ball delivered an effortless score to AZ, who drew the aggregate 2-2 at the point and threatened Spurs with overtime.
Thankfully, Wilson Odobert was in a lovely night and scored his second of the match to seal Spurs' ticket to the quarterfinals in a play that perfectly impersonated Angeball's fashion. Tottenham Hotspur will now face Eintracht Frankfurt in the next round and sustain their dream to play a European final in Bilbao, which hasn't happened since 2019. Here are three takeaways from Spurs' 3-1 win over AZ Alkmaar: