Ange’s Spurs claim big Euro win... but late sting in tail leaves semi final on knife’s edge

Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham will take a two-goal advantage to the Arctic Circle after a 3-1 win at home in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final against Norwegian champions Bodø/Glimt.

For most of the night, the scenes at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium were reminiscent of the early days of Postecoglou’s tenure as Spurs played electric football from the outset with Brennan Johnson scoring just 38 seconds into the tie.

But the mood changed late in the piece as the tension in the air could be cut with knife after Bodø/Glimt captain Ulrik Saltnes scored via a deflection in the 83rd minute to delight the travelling fans and wrestle back some momentum before next week’s second leg.

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A two-goal buffer is handy, but the late goal makes for a nervy week ahead for Tottenham as their opponents boast a formidable record on their often snow-covered artificial pitch.

“Disappointing in that they hadn’t really created much, but I still walk away from it, in terms of performance, you know, when we played Frankfurt here I thought we were a three or four goal better team than them there, and it ended up 1-1, but the performance still gave us the confidence to go to Frankfurt and get a result there,” Postecoglou told TNT Sports post-match.

“I think the boys will feel the same today.

“We don’t have to go there and sort of defend. We’ll go there and if we play the same way we did today, we’ll get the result we need.”

The Australian manager implored his side to dominant the game before kick off after drawing 1-1 at home against Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-final, and they made a dream start with Johnson’s record-breaking opener.

Pedro Porro whipped in a cross that found Richarlison, whose header sailed across the face of goal to hand Johnson a golden opportunity to score his fourth goal of their European campaign, and his 17th in all competitions this season.

“Pandemonium,” was the call from the commentators for Stan Sport as the ball hit the back of the net.

It was the fastest goal ever scored in a Europa League semi-final, and the fastest this season in the secondary European competition.

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Brennan Johnson of Tottenham Hotspur scores. Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images Source: Getty Images

Spurs then made it a two-goal lead shortly after the half hour mark with Porro pulling off another brilliant pass over the top to pick out James Maddison charging into the box.

The attacking midfielder then controlled the ball beautifully, despite his initial touch taking him away from goal, and finished expertly into the far corner past goalkeeper Nikita Khaikin who charged off his line.

The hosts added a third goal to their tally in the 61st minute when Dominic Solanke, who scored the winner in Frankfurt in the quarter-final, coolly converted a penalty after a clumsy challenge from Bodø/Glimt’s Fredrik Sjovold that caught Cristian Romero on the ankle, who had his back to goal.

“I thought the players were outstanding today, I thought our performance was everything it needed to be, really well organised and disciplined defensively and really calm going forward and created good opportunities for ourselves and maintaining pressure,” Postecoglou said.

Spurs would have liked to have capitalised on their dominance more, however.

They registered 24 shots, including seven on target, compared to just three, and one on target, by their opponents.

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 01: James Maddison of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the UEFA Europa League 2024/25 Semi Final First Leg match between Tottenham Hotspur and FK Bodo/Glimt at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 01, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

Bodø/Glimt did well to control the ball however, particularly as they sat back in the second half to limit the damage and force Spurs to play on the counter.

The Norwegian side had 59% possession for the match and completed 519 passes, compared to Tottenham’s 353.

There were fears Postecoglou may have picked up some more injury issues to deal with as Richarlison was subbed off at half time, while Maddison and Solanke both hobbled off in Tottenham’s other substitutions.

“Richarlison wasn’t injured, it was tactical. He did a great job for us,” Postecoglou said.

“Dom and Madders, Madders felt a tweak in his knee but doesn’t sound like anything serious. Dom similar in his quad.

“Both didn’t feel anything too significant but it felt important to take them off.”

Ange defends importance of Europa League | 01:19

In the other semi-final, Manchester United won 3-0 away at Athletic Club in Bilbao, where the final will be played.

United and Tottenham are on a collision course to make it an all-English final in the north of Spain, and Spurs have had the wood on the Red Devils this season, winning all three of their meetings across the Premier League and the League Cup.

Postecoglou made seven changes to his starting XI from the 5-1 Premier League loss to Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, including three changes at the back with Porro as well as centre back pairing Romero and Micky van de Ven returning to the line-up.

In attack, Johnson and Richarlison started either side of Solanke, while Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur returned to the midfield.

Recap all the action from the first leg of the Tottenham v Bodø/Glimt Europa League semi-final in our live blog below. Can’t see it? Click here

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