Tottenham won 2-0 against Eintracht Frankfurt, who had already been eliminated, with Randal Kolo Muani scoring a goal the day after a minor traffic accident, and advanced to the last 16 of the Champions League.
A punctured tire on Tuesday delayed Kolo Muani’s arrival in Germany, but the forward overcame the incident to score the first goal against his former club just 65 seconds after half-time.
A 77th-minute goal from substitute Dominic Solanke sealed victory and secured a fourth-place finish, giving Spurs home advantage for the second leg of the last 16 and quarter-finals.
Dominic Solanke celebrates by doubling Spurs’ lead
Tottenham will face either Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Club Brugge or Galatasaray in the Round of 16.
Tottenham’s form in Europe is in stark contrast to their domestic struggles, with Thomas Frank’s side sitting 14th in the Premier League, eight points above the drop zone.
It’s a sense of déjà vu for Spurs, who finished 17th in the Premier League last season and exited the Europa League.
Spurs won in Frankfurt last April on their way to Europa League glory, but once again proved to be the happy hunting ground, dominating from start to finish to avoid a two-legged knockout play-off next month. This will be a big relief for Frank, who is currently facing an injury crisis.
Frank praises ‘incredible’ achievement
With 14 players unable to take part in the trip to Frankfurt, a weakened Spurs side put Saturday’s disappointing 2-2 draw with Burnley behind them to once again ease the pressure on Frankfurt, just as they did with last week’s Champions League win at home to Borussia Dortmund.
Spurs’ dominant performance in Germany, where they had 15 shots on target, will give Frank’s side confidence ahead of Sunday’s Premier League home game against Manchester City, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
Sunday, February 1st 4pm
4:30pm kickoff
“It’s actually unbelievable to finish fourth in the Champions League, with 17 points, so there are a lot of positives,” he said in the post-match press conference.
“I’m very happy with the result, but even more happy with the performance. I think we were more or less in control throughout the game.”
“I’m very proud of the players and the character they showed. In Dortmund and this game we had 12 outfield players available, so a lot of players had to fight through the 90 minutes and probably weren’t there, so the character and mentality of the team was huge.”
“We deserved a 2-0 away win in the Champions League.”
He added: “We have just changed our system to 3-4-3 and the last three games have not gone well, so things will only get better and better.”
“In fact, I think we’ve been performing better and better in the last 10 games. We haven’t had all the results we wanted, but the last three games have been very positive, so we have to build on that.”
“We’ve been working very hard and it’s great that the results and performances show what we’re working on. It’s getting closer and closer. Now we need to be even more consistent and turn those games into more wins going forward.”
Frank: There is no doubt that Kolo Muani will play.
Randall Kolo Muani scores Spurs’ third goal in victory over Frankfurt
Frank also revealed that there was no question that Kolo Muani would not play after a minor car accident.
“He was ready,” Frank said. “If there was any doubt that he couldn’t play, we wouldn’t have played, but he was fine.
“I had no physical or mental symptoms from the accident.
“I was very happy that he scored. He looked like a threat. He had a big part in the canceled goal (Xavi Simmons’ goal in the third minute). He showed great behavior throughout the game.”
“I’m very happy that he scored, and I asked him, “I want him to score for teams other than his previous club.”
“But we know that when you come to a new club or a new country, it’s never easy. Even in the Premier League it’s never easy. I hope that gives him some confidence.”
When is the drawing for the top 16?
The draw for the round of 16, quarterfinals and semifinals will be held on February 27th.
When is the knockout stage?
Knockout Playoffs: February 17-18 and 24-25
Round 16: March 10-11 and 17-18
Quarterfinals: April 7th-8th, 14th-15th
Semi-finals: April 28-29, May 5-6
Final: May 30th (Puskas Arena, Budapest, Hungary)
Opta stats: Only rivals Arsenal boast a better set-piece record than Spurs
50% of Tottenham’s last six goals in all competitions have come from set pieces (two corner kicks, one free kick), but since the FIFA Club World Cup (20), only Arsenal (26) have scored more set-piece goals than Spurs this season among Premier League teams. Tottenham have opened the scoring in each of their last five Champions League games, their longest streak in the European Cup. Tottenham Guglielmo Vicario has recorded the most clean sheets of any goalkeeper in the group stages of this season’s Champions League (six), the most shutouts of any Spurs goalkeeper in a single season in the competition. Cristian Romero has been directly involved in nine of Tottenham Hotspur’s goals across all competitions this season (six goals, three assists), which is the same number of goals he achieved in his first four seasons at Spurs.
