Ange Postecoglou will be quite pleased with his side’s performance and the scoring chances created, but the result leaves Tottenham Hotspur with a world of work still to do in the second leg after settling for a 1-1 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt in north London on Thursday.
MORE – Europa League schedule & bracket | Premier League race for European places
It was a nightmare start for Spurs as Hugo Ekitike put the visitors ahead after just six minutes. James Maddison lost the ball in the middle third and Eintracht launched a quick counter down the left wing. Ekitike picked the ball up near the sideline 45 or 50 yards from goal, cut inside and ran by Pedro Porro before hitting a curler along the floor and just inside the far post. The first shot of the game, and a goal.
1-0 was the scoreline for 20 minutes, until James Maddison found Pedro Porro with a cut-back cross in the 26th minute. Maddison broke down the left side of the penalty area and picked out Porro, who cleverly let the ball run between his legs before flicking it into the goal with the inside of his left foot. A fine finish from a right back.
Spurs hit the woodwork twice in the second half (Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur) and forced Eintracht goalkeeper (and man of the match) Kaua into a pair of spectacular saves (Heung-min Son and Micky van de Ven) as well, keeping the tie level at 1-1 as Spurs put on their best attacking display in quite some time.
Player ratings – Tottenham Hotspur vs Eintracht Frankfurt
What’s next?
- Wolves vs Tottenham Hotspur — Sunday, 9 am ET
- Eintracht Frankfurt vs Heidenheim — Sunday, 11:30 am ET
- Eintracht Frankfurt vs Tottenham Hotspur — Thursday, April 17, 3 pm ET (second leg)
How to watch Tottenham Hotspur vs Eintracht Frankfurt live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 3 pm ET Thursday
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — London
Streaming: Paramount+
Tottenham Hotspur vs Eintracht Frankfurt live updates – by Andy Edwards
Tottenham Hotspur vs Eintracht Frankfurt final score: 1-1
Goalscorers: Hugo Ekitike (6′), Pedro Porro (26′)
GOAL! Spurs 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt: Porro flicks the hosts level (26′)
Silky smooth finish from Pedro Porro to level the tie for Spurs pic.twitter.com/LGYsj95vmA
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 10, 2025
GOAL! Spurs 0-1 Eintracht Frankfurt: Ekitike finds the bottom corner (6′)
Hugo Ekitiké hits a superb strike to stun Tottenham Hotspur stadium pic.twitter.com/IVMDHohEpx
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 10, 2025
Tottenham Hotspur starting lineup
Vicario – Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie – Bentancur, Bergvall, Maddison – Johnson, Son, Solanke
Eintracht Frankfurt starting lineup
Kaua – Kristensen, Koch, Theate, Brown – Skhiri, Tuta, Larsson – Gotze, Bahoya, Ekitike
Up next in the quarterfinals is Eintracht Frankfurt, who are already on pace to qualify for the Champions League as they sit 3rd in the Bundesliga with eight games left to play (the top four all qualify). Domestic results have, however, suffered a bit since Omar Marmoush joined Manchester City for $72 million during the January transfer window. Prior to his departure (with 15 goals and 9 assists), Eintracht had won three straight league games, yet they have won just three of 10 since (3W-3D-4L). With Marmoush, they were the 3rd-best attacking side in the Bundesliga (42 goals in 18 games. Without him, they are only 9th (13 goals in 10 games). 22-year-old French forward Hugo Ekitike has stepped up with five goals and two assists in 13 appearances (all competitions) and World Cup hero Mario Gotze, now 32, has three goals in four games as well.
Only time will tell how much good came from Spurs’ 3-1 victory over last-place Southampton on Sunday, as they were comfortably the better side in the first half but couldn’t put the game away until the final seconds of stoppage time. Even the brightest spot on the day — Brennan Johnson’s first-half brace — turned dark as a squabble over the late penalty kick saw Mathys Tel score his first PL goal and Johnson sulk over not completing his hat trick. A sequence to succinctly sum up Spurs’ season. Just as fitting would be winning the club’s first trophy since 2008, finishing in the bottom half of the PL and a large portion of the fanbase wanting to fire the manager anyway.
Tottenham Hotspur team news
OUT: Dejan Kulusevski (foot), Radu Dragusin (torn ACL – out for season), Kevin Danso (hamstring)
Eintracht Frankfurt team news
OUT: Elye Wahi (knee), Timothy Chandler (hip) | QUESTIONABLE: Kevin Trapp (calf), Can Uzun (illness), Ansgar Knauff (knee), Krisztian Lisztes (illness), Eric Ebimbe (undisclosed)
Tottenham Hotspur vs Eintracht Frankfurt prediction
Unless Spurs suddenly and magically strike a perfect balance of attacking threat and defensive solidity (unlikely), it’s difficult to see them keeping a clean sheet against a side so adept at the direct counter-attacking that causes them loads of problems on a regular basis. Spurs 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt.
Ange Postecoglou will be quite pleased with his side’s performance and the scoring chances created, but the result leaves Tottenham Hotspur with a world of work still to do in the second leg after settling for a 1-1 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt in north London on Thursday.
MORE – Europa League schedule & bracket | Premier League race for European places
It was a nightmare start for Spurs as Hugo Ekitike put the visitors ahead after just six minutes. James Maddison lost the ball in the middle third and Eintracht launched a quick counter down the left wing. Ekitike picked the ball up near the sideline 45 or 50 yards from goal, cut inside and ran by Pedro Porro before hitting a curler along the floor and just inside the far post. The first shot of the game, and a goal.
1-0 was the scoreline for 20 minutes, until James Maddison found Pedro Porro with a cut-back cross in the 26th minute. Maddison broke down the left side of the penalty area and picked out Porro, who cleverly let the ball run between his legs before flicking it into the goal with the inside of his left foot. A fine finish from a right back.
Spurs hit the woodwork twice in the second half (Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur) and forced Eintracht goalkeeper (and man of the match) Kaua into a pair of spectacular saves (Heung-min Son and Micky van de Ven) as well, keeping the tie level at 1-1 as Spurs put on their best attacking display in quite some time.
Player ratings – Tottenham Hotspur vs Eintracht Frankfurt
What’s next?
- Wolves vs Tottenham Hotspur — Sunday, 9 am ET
- Eintracht Frankfurt vs Heidenheim — Sunday, 11:30 am ET
- Eintracht Frankfurt vs Tottenham Hotspur — Thursday, April 17, 3 pm ET (second leg)
How to watch Tottenham Hotspur vs Eintracht Frankfurt live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 3 pm ET Thursday
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — London
Streaming: Paramount+
Tottenham Hotspur vs Eintracht Frankfurt live updates – by Andy Edwards
Tottenham Hotspur vs Eintracht Frankfurt final score: 1-1
Goalscorers: Hugo Ekitike (6′), Pedro Porro (26′)
GOAL! Spurs 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt: Porro flicks the hosts level (26′)
GOAL! Spurs 0-1 Eintracht Frankfurt: Ekitike finds the bottom corner (6′)
Tottenham Hotspur starting lineup
Vicario – Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie – Bentancur, Bergvall, Maddison – Johnson, Son, Solanke
Eintracht Frankfurt starting lineup
Kaua – Kristensen, Koch, Theate, Brown – Skhiri, Tuta, Larsson – Gotze, Bahoya, Ekitike
Up next in the quarterfinals is Eintracht Frankfurt, who are already on pace to qualify for the Champions League as they sit 3rd in the Bundesliga with eight games left to play (the top four all qualify). Domestic results have, however, suffered a bit since Omar Marmoush joined Manchester City for $72 million during the January transfer window. Prior to his departure (with 15 goals and 9 assists), Eintracht had won three straight league games, yet they have won just three of 10 since (3W-3D-4L). With Marmoush, they were the 3rd-best attacking side in the Bundesliga (42 goals in 18 games. Without him, they are only 9th (13 goals in 10 games). 22-year-old French forward Hugo Ekitike has stepped up with five goals and two assists in 13 appearances (all competitions) and World Cup hero Mario Gotze, now 32, has three goals in four games as well.
Only time will tell how much good came from Spurs’ 3-1 victory over last-place Southampton on Sunday, as they were comfortably the better side in the first half but couldn’t put the game away until the final seconds of stoppage time. Even the brightest spot on the day — Brennan Johnson’s first-half brace — turned dark as a squabble over the late penalty kick saw Mathys Tel score his first PL goal and Johnson sulk over not completing his hat trick. A sequence to succinctly sum up Spurs’ season. Just as fitting would be winning the club’s first trophy since 2008, finishing in the bottom half of the PL and a large portion of the fanbase wanting to fire the manager anyway.
Tottenham Hotspur team news
OUT: Dejan Kulusevski (foot), Radu Dragusin (torn ACL – out for season), Kevin Danso (hamstring)
Eintracht Frankfurt team news
OUT: Elye Wahi (knee), Timothy Chandler (hip) | QUESTIONABLE: Kevin Trapp (calf), Can Uzun (illness), Ansgar Knauff (knee), Krisztian Lisztes (illness), Eric Ebimbe (undisclosed)
Tottenham Hotspur vs Eintracht Frankfurt prediction
Unless Spurs suddenly and magically strike a perfect balance of attacking threat and defensive solidity (unlikely), it’s difficult to see them keeping a clean sheet against a side so adept at the direct counter-attacking that causes them loads of problems on a regular basis. Spurs 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt.
