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Ange Postecoglou is poised to lead Tottenham into a Europa League final against Premier League rivals Manchester United after the English teams dominated their semi-final first legs on Friday (AEST).
Bathing in a warm evening more reminiscent of his homeland than north London, the under-siege Australian coach led Spurs to a 3-1 win over Bodo/Glimt.
A late concession slightly took the gloss off a dominant display, and the Norwegian club will still have hopes of a turnaround on their synthetic pitch inside the Arctic Circle next week.
“Look it is on artificial grass but it’s still a game of football,” said Postecoglou. “I’ve been there, played there with Celtic, I know the experience and what is important for us is we need to replicate what we did today. Irrespective of the surface, if we’re as disciplined and as organised as we were today, with and without the ball, it won’t matter what the surface is, I think it will make it really difficult for us to be stopped.”
Postecoglou, who has looked increasingly like a dead man walking at Spurs with the team in EPL freefall, is still on track to honour his boast of winning a trophy this season.
Brennan Johnson opened the scoring in the first minute while James Maddison added a second 10 minutes before the break. A penalty from Dominic Solanke should have wrapped it up for Spurs but a deflected goal seven minutes from time from Ulrik Saltnes kept the tie alive.
The second leg is no formality, with Glimt having beaten Porto, Besiktas, Olympiakos and Lazio at home this season. Their win rate at home in the Europa League since 2022-23 is 70%, compared to 9% in away matches.
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“The key moment in this tie was the Bodo/Glimt goal,” warned former England goalkeeper Rob Green on BBC Sport.
“Spurs looked to be running away with it and cruising. And that one attack, the one shot on target changes everything.
“This is still in the balance.”
Johnson said: “We’re pleased. If before the game you would have said that we’d have a two-goal cushion, then we’d be happy with it. They are a tough team. There is a reason why they have beaten other teams in the past. Disappointed to concede at the end but we are happy with the performance.”
Meanwhile, Manchester United smashed 10-man Athletic Bilbao 3-0 on the road to move towards the final, which will be held in the same stadium in three weeks time.
The hosts started strongly as Inaki Williams missed with a header from close range and the United defender Victor Lindelof blocked Alex Berenguer’s shot on the line.
The game shifted on 30 minutes when Harry Maguire, who scored the late goal to win the quarter-final, produced some twinkling feet ahead of Casemiro’s opener.
Seven minutes later VAR intervened to award United a penalty foul on Rasmus Hojlund by Dani Vivian, who was subsequently sent off.
Bruno Fernandes expertly placed home the penalty amidst chaotic crowd noise, then silenced them further just before halftime.
Ruben Amorim’s side could have had a fourth in the second half as Casemiro the hit post with a header from a corner.
“The first 20 minutes were difficult, the crowd were super loud and the intensity was high,” said Maguire.
“We made a few errors and we looked a little bit nervous at times in the first 20 minutes. I thought the lads grew into the game really well, we weathered the storm and we knew we’d get our chances and we were really clinical in that first half.
“The tie isn’t done we’ll be focused, ready at Old Trafford next Thursday and I’m sure Old Trafford will be like this place.
“All the pressure is on us now, everyone will expect us to get into the final, so next Thursday we need to make sure we prepare like we’ve done in this game, and if we do we give ourselves a great opportunity to make the final. It’s been a great night for us, one foot in the final but it’s still not done.”
Chelsea take control in Conference League playoff
Chelsea have taken a big step toward advancing to the Conference League final after beating Swedish club Djurgården 4-1 in the first leg of their semifinal.
Nicolas Jackson struck twice six minutes apart in the second half on Thursday after Jadon Sancho and Noni Madueke netted in the first half for Chelsea to take control ahead next week’s second leg at Stamford Bridge.
“We’re very happy that we won. That’s the most important,” Jackson told TNT Sports.
“It is one step forward and we hope to reach the final.”
Chelsea were the big favourites against the Swedish team that have reached a European semifinal for the first time.
Enzo Fernández sent a precise floating cross from the right for unmarked Sancho to give Chelsea an early 1-0 lead.
Madueke doubled the advantage two minutes before halftime, with Fernández again providing the final pass.
Jackson only needed to score into an empty net after a defensive blunder in the 59th for his first before hitting the roof of the net from the edge of the area to make it 4-0.
Isak Alemayehu scored a consolation goal for the hosts.
In the other semifinal, Real Betis topped Fiorentina 2-1 in Sevilla.
The opening goal for Betis came in the sixth minute with Cédric Bakambu crossing from the right for Abdessamad Ezzalzouli to score from close range with the ball bouncing off the crossbar and a video review confirming it crossed the goal line.
Antony, who is at Betis on loan from Manchester United, added the second in 64th on a rebound past former Man United goalkeeper David De Gea after his initial shot was blocked by Luca Ranieri.
Ranieri, the Fiorentina captain, reduced the lead to 2-1, leaving the second leg wide open.
Fiorentina were runner-up in the third-tier club competition in the last two years, losing the finals to West Ham in 2023 and Olympiacos last year.
(With Agencies)