March 14, (THEWILL) – Tottenham Hotspur progressed to the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals with a commanding 3-1 win against AZ Alkmaar at home on Thursday night.
The victory overturned their first-leg deficit, sending them through with a 3-2 aggregate score and setting up a clash with Eintracht Frankfurt in the next round.
Wilson Odobert emerged as the hero of the evening, netting twice to propel the London side forward in the competition.
His first goal came in the 26th minute when Son Heung-min pressured Wouter Goes to win possession, allowing Dominic Solanke to provide a simple pass for Odobert to finish.
James Maddison extended Tottenham’s lead by exchanging passes with Son before firing a powerful strike into the top corner.
AZ briefly restored parity in the tie when Peer Koopmeiners capitalised on defensive confusion between Lucas Bergvall and Odobert, driving the ball into the far corner.
However, Tottenham’s momentum proved too strong for the Dutch visitors to contain for long.
The deciding goal arrived when Solanke cleverly flicked Djed Spence’s cross at the near post, with Odobert stretching to divert the ball home.
This crucial intervention, just 11 minutes after AZ had equalised on aggregate, proved sufficient to send Tottenham through to face German opposition in the next phase of the tournament.
The result is significant progress for Tottenham in European competition this season, with their attacking quality ultimately overcoming the disappointing first-leg performance in the Netherlands.
Manager Ange Postecoglou will be particularly pleased with his team’s response and their ability to maintain composure, especially after conceding.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
