Tottenham Hotspur made it through to the Champions League Round of 16 with a comfortable 2-0 win away at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Spurs supporters are convinced they’ve been watching two different sides of Tottenham this season, one that sits 14th in the Premier League, and the other that sits fourth in the Champions League, above the likes of PSG, Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Coming into this fixture after barely scraping a point away at Burnley, this was a must-win game for Tottenham, with automatic qualification to the round of 16 at stake, and perhaps just as importantly given their injury-hit squad, the chance to avoid two additional play-off fixtures.
With only 12 first-team players available for selection, Thomas Frank did not have much room to manoeuvre, yet still managed to raise eyebrows by starting Randal Kolo Muani ahead of Dominic Solanke against his former club.
First half: Frankfurt 0-0 Tottenham
Before the home side had even managed to get a touch on the ball, Tottenham thought they had taken the lead when Xavi Simons finished from a Kolo Muani cross, only for the goal to be ruled out after Destiny Udogie was adjudged to have blocked a Frankfurt defender in the build-up.
Tottenham continued to look the sharper side, with both Joao Palhinha and Pape Sarr testing Kauã Santos from range, though neither effort came as close as Wilson Odobert’s strike from outside the box, which rattled the post.
Santos then handed Simons another opportunity after passing the ball straight to him inside the penalty area, but the Dutch midfielder was unable to make the most of the gift.
Frankfurt’s clearest opening of the half arrived moments later when Hugo Larsson found himself through on goal, only to see his effort crash against the crossbar with Guglielmo Vicario beaten.
Second half: Frankfurt 0-2 Tottenham
Tottenham needed just two minutes after the restart to finally make their pressure count, as Xavi Simons’ deep free-kick was headed back across the six-yard box by Cristian Romero, allowing Kolo Muani to bundle the ball over the line from close range.
The Frenchman soon threatened to add a second against his former side, sending a header just wide from Kevin Danso’s cross, before Pape Sarr’s curling effort was pushed away by Santos as Spurs continued to dominate proceedings.
Fresh off the bench with less than 15 minutes left, Dominic Solanke sealed Spurs’ top-eight finish when he raced onto a loose headed pass by a Frankfurt player and finished past Santos to double the visitors’ advantage.
FT: EINTRACHT FRANKFURT 0-2 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Spurs Web man of the match: Cristian Romero
What’s next for Spurs?
However critical you may be of Thomas Frank, he deserves his flowers for finishing above the likes of Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique, Jose Mourinho and Hansi Flick in his debut Champions League campaign.
Four wins from four at home, just one defeat overall (against last season’s winners, PSG), and six clean sheets from eight matches later, Tottenham now await one of Club Brugge, Galatasaray, Juventus, or Atletico Madrid in the round of 16.
With the group stage now complete, Spurs will also be able to make changes to their Champions League squad, although that brings its own selection dilemmas for Frank.
Supporters will hope this European momentum can finally spill over into the Premier League when Manchester City visit this weekend – or perhaps they might prefer to wait one more week to get back on track.
COYS!