Eintracht Frankfurt defender Robin Koch has praised Tottenham following the 1-1 draw in the first leg but admitted that he wants to put more pressure on the Premier League side.
The feeling around Spurs seems to be that they deserved to win the game, with Ange Postecoglou insisting Tottenham could have beaten Frankfurt handsomely, given the chances that they created.
However, the scores are all level going into the second leg, and one can argue that the Bundesliga hold the advantage, given the phenomenal record they have at home in the Europa League.
Spurs will need to be at their best to progress to the final four of the competition but it looks like their opponents are certainly not taking them lightly.
Robin Koch makes Tottenham admission
Koch, who has locked horns with the Lilywhites several times during his time at Leeds, was very complimentary of the quality that the North London side have, especially in attack.
The defender admitted Frankfurt were pleased to go back with a 1-1 draw, given that their second-half performance was not up to scratch last week. However, it seems that Koch wants to put Tottenham under more consistent pressure in the return leg, rather than being too passive.
The German international told SG 4 Ever about the first leg: “A difficult game. I said so before the game, and that’s exactly what it was. Tottenham has a lot of quality, especially going forward.
“In the second half, we were too passive; we could have done a bit more going forward, regained more control of the game, like we did in the first half. It’s clear that you get pushed back at times.
“We can apply more pressure in the second half, but the result is still okay. We still had one or two chances in the second half, Tottenham also had chances, but it’s okay.”
Koch disagrees with Spurs centre-back Micky van de Ven
Over the last few days, the noise coming out of the Spurs camp has been that they can take a lot of heart from their performance against Frankfurt, with luck eluding them on the night.
For example, Micky van de Ven insisted Tottenham dominated the first leg and added that he and his teammates are confident they can go to Deutsche Bank Park and win.
However, Koch believes that Frankfurt were good value for the draw, given the way they dug in and remained resolute in the second half.
The 28-year-old added: “During that sequence of play (when Tottenham were piling on the pressure), we took a short breather, but then it’s important not to let yourself be thrown off the game, to keep going, to keep defending, and that’s what we did. That’s why we deserved the draw.”