Tottenham progressed to the last 16 of the Champions League with a deserved 2-0 win over already eliminated Eintracht Frankfurt as Randal Kolo Muani scored just a day after a minor road accident.
A tire blowout on Tuesday delayed Cole Mouani’s arrival in Germany, but the forward overcame the incident to score for his former side just 65 seconds after half-time.
Substitute Dominic Solanke’s 77th-minute strike made victory safe and secured fourth place, which gives Spurs the advantage in the second leg at home in the last 16 and quarter-finals.
Dominic Solanke celebrates after doubling Spurs’ lead
Tottenham will play against Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Club Brugge or Galatasaray in the round of 16.
Tottenham’s European form is in stark contrast to their domestic struggles, with Thomas Franco’s side 14th in the Premier League and eight points above the relegation zone.
It’s deja vu for Spurs after they won the Europa League last season amid a 17th-place finish in the Premier League.
Spurs won in Frankfurt last April on their way to Europa League glory, and it proved a lucky hunting ground once again as they dominated throughout to avoid next month’s two-leg knockout play-off, which will be a huge relief for Franco amid an injury crisis.
Frank hails the ‘incredible’ achievement
With 14 players unavailable for the trip to Frankfurt, a depleted Spurs side put Saturday’s disappointing 2-2 draw at Burnley behind them to once again ease the pressure on Franco, as did last week’s Champions League win at home to Borussia Dortmund.
A dominant display in Germany, where Spurs had 15 shots, will give Franco’s side some confidence ahead of Sunday’s Premier League home game against Manchester City, live Ski Sports.
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He said in the post-match press conference: “To actually finish fourth in the Champions League is amazing, 17 points, so there are a lot of positives.
“I think I’m very happy with the result, but even more happy with the performance. I think we were more or less in control the whole game.
“I’m very proud of the players and the character shown. Dortmund and this game had 12 outfield players available, so a lot of players had to push through 90 minutes, maybe there weren’t any, so character and mentality is big in the team.
“A more than deserved 2:0 away win in the Champions League.”
He added: “We just changed the system to 3-4-3, so the last three games we played and, so it will only get better and better.”
“Actually I think our results in 10 games have been getting better and better. We haven’t got all the results we wanted, but the last three games have been very positive and that’s what we have to build on.”
“We are working very, very hard and it is nice that the result and the performance show the parts we are working on, it is getting closer and closer.”
Frank: There is no doubt that Kolo Muani would not play
Randall Kolo Muani scored his third Spurs goal in the win in Frankfurt
Frank also revealed that there was never any doubt that Kolo Muani would not play after his minor car accident.
“He was ready,” Frank said. “If there was any doubt he couldn’t play, we wouldn’t have done it, but he was fine.”
“There was no physical or psychological aspect to the accident.
“I was very happy he scored. He looked like a threat. He was heavily involved in the disallowed goal (by Kawhi Simmons in the third minute). He had great actions throughout the game.
“I’m very happy that he got a goal and I asked him: ‘Please start scoring against teams other than (just) your former clubs.
“But we know that when you come to a new club and a new country, it’s never easy – and never in the Premier League. I hope that will give him confidence.”
When is the draw for the last 16?
The draw for the round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals is underway February 27.
When are the knockout stages?
Knockout Playoffs: February 17-18 and 24-25
Round of 16: March 10-11 and 17-18
Quarterfinals: April 7-8 and 14-15
Semi-Finals: April 28-29 and May 5-6
Finals: There are 30 (Puscass Arenas Budapest, Hungary)
General statistics: Only rivals Arsenal can boast a better record than Spurs
- Fifty percent of Tottenham’s last six goals in all competitions have come from set-pieces (2x corners, 1x free-kick), while only Arsenal (26) have scored more goals from set-pieces than Spurs among Premier League teams in all competitions this season since the FIFA Club World Cup (20).
- Tottenham have scored the first goal in each of their last five Champions League games, their longest run in the European Cup.
- Tottenham’s Guglielmo Vicario has kept the most clean sheets among goalkeepers in this season’s Champions League group stage (6), while it is the most of any Spurs goalkeeper sent off in a single season in the competition.
- Christian Romero has been directly involved in nine goals for Tottenham Hotspur in all competitions this season (6 goals, 3 assists), the most he has scored in his first four campaigns for Spurs combined.