With little left to play for on the domestic front, Tottenham Hotspur—like Manchester United—are pinning their hopes on the UEFA Europa League for both silverware and a possible return to the Champions League next season. After a lackluster showing in the first leg in the Netherlands, home advantage at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium proved decisive for the London club.

By the 26th minute, Spurs had already erased the aggregate deficit, courtesy of an Odobert strike from Dominic Solanke’s low cross. Less than a minute after the restart, Heung-Min Son—the standout performer of the match—teed up James Maddison to make it 2–0. That forced AZ Alkmaar onto the front foot, but playing on English soil has never been kind to the Dutch visitors, who had lost all nine of their previous away fixtures in England.

Still, AZ Alkmaar tried to break the jinx, pulling one back through Compeiners on 63 minutes. Ultimately, however, they fell short of forcing extra time, as another combination between Solanke and Odobert in the 74th minute sealed a 3–1 victory for the hosts (3–2 on aggregate).

Tottenham now head into the quarter-finals, where they will take on Eintracht Frankfurt of the Bundesliga. It’s another chance for Spurs to keep their European dream alive—and potentially salvage their season.

2024-25, Europa League

Tottenham - AZ Alkmaar 3:1 (1:0)
Goals: Odobert, 26 (1:0); Maddison, 48 (2:0); Koopmeiners P., 63 (2:1); Odobert, 74 (3:1)

Tottenham: Vicario G.; Romero C.; Porro; Spence D.; van de Ven (Gray, 61); Bergvall (Davies, 84); Sarr P.; Maddison (Bissouma, 77); Son Heungmin; Solanke; Odobert (Johnson B-n, 78)
Bench: Austin; Whiteman; Udogie; Moore; Tel M.; Scarlett

AZ Alkmaar: Owusu-Oduro; Goes (Belic Kr., 87); Penetra; Maikuma (Meerdink, 81); Wolfe; Koopmeiners P.; Clasie; Sadiq I. (de Wit M., 46); Buurmeester (Smit Kees, 68); Parrott; Poku E.
Bench: Verhulst; Zoet; Martins Indi; Dekker M.; van Duijn
Yellow Cards: Clasie 90