Bodö/Glimt pale: Spurs push the door wide open to the final
A dominant performance by Tottenham Hotspur against FK Bodö/Glimt in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final has the North Londoners dreaming of the final. Johnson put Spurs on the road to victory after just 38 seconds.
James Maddison (left) puts the ball into the net to make it 2-0. IMAGO/Offside Sports Photography
Spurs coach Ange Postecoglou made a lot of rotation after the disastrous 5-1 defeat at Liverpool FC - which crowned the Reds champions early: The Australian brought in six new players, including Richarlison for Tel on the left wing and ex-Wolfsburg player van de Ven for Davies in the back four (both on the bench).
Bodö/Glimt coach Kjetil Knutsen made four substitutions after the 3-0 win against KFUM Kameratene Oslo , including the 27-year-old midfielder Berg, who was suspended, as were midfielder Evjen and striker Helmersen. Hauge, a familiar face from the Bundesliga (Eintracht Frankfurt), starts the lineup.
Lightning start thanks to JohnsonThe last fans were still looking for their seats when Johnson made North London explode: After 38 seconds, the attacker nodded a header from Richarlison into the Norwegian goal - an early shock for Bodö/Glimt, who then struggled to find their way back into the game.
But even then, it was essentially the favorites, Spurs, who played the game. Maddison (7'), Johnson (15'), and Udogie (30') were unable to capitalize on their dominance to make it 2-0, but it was still a commanding performance by the home side. They also didn't make things easy for the eager visitors in attack. Bodö couldn't find any solutions and at one point resorted to long balls, which Postecoglou's team easily defended.
Maddison buttery soft, Solanke from the penalty spotThe simple 2-0 lead in the 34th minute was accordingly deserved: A long ball from Porro was enough to put Maddison in a scoring position. The Englishman beautifully plucked the ball out of the air and fired it into the left corner. The score remained the same at halftime because Haikin brilliantly parried Bentacur's volley from the top corner (38'), and shortly before the break, Blomberg squandered Bodö's only chance of the first half (45'+2').
A Norwegian wake-up call for the second half? Not at all. Instead, the home side dominated after the restart, and the bewildered visitors had nothing to counter despite having more possession for long stretches. Instead, Bodö's impetuous approach, in the form of Sjövold, brought Romero down on the leg in his own penalty area. Solanke confidently converted the resulting penalty after a VAR check to seal the game (61').
Saltnes gives Bodö hopeThe fact that Solanke (70th minute), substitute Kulusevski (81st minute), and Tel (82nd minute) missed the chance to make it 4-0 would come back to haunt them in the final minutes: After a fine individual effort, Saltnes luckily put the ball in the net, securing the visitors' second real shot on goal to make it 3-1 (83rd minute). At the other end, Kulusevski had a chance to make it 4-1 in the final move of the game, but missed the target by centimeters (90th+5th minute).
| stadium | Tottenham Hotspur Stadium |
| Viewers | 61,000 |
This allowed the Norwegians to maintain a glimmer of hope. On Sunday (3 p.m.), Tottenham Hotspur will play at West Ham United, while Bodö/Glimt's Herculean task of the semifinal second leg will not return until next Thursday (9 p.m.): The underdogs must overcome a two-goal deficit in front of their home crowd.
