Why Tottenham Could Finally Shed Their ‘Spursy’ Reputation Against Eintracht Frankfurt

Much like the encounters between Manchester United and Lyon, as well as Athletic Club and Rangers, the tie between Eintracht Frankfurt and Tottenham Hotspur stands evenly poised ahead of their second leg in the Europa League quarter-finals. This scenario stirs up the thrilling prospect of seeing three British teams reach the semi-finals.

However, a significant challenge lies ahead as Spurs are currently experiencing a dip in form. Their last seven matches in the Premier League yielded only two victories, both against teams facing relegation— the now relegated Southampton and the soon relegated Ipswich Town. Hence, Tottenham faces an uphill battle in Germany.

This is exacerbated by their recent performance, which saw them suffer a 4-2 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

To add to their woes, Tottenham have faced difficulties in European knockout matches away to German clubs, losing six of their last seven encounters (with only one victory) and having failed to find the net in four of their last five outings in such fixtures.

The most recent setback occurred in the 2019/20 Champions League, where they were knocked out by RB Leipzig with a 3-0 defeat in the round of 16.

Additionally, Tottenham have only managed to progress from one of their past ten knockout stage ties in European competitions after losing the first leg at home—Ajax in the Champions League semi-finals during the 2018/19 season (having lost 0-1 at home but winning 3-3 on aggregate due to away goals).

Eintracht’s limited success against Tottenham in Europe

Nonetheless, there is a slight glimmer of hope for Ange Postecoglou, his squad, and the long-suffering Tottenham supporters. Eintracht Frankfurt have only managed to claim victory once in five meetings with the North London side in European competitions (with two draws and two losses), and that lone win dates back to the 1981/82 Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-finals when they triumphed 2-1.

The visitors are determined to reach their second major European semi-final in the last seven seasons, having previously done so in the 2018/19 Champions League—matching that total with their previous 44 seasons from 1974-75 to 2017-18 combined.

In contrast, Eintracht are vying for their third Europa League semi-final, having achieved this feat in both the 2018/19 and 2021/22 seasons.

Currently, Sevilla holds the record for the most semi-final qualifications in the competition with five, while Manchester United trails behind with three, as they prepare for their second leg against Lyon.

If Tottenham are to have any chance of progressing, they must tighten up their defence. In their last 19 away matches in the Europa League, they have managed just one clean sheet—a 1-0 victory over Qarabag back in November 2015. Furthermore, across all competitions this calendar year, they have kept only five clean sheets in 22 games.

Eintracht’s danger man, Hugo Ekitike

Eintracht Frankfurt boasts an impressive scoring record at home, averaging over two goals per game in the competition (having scored 55 goals in 27 home matches). Their forward, Hugo Ekitike, has been directly involved in seven goals during this Europa League season (four goals and three assists). This puts him just behind two other forwards who had more significant impacts in previous campaigns for Frankfurt: Luka Jovic (11) and Sebastien Haller (8) during the 2018/19 season.

Since Harry Kane’s exit, Son Heung-min has emerged as the player that teammates look to for inspiration in crucial matches.

Although he is set to surpass Kane (67) to become Tottenham’s all-time leader in major European appearances (68), Son has struggled this season, averaging a goal every 217 minutes in the Europa League, marking his worst ratio in the tournament where he featured more than twice within a season.

Tottenham’s benchmark for the second leg

Under Postecoglou, Spurs have shown their potential, evidenced by their Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg victory against Liverpool in January, which marked just Liverpool’s second defeat in all competitions that season.

Indeed, Liverpool had previously defeated Spurs 6-3 in North London just weeks before, making Tottenham’s rapid turnaround commendable.

While it’s easier said than done, Postecoglou’s squad must focus on the match itself rather than the occasion. If they allow the pressure of possible qualification to overwhelm them, they could face severe repercussions.

Tottenham should use their performance in last week’s game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as a benchmark.

With 10 shots to Frankfurt’s four, 31 touches in Eintracht’s box compared to only 13 for the Germans, an impressive 89% passing accuracy, and 22 total dribbles to Eintracht’s nine… on every metric that night, Spurs outperformed their opponents.

Supporters of the North London club are likely weary of the ‘Spursy’ label that has haunted the club, but there’s a reason that label persists.

Thursday night presents Tottenham with a golden opportunity to shake off that reputation once and for all.