Key events
41 min: Chelsea 0-0 Copenhagen (agg 2-1). The visitors continue to look more likely. They’re doing the majority of the probing. Elyounoussi with a fine dribble down the right that nearly opens the hosts up.
39 min: Rangers 0-0 Fenerbahçe (agg 3-1). En-Nesyri, running down the inside-right channel, lets a long ball drop over his shoulder before slicing a volley horribly wide left. Robbie Fowler used to make that sort of thing look far easier than it actually is. Then the visitors come again, Talisca romping down the middle. Souttar skittles him from behind and goes into the book; he’ll miss the first leg of the quarters should Rangers make it. Nothing comes of the resulting free kick.
37 min: Spurs 1-0 AZ (agg 1-1). Son runs powerfully down the left but can’t get a shot away. He lays off to Bergvall, who aims a curler towards the top-right corner. Always high, always wide.
35 min: Spurs 1-0 AZ (agg 1-1). … but the delivery is no good, and Solanke takes an accidental shoe in the throat anyway, so the whistle goes, as does the pressure.
35 min: Spurs 1-0 AZ (agg 1-1). Maddison clumsily – and needlessly – clips Sadiq, who was going nowhere down the right. A free kick in a dangerous position. Clasie to curl it in.
33 min: Rangers 0-0 Fenerbahçe (agg 3-1). Černý once again causing mayhem down the right. He cuts back from the byline. Kostić toes the ball towards his keeper, assuming he’ll blooter clear … but Eğribayat lets the ball run under his boot, and nearly over the line! He gets back just in time to hammer clear. Rangers inches away from taking the lead in farcical circumstances.
31 min: Spurs 1-0 AZ (agg 1-1). Spence causes AZ more bother down the left. He enters the box before stumbling, and claims a penalty he’s never getting.
30 min: Rangers 0-0 Fenerbahçe (agg 3-1). Černý looks really lively. A turn and a run down the right flank. He enters the box but can’t get a proper shot away. Then another probe along the same wing. He feeds Barron, who squirts a weak shot goalwards that’s never troubling Eğribayat.
28 min: Spurs 1-0 AZ (agg 1-1). Now that’s got the home crowd singing.
GOAL! Spurs 1-0 AZ (Odobert 26); agg 1-1
Son charges down Goes, in AZ’s right-back position, and the ball pings infield to Solanke. He cuts into the box from the left before rolling across expertly to Odobert, all alone in the middle. He can’t miss. He roofs into the top right, and the tie is level!
25 min: Spurs 0-0 AZ (agg 0-1). Koopmeiners floats the free kick to the far stick. Sarr is forced to eyebrow behind for a corner … but that’s not awarded to AZ, and the home side get away with one. And it’s big, because Spurs go up the other end and …
24 min: Spurs 0-0 AZ (agg 0-1). Maddison drops deep to quarterback, but can only find Sarr in the centre circle. Sarr is swarmed, and AZ counter. Poku advances down the left and draws a clumsy shove from Romero. A free kick in a dangerous position coming up.
22 min: Spurs 0-0 AZ (agg 0-1). Son curls deliciously in from the left flank. Lilywhite shirts are lurking, but Owusu-Oduro does exceptionally well to race off his line and punch clear with confidence. Tottenham’s best work has been down this left side.
21 min: Chelsea 0-0 Copenhagen (agg 2-1). The visitors are on top, for what that’s worth. It’s not a great game so far.
19 min: Rangers 0-0 Fenerbahçe (agg 3-1). Talisca is clipped on the edge of the Rangers box by Jefté, only to be preposterously booked for simulation. One of Jose’s staff then goes into the book too, for observations made in blunt fashion. Rangers get away with one there.
16 min: Spurs 0-0 AZ (agg 0-1). Spence makes a nuisance of himself down the left and wins a corner. Before it can be taken, Van de Ven shoves Maikuma in the chest, and to the floor. Chancing his arm there. Just a talking-to from the ref. Nothing comes from the set piece when it’s finally taken.
16 min: Spurs 0-0 AZ (agg 0-1). A chance for Møller Wolfe to romp into acres of space down the left. Romero isn’t having that, and comes across with a crunching challenge. He needed to make that. Wonderful defending.
14 min: Spurs 0-0 AZ (agg 0-1). Spurs have enjoyed nearly 70 percent of possession so far. Owusu-Oduro yet to be put to work in the AZ goal.
13 min: Rangers 0-0 Fenerbahçe (agg 3-1). Černý cuts in from the right and takes a whack. Straight at the keeper. Rangers very much in this now after a tentative start.
11 min: Rangers 0-0 Fenerbahçe (agg 3-1). A wedge down the left flank to release Jefté into the box. Jefté cuts back for Černý, who shanks harmlessly wide right from 12 yards. A good chance, though VAR would have taken a look at offside had it gone in.
11 min: Spurs 0-0 AZ (agg 0-1). Maddison worms his way down the left and sends a dangerous in-swinger into the mixer. With Solanke lurking, Penetra does well to hook clear when facing his own goal.
9 min: Spurs 0-0 AZ (agg 0-1). Ange Postecoglou wanted some positive early action to get the crowd going. He’s not got his wish.
7 min: Spurs 0-0 AZ (agg 0-1). It’s been a slow start by Tottenham. Son attempts to inject some pace with a drive down the left but runs slap-bang into the first defender. AZ will be happy enough with this.
5 min: Rangers 0-0 Fenerbahçe (agg 3-1). … so having said that, it’s Rangers who win the first corner of the evening. Diomande’s promptings down the left causing concern in the away defence. Tavernier takes, but it’s easy for Eğribayat in the Fener goal.
3 min: Rangers 0-0 Fenerbahçe (agg 3-1). It’s all Jose’s lads during the early exchanges at Ibrox. Pretty much as Barry Ferguson expected, as per his pre-match pow-wow with Super Ally.
1 min: Spurs 0-0 AZ (agg 0-1). Spurs get the ball rolling and play a bit of keepball. Spence attempts to release Son down the left but overcooks the pass and it flies out for a goal kick. The first groans of the evening.
And we’re off! Off! Off!
N17, G51 and SW6 assemble! Yes, the teams are out in north London, south-west Glasgow and west London. Spurs in white, AZ red, Rangers light blue, Fenerbahce white, Chelsea royal blue, and Copenhagen white. We’ll be all over the place off in a minute or three!
Here are the early Europa League results …
-
Athletic Club 3-1 Roma (agg: 4-3)
-
Eintracht Frankfurt 4-1 Ajax (agg: 6-2)
-
Lazio 1-1 Viktoria Plzen (agg: 3-2)
-
Olympiakos 2-1 Bodo/Glimt (agg: 2-4)
… so should Spurs get through tonight, they’ll face 2022 winners Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarters. If they get through that, they’ll take on either Lazio or Bodo/Glimt in the semis. Rangers meanwhile will play Athletic Bilbao in the quarters if they make it tonight. A repeat of the 2022 final between the Light Blues and Eintracht is still on!
Chelsea make five changes to the team that started in Denmark last week. Filip Jørgensen replaces Robert Sánchez in goal, while Pedro Neto, Enzo Fernández, Jadon Sancho and Joshua Acheampong also step up. Sánchez drops to the bench, as do Shumaira Mheuka, Cole Palmer and Reece James, the latter pair having been ill all week. Malo Gusto misses out altogether through injury.
Copenhagen make two changes from that game. Mohamed Elyounoussi, once of Southampton, and Rodrigo Huecas come in, while Giorgi Gocholeishvili and Amin Chiakha are benched.
Chelsea v Copenhagen teams
Chelsea: Jorgensen, Chalobah, Adarabioyo, Badiashile, Acheampong, Caicedo, Fernandez, George, Sancho, Dewsbury-Hall, Pedro Neto.
Subs: Sanchez, Bergstrom, Cucurella, Colwill, Nkunku, Palmer, James, Amougou, Murray-Campbell, Antwi, Mheuka, Walsh.
Copenhagen: Ramaj, Huescas, Gabriel Pereira, Diks, Hatzidiakos, Meling, Elyounoussi, Clem, Froholdt, Achouri, Claesson.
Subs: Trott, Runarsson, Garananga, Mattsson, Larsson, Lerager, Robert, Chiakha, Gocholeishvili, Delaney, Jensen.
Referee: Radu Petrescu (Romania).
Rangers make two changes to the XI Barry Ferguson sent out last week. Leon Balogun and Dujon Sterling are in, with Ridvan Yilmaz and Robin Propper – who took a knock upside the head in Turkey – dropping to the bench.
Fenerbahçe make three changes from the first leg. Fred, formerly of Manchester United, returns from suspension, while Bright Osayi-Samuel, once of QPR, and Anderson Talisca also step up. Edin Dzeko and Dusan Tadic, one-time stars of Manchester City and Southampton, drop to the bench, while erstwhile Leicester defender Caglar Soyuncu misses out altogether.
Rangers interim boss Barry Ferguson is interviewed on TNT by former Rangers boss Ally McCoist. “Looking forward to it … we’ve had a good week of preparation … we’re just desperate for the game to start … the boys stuck to [their new three-at-the-back shape in the first leg] really well … you might see similar or something different tonight … they’ll still put balls into the box … that’s where I need my defenders defending … I like them playing football but first things first, you’ve got to header the ball … I’ve got everybody fit … I want competition for places … it’s time for Dujon [Sterling] to show me he should be in the starting XI … we know it’s going to be tough … they’re going to come for us … we’re under no illusions … European nights here are magical and we need to light the fire to get the fans behind us.”
Ange Postecoglou speaks to TNT Sports. “It’s good to get Romero and Micky back, our centre-back pairing … we looked after Madders at the weekend … it’s important … they’re experienced guys … there for the big occasion and tonight’s certainly a big occasion so it’s great to have them all out there … it’s exciting … a big European night … we have to play our football … try to progress to the next round … we didn’t grow into the game [last week] … with the crowd behind us we can get some energy going early … hopefully the fans are excited and full of voice … we always go out there with the intent to win and score goals, and that’s what we have to do tonight … hopefully we’ll deliver.”
Spurs make six changes to their starting XI from the first leg against AZ in the Netherlands. Two are enforced, with Kevin Danso hamstrung and Rodrigo Bentancur suspended; Mathys Tel, Destiny Udogie, Archie Gray and Brennan Johnson drop to the bench. In come Cristian Romero, Dominic Solanke, Pedro Porro, Wilson Odobert, Pape Sarr and Micky van de Ven.
AZ make one change from last week. Ibrahim Sadiq replaces the injured Mayckel Lahdo on the wing.
Tottenham Hotspur v AZ teams
Tottenham Hotspur: Vicario, Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Spence, Bergvall, Sarr, Maddison, Odobert, Solanke, Son.
Subs: Austin, Whiteman, Bissouma, Tel, Udogie, Gray, Johnson, Davies, Scarlett, Moore.
AZ: Owuso-Oduro, Maikuma, Goes, Penetra, Wolfe, Clasie, Buurmeester, Koopmeiners, Sadiq, Parrott, Poku.
Subs: Verhulst, Zoet, Martins Indi, Belic, Dekker, Smit, de Wit, Meerdink, Dijkstra, van Duijn, Bouziane.
Referee: Joao Pedro Pinheiro (Portugal).
Rangers v Fenerbahçe teams
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Balogun, Souttar, Sterling, Raskin, Barron, Jefte, Cerny, Diomande, Dessers.
Subs: Kelly, Yilmaz, Propper, Lawrence, Bajrami, Nsiala-Makengo, Igamane, Hagi, McCausland, Rice, Curtis, Danilo.
Fenerbahçe: Egribayat, Muldur, Skriniar, Akcicek, Kostic, Samuel, Amrabat, Fred, Szymanski, Talisca, En Nesyri.
Subs: Livakovic, Cetin, Djiku, Yandas, Dzeko, Tadic, Kahveci, Tosun, Tograk.
Referee: Espen Eskas (Norway).
Spurs aren’t the only British giants battling tonight to save their season†. The Granadaland soap-opera stars of Coronation Street Manchester United welcome Real Sociedad to Weatherfield Old Trafford this evening: Daniel Harris will be all over that one in the MBM style. There’s also the small matter of Rangers versus Fenerbahce, with the Glasgow giants taking a 3-1 lead into tonight’s second leg at Ibrox. Now don’t shoot the messenger, I’m just simple folk, but there’s no MBM for that one. However I’ll try my best to keep an eye on that here as well, not least because one of either Barry Ferguson or Jose Mourinho is guaranteed to end the evening with a face on, and combustable Euro-infused entertainment isn’t the sole preserve of teams from Madrid. Strap in, folks, it could be quite the ride.
†: This of course assumes Chelsea are going to make it through to the last eight of the Conference League, on account of having won their first leg 2-1 in Copenhagen. We’ll keep you posted, nonetheless, and pivot shamelessly should things go awry
Preamble
We’ve been here before this season …
… so there’s no reason why Ange Postecoglou’s unpredictable side can’t repair the damage done in the Netherlands last week …
… and keep alive hopes of their manager maintaining his record of always winning a trophy in his second full season at a club. Tottenham’s 2024-25 campaign – and their current pursuit of a first major trophy since 2008, and a first European pot since 1984 – stands or falls tonight. Kick-off is at 8pm GMT. It’s on!
