Tottenham Hotspur catapulted themselves into the top eight of the Europa League standings after holding off Hoffenheim to win 3-2 away from home.
Ange Postecoglou’s side were floundering in ninth heading into Thursday’s fixture but are now poised to avoid the two-legged playoffs to reach the round of 16 after moving up into fourth.
Tottenham play their final game of the league-phase at home against Elfsborg on January 30, while holding a one-point advantage on the teams looking to progress automatically, with Postecoglou stating it is a “great position to be in” after the game.
“It gives us a great chance of getting one of those top-eight spots, which would give us a week off – that’s almost as good as getting through,” he told TNT Sport.
“It’s a great position for us to be in – we want to finish in the top-eight because it gives us the extra week of respite from the schedule we had.
“We’re probably going to need it around that time, so it’s a great incentive.”
James Maddison’s stunning effort in the third minute and Heung-Min Son’s deflected shot 20 minutes later gave Tottenham control of the fixture but it was a tale of two halves as Hoffenheim came forward in waves after the restart.
The pressure looked as if it would pay off after Brandon Austin was adjudged to have fouled Max Moerstedt in the penalty area, only for VAR to overturn the decision, but the breakthrough would arrive just seconds later.
Anton Stach poked the ball into the back of the net – with hopes of a comeback high – until it was quickly met by Son wrapping his second effort on the evening into the far corner.
However, in traditional Tottenham fashion, there was later-than-late drama.
David Mokwa Ntusu’s header moments after climbing off the bench teed up a tantalising finish in Germany with the hosts pushing Tottenham, who had replaced the experienced heads of Son and Maddison with teenagers Callum Olusesi and Will Lankshear, until the very end.
Tottenham held on by the finest of margins and now snap their run of three games without a win in Europe but their makeshift defence, which included Archie Gray at left-back, were made to work for it.
Postecoglou: Winning in Europe isn’t easy – ask Man City!
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou speaking to TNT Sport:
“It’s not easy to get away wins in Europe – I watched the Champions League last night and there was only one away victory, so it’s tough.
“Credit to the boys. I thought it was an outstanding first half, played really well. We looked a bit tired in the second half but we hung on and Sonny scored that extra goal to give us that extra buffer.
“We had the schoolboys out there in the end and it was a great victory.”
Who would Tottenham play currently?
Tottenham are currently in fourth place which means if they stayed in this position come the end of the league phase, they go straight into the round of 16 and face the winners of the play-off match between 13th, 14th, 19th and 20th.
The teams currently in those positions are Rangers (13th), AZ Alkmaar (14th), Fenerbahce (19th) and Besiktas (20th).
When is the Europa League knockout stage?
Knockout play-offs: February 13 and February 20, 2025
Round of 16: March 6 and March 13, 2025
Quarter-finals: April 10 and April 17, 2025
Semi-finals: May 1 and May 8, 2025
Final: May 21, 2025
