Tottenham Hotspur faces a challenging return in their Europa League round of 16 tie against AZ Alkmaar, trailing 1-0 after Lucas Bergvall’s unfortunate own goal in the first half. The match, which took place on Friday morning AEDT, highlighted Tottenham’s struggles as they managed just a single shot on target throughout the game.
Despite a late opportunity for an equaliser from Wilson Odobert, whose header went over the bar during stoppage time, Spurs were largely outperformed by Alkmaar, who dominated the match and maintained consistent pressure. Bergvall’s own goal occurred during the opening corner, where he misdirected an attempted clearance, inadvertently catching his goalkeeper by surprise.
Ange Postecoglou’s side will need to adopt a more aggressive approach to overturn the deficit in next week’s second leg at home, scheduled for 7am AEDT on Friday. Previously, Tottenham had secured a narrow 1-0 victory against the Dutch side in their league match at home in October.
In other Europa League news, Manchester United drew 1-1 with Real Sociedad. United initially took the lead through a goal from Joshua Zirkzee, but a handball by Bruno Fernandes allowed Mikel Oyarzabal to level the game with a penalty shortly after. The Europa League presents a potential opportunity for United to claim silverware this season, especially after their exit from the FA Cup.
Meanwhile, Rangers made a significant advancement towards the quarter-finals by securing a surprising 3-1 victory against José Mourinho’s Fenerbahce in Istanbul. The match featured a standout performance from Czech forward Václav Černý, who scored twice, and Cyriel Dessers, who contributed both a goal and an assist. Rangers opened the scoring early, but Fenerbahce equalised before Černý netted his first goal to restore their lead. He later added another to secure the win.
Overall, Tottenham will need to reflect on their performance and come prepared for the decisive second leg if they aspire to progress in the tournament.