Tottenham Hotspur were unable to find a winning goal as they were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt, with the result extending their unbeaten home run in Europe to 19 matches.
This was the first European knockout meeting between these two sides since the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1982, in which Tottenham won the first leg 2-0 at home.
That scoreline wasn’t going to be repeated here, however, as Frankfurt broke the deadlock with their first attack of the match inside six minutes.
James Maddison was dispossessed by Ellyes Skhiri before the Tunisian whipped the ball out to Hugo Ekitike, who cut inside and unleashed an unstoppable effort into the far corner for his 20th goal of the season.
Ange Postecoglou’s men responded well after falling behind, as Dominic Solanke saw a header comfortably gathered by Kaua Santos before Brennan Johnson headed inches over the bar at the back post.
Tottenham’s pressure paid off in the 26th minute when Solanke picked out Maddison in the box, and the midfielder squared to Pedro Porro, who brilliantly flicked the ball in with his heel.
The hosts finished the half on top but were unable to net again to leave the contest finely poised at the break.
Both sides started the second half brightly, with Destiny Udogie and Jean-Matteo Bahoya both getting into promising positions at either end, but last-ditch blocks prevented chances on goal.
It was quickly becoming an end-to-end affair, yet Tottenham were having the better openings, as Lucas Bergvall rocked the crossbar with a powerful effort from distance before Son Heung-min saw a shot turned behind for a corner by a strong hand from Santos.
From the resulting corner, Rodrigo Bentancur crashed a header onto the crossbar as Frankfurt’s goal continued to live a charmed life.
The hosts continued to probe for a second goal with Maddison next to go close, but Santos again stood tall and saved well. It was one-way traffic for much of the second half as Bentancur was once again picked out from a corner, but the Frankfurt shot stopper made another save.
In the end, neither side was able to find the second goal, with Die Adler perhaps grateful to be taking a result back to Deutsche Bank Park next week having been on the end of an onslaught in the second period.
