Many thanks to Declan Mulcahy for his report:-

Thursday 1 May 2025, 8:00pm
Europa League Semi-Final, First Leg
Tottenham Hotspur (2) 3 FK Bodo/Glimt (0) 1

Spurs scorers:-
Johnson, 1
Maddison, 34
Solanke, 61 (pen)

Bodo/Glimt scorer:-
Saltnes, 83

Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1):
1 G Vicario; 23 Pedro Porro, 17 C Romero (c), 37 M van de Ven, 13 D Udogie; 30 R Bentancur, 8 Y Bissouma; 22 B Johnson, 10 J Maddison (21 D Kulusevski 65); 9 Richarlison (11 M Tel 45), 19 D Solanke (28 W Odobert 75)

Subs not used: 40 B Austin, 41 A Whiteman (Gks), 24 D Spence, 4 K Danso, 33 B Davies, 14 A Gray, 29 P Sarr, 47 M Moore

Booked: Romero (73 foul on Gunderson)

FK Bodo/Glimt (4-3-3): Kjetil Knutsen
12 N Haikin; 20 F Sjovold, 6 J Gundersen, 2 V Nielsen (18 B Moe 45), 15 F A Bjorkan; 19 S Brunstad Fet (95 J Kjaer Jensen 77), 23 J P Hauge, 14 U Saltnes (c); 25 I D Maata (8 S Auklend 65), 9 K Hogh, 11 O D Blomberg (27 S Sorli 77)

Subs not used: 1 J Faye Lund, 44 M Brondbo (Gks), 4 O Bjortuft, 77 M B Hansen

Booked: Bjorkan (57 foul on Johnson), Hauge (75 foul on Bissouma)

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Attendance: 61,327

Referee:- Jose Maria Sanchez
Assistants:- Raul Cabanero & Inigo Prieto
Fourth official:- Alejandro Hernández
VAR:- Carlos del Cerro Grande
Assistant VAR:- Cesar Soto Grado
(All officials from Spain)

Spurs Dominate but Twist in Tail gives Bodo Glimt (Glimmer) of Hope

Spurs dominated most of this match. With ten minutes remaining they led 3-0 which would have been an almost insurmountable lead. However two minutes later they conceded a goal against the run of play. While Spurs will have the advantage going into the second leg Bodo/Glimt will certainly think they have a chance of progressing.

Spurs made seven changes from the side that was overwhelmed by Liverpool on Sunday. Only Vicario, Udogie, Maddison and Solanke survived. Nine of the starting eleven also began the away match to Eintracht Frankfurt. Bissouma and Richarlison replaced Bergvall and Tel. Bergvall apparently injured his ankle in training. However given the run of injuries Spurs have had this season it wouldn't have been surprising to learn that he had injured his ankle while signing the new contract that he entered into this week. Son was also out injured.

Bodo/Glimt are a northern Norwegian team located 200km north of the Arctic circle. Their entire population could fit into the Tottenham Stadium and still leave room for around 8,000 Spurs supporters. They have developed into a fairly formidable team, by Norwegian standards, during this decade. During the 2021/22 season they played Ange Postecoglou's Celtic team in the Europa Conference League and won both matches. This season they have become the first Norwegian team ever to reach the semi-finals of a major European competition.

This was Bodo's second visit to England during this season's Europa League competition. On matchday 5 of the group stage they visited Old Trafford to play Manchester United. As with tonight's game United scored in the first minute. Bodo came back to lead 2-1 before eventually losing 3-2.

Recently they made a serious administrative error in understanding the competition rules. They were apparently unaware that yellow cards accumulated in the quarter-finals would impact on the teams who qualified for the semi-finals. As a result the second leg of their quarter-final against Lazio in Rome had serious consequences for tonight's match. Two of their influential midfielders Patrick Berg the captain and Håkon Evjen received cautions which resulted in them being suspended for tonight. Also Andreas Helmersen the forward who scored their goal which took them to a shoot-out in Rome got two yellow cards during that match and was sent off a minute from the end. Had the team understood the rules correctly the midfielders might have avoided their yellow cards.

Odin Bjortuft a regular in the back four was unfit to start tonight and was on the substitutes bench though he wasn't used.

Given their status Bodo/Glimt's squad is smaller than Spurs and the net effect of the above factors meant that they started with a much weaker team than usual. Spurs had the full complement of eleven substitutes whereas Bodo/Glimt only had eight replacements including only six outfield players.

Before the game there was a minute's silence for the late Pope Francis. It was unusual in that although he is a world-known figure he doesn't have an immediate connection with England or football. Perhaps because of that the minute's silence could have been better observed.

Spurs made a dream start. Richarlison made a run down the left. He crossed the ball towards the far post. Bodo failed to clear it and Bissouma won the ball and passed it to Pedro Porro on the right wing. He crossed towards the far post where Richarlison met it with a header directed towards the opposite post and Johnson scored with a header. Spurs were ahead after just 38 seconds and this was Johnson's fourth goal in the Europa League this season.

It could have been even better. Five minutes later Romero played a high ball over the top to Maddison in the Bodo box but he was unbalanced and headed a good opportunity over the bar.

Such was Spurs dominance that Vicario didn't touch the ball until the nineteenth minute following a Bodo free kick.

Maddison crossed to Richarlison whose shot on target deflected to Haikin the Bodo goalkeeper who is Russian and the only player in the team who isn't Norwegian or Danish. Bissouma had an attempt which was too high. He was an unexpected choice this evening but justified his selection.

Solanke laid the ball off in the box but Udogie's shot was also too high. Richarlison was a constant threat on the left wing.

In the 34th minute Spurs increased their lead. Pedro Porro received the ball close to his own goal-line. He carried the ball near to the half-way line and unleashed a long pass towards the Bodo box where Solanke and Maddison were lurking. Maddison controlled the ball nicely. Haikin advanced to try and block him but Maddison slid the ball past him into the empty net. Spurs now led 2-0 and Pedro Porro played a significant part in the creation of both goals.

A few minutes later Spurs were almost three ahead. Udogie crossed from the left. Bentancur chested the ball and volleyed a powerful shot towards the near post. Haikin made a diving save to prevent the goal. In doing so he injured a finger against the post and needed treatment.

A minute into time added on Bodo had their only attempt of the first half. Maata crossed from the right. Blomberg met it but his shot was too high.

Each side made a change after the interval. Tel came on for Richarlison while Moe replaced Nielsen for the visitors. Richarlison will have been disappointed to be replaced as he was one of the most effective threats during the first half constantly probing down the left.

Ten minutes into the second half Bodo suffered a couple of disciplinary issues. Bjorkan was booked for a foul on Johnson. Then Sjovold made an unnecessary late tackle on Romero in the Bodo box. The referee halted play but didn't immediately award a penalty. However the VAR official advised him to view the incident on the pitch-side monitor and then he pointed to the spot.

Solanke is now the designated penalty taker and he duly stepped up to take the kick. He hit the ball towards the left post after a delayed run-up. The goalkeeper seeing that he was beaten hardly moved and the ball entered the net unchallenged. Like Johnson it was his fourth goal in the tournament.

Within minutes Maddison went off with what appeared to be an injury to his right calf and was replaced by Kulusevski.

Spurs were looking good with a 3-0 advantage but the intensity of their play seemed to have dropped slightly from the first half. Bodo lost possession which resulted in Solanke having an opportunity but his shot deflected over.

Romero was booked for blocking Gunderson's progress. Odobert replaced Solanke who went off injured. Losing two players to injury in a ten-minute span was a concern.

Bodo had their first corner of the game after 75 minutes but it came to nothing. Hauge was booked for a foul on Bissouma.

Bodo made two substitutions. Spurs had a couple of chances from Kulusevski and Tel which deflected off Bodo players.

With eight minutes remaining Bodo had a rare attack. Kjaer Jensen set up Saltnes in the box. The latter, the captain for the day, hit a shot which deflected off Bentancur. Vicario had anticipated the shot and dived at a lower level. The deflection carried the ball over him into the top right corner of net. It was a goal against the run of play. Neither Bentancur nor Vicario were to blame for the goal. (Ed:- Spurs made the mistake of standing off opponents in the build-up to this goal).

About eleven minutes remained including time added on. Spurs tried to restore their three-goal advantage but the closest they came was in the final minute when Kulusevski shot on the turn with his weaker right foot and his effort was wide.

In the context of the game alone. This was an excellent performance. Spurs dominated and scored good three goals. The crowd was in good voice throughout.

In the context of the first leg of a two-legged tie it left something to be desired. A 3-0 win would likely have guaranteed Spurs progress to the final. A two-goal advantage is still very satisfactory but the tie is not over for a number of reasons.

Bodo will be a much bigger challenge with their two best midfielders and a forward who has scored goals all available again after suspension.

They are a fairly formidable team at home. They play in a small noisy stadium on an artificial pitch which most top teams are unused to playing on.

Their results at their home ground Aspmyra are impressive. They won three of the four home group games in the competition surprisingly losing to Qarabag. In the three knock-out rounds since then they won by margins of three goals twice and two goals once. In the 2021-22 season they beat Jose Mourinho's Roma 6-1 at home in the Europa Conference League.

Spurs will have the advantage next week but they will face a stronger Bodo team at their home ground and the outcome is not guaranteed. At this point there may be concerns about the fitness of Son, Bergvall, Maddison and Solanke. It is too early to assess if they will be available for the second leg.

The outcome of the second semi-final first-leg was unexpected. Manchester United beat Athletic Club Bilbao 3-0 away. Athletic self-destructed having a player sent off when they were 1-0 down and the ten men conceded two more goals. With a home game to come and a 3-0 lead United look likely to go through to the final. This has implications for the winning team of the Spurs-Bodo tie. The final is in Bilbao and if Athletic were to go through they be playing at home in the final.

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