- Tottenham secured a 3:1 win in the first leg against Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League semifinal
- Spurs dominated the match and led 3:0 through Johnson, Maddison, and Solanke
- Ulrik Saltnes scored late to keep the Norwegians’ hopes alive before the second leg
Key Takeaways:
Tottenham defeated Bodo/Glimt 3:1 in the first leg of their Europa League semifinal tie. The Spurs should regret not sealing the outcome already, as they dominated throughout and at one point held a classic three-goal lead. Brennan Johnson opened the scoring inside the first minute, followed by James Maddison in the 34th, and Dominic Solanke from the penalty spot in the 61st. However, after slowing down in the final stretch, they allowed the Norwegians to pull one back through Ulrik Saltnes in the 83rd minute.
⚪️🏴 Tottenham's tifo for the Europa League semi-final vs Bodø/Glimt: "To Dare Is To Do" ✨ pic.twitter.com/ytoHkIYqkB
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) May 1, 2025
It took just 38 seconds for the hosts to prove their favourite status. Richarlison received a lofted ball in the box and headed it to the completely unmarked Johnson, who rose highest and nodded past the helpless Nikita Haikin.
Around ten minutes before the break, Spurs executed a quick transition, with Pedro Porro launching a long pass from midfield to Maddison, who broke free from two yellow shirts and slotted past the onrushing Haikin to make it 2:0.
Only three minutes later, Tottenham came close to a third, but this time Haikin managed to tip Rodrigo Bentancur’s strike into a corner. In added time, Blomberg produced Bodo’s first shot on target, but his effort went over the bar, and the teams went into halftime with the score unchanged.
Early in the second half, during a set-piece, Spurs captain Cristian Romero was brought down in the box. The referee reviewed the incident via VAR and awarded a penalty, which Solanke converted cleanly to build a three-goal cushion.
Seven minutes before the end of regulation time, Saltnes received the ball near the penalty spot, dribbled past two defenders, and beat Guglielmo Vicario to send the travelling Norwegian supporters into celebration and give his side a lifeline ahead of the second leg.