Although Son Heung-min was out due to injury, his team Tottenham continued their march to the championship.
Spurs have secured three consecutive wins at the 2024-2025 UEFA Europa League thanks to Brazilian striker Hishalisson's return shot. Spurs continue to display their image as the No. 1 favorite.
Tottenham, led by Australian coach Anji Postecoglou, won 1-0 in the third home game of the 2024-2025 UEFA Europa League "League Phase" against Dutch mid-ranking club AZ Alkmaar at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on the 25th (Korea time).
Tottenham, which had a 3-0 complete victory in the eighth minute of the first half against Garabakh (Azerbaijan) at the end of last month, won 2-1 in an away match against Ferencvaros (Hungary) earlier this month. It then won the match against Alkmaar to secure all three matches.
Starting this season, UEFA will divide the teams that advance to the finals into ports and play against eight randomly drawn teams, rather than in the group league, the Europa League, and the Conference League, to determine how they will advance to the tournament. The first to eighth places will have to go directly to the tournament, while the ninth to 24th places will have to play the playoff to qualify for the tournament.
With a total of eight matches per team, Tottenham aims to rank in the top eight and win a ticket to the round of 16 without going through the playoffs. If it is currently in the rankings, it is possible to achieve this goal.
Of the 36 teams, only Italy's prestigious Lazio, which are considered rivals along with Tottenham, and Belgium's leading club Anderlecht have won three consecutive games. Tottenham is believed to be able to confirm its advance to the quarterfinals if it adds about three more wins out of the remaining five games.
Tottenham chose the rotation like the second game against Ferencvaros earlier, with Son Heung-min confirmed to be absent due to pain after the West Ham United match on the 19th.
He chose Fraser Forster instead of Gugliemo Vicario, who started as a goalkeeper.
Back 4 yen Destiny Udogi, Ben Davies, Radu Dragusin and Archie Gray. Lucas Beribal, James Maddison and Rodrigo Bentancur guarded the midfield. The side attack consisted of Timo Werner and Mikey Moore, and Hishalisson was at the forefront. Werner, who was heavily controversial in the decision-making power, was once again on the left wing without Son Heung-min.
Alkmaar also faced off in the same way. Rom-Jaden Osu-Oduro, the goalkeeper, wore gloves, and Möhler Olfe, Maxim Decker, Alexandre Penetra, and Mikuma Seiya formed the defense. Christian Velich, Sven Mainans, and Jordi Clasier played in the midfield. The side attacks were Ruben van Bommel and Ernest Poku. The front line coincidentally came out Troy Parrott, who joined Tottenham as a loanee, and aimed at the goal of the original team.
As expected, the game unfolded in the form of Tottenham's rush from the beginning. Alkmaar, who was the main striker who was on loan from Tottenham saying he didn't need to use it right away, was not an opponent in terms of personal skills.
Werner's cross went up sharply in the 5th minute of the first half and 17-year-old Supernova Moore connected it with a header, but it went off the side of the net. In the 11th minute of the first half, offensive midfielder Madison, who recently had a controversy over his performance, had a shot chance, but he was weak.
In the 27th minute of the first half, Werner lost another chance. 18-year-old midfielder Veribal punched Werner who penetrated into the back of the defense to score the first goal. However, Werner missed the chance to score a goal by shooting as if passing it to the goalkeeper. A sigh of relief flowed into the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Tottenham immediately took the offensive after Hishalisson, who returned from injury in the 38th minute of the first half, succeeded in pressing. Hishalisson gave Werner a chance, but this time he fired a shot into the sky, signaling that his goal-making ability was serious.
Coach Postecoglou, who finished 0-0 in the first half, put in key players and drove for three points.
Except for Werner, he recently put Werner, who had a six-game goal streak, into the left wing.
Tottenham came to fruition early in the second half. He tripped over the opponent's defense within the penalty area while Veribal was breaking through. With Son Heung-min out due to injury, Madison attempted to take a penalty kick, but the kicker was decided by Hishalisson. Madison also conceded. He scored the first goal when Hishalisson kicked it in.
Tottenham faced a crisis afterwards. After receiving a red card in the first round, Dragushin appeared again in the third round after taking a break from the second round, and faced a crisis as he lost the ball in the 11th minute of the second half. Fortunately, Bentancourt quickly blocked it to avoid the crisis.
As if he could not be satisfied with one goal, Postecoglou excluded Hishalisson and put Dominique Solanke, the main striker, in the 19th minute of the second half. In the 28th minute of the second half, Madison and Beribal were missing, and Pape Matar Sarr and Dejan Kulusevski were put on the field, forming an elite offensive team.
However, he faced a serious crisis in the 29th minute of the second half. Ben Davies lost to a competition to secure a one-on-one chance. Foster played a real game for the first time in a long time and saved a fantastic defense to block the possibility of tying the game. 토토사이트
Alkmaar self-destructed in the 40th minute of the second half when Wolfe accumulated warnings and received a red card.
Tottenham had to be satisfied with its victory as a 1.5-tier team. However, if Son Heung-min is not included, there will be no alternative. Werner still has fatal problem in goal-scoring ability. Johnson is a right-handed striker who needs to start as a starting member.
Anyway, with the victory, Tottenham gained momentum in its move to win the official tournament for the first time in 16 years after winning the League Cup in 2009. Tottenham is the No. 1 candidate for the Europa League, selected by betting companies and statistics companies. It beat Manchester United, Lazio, AS Roma, Real Sociedad, and FC Porto.
Tottenham will play the ninth round of the Premier League against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in London at 11 p.m. on the 27th. Tottenham is doing its best to rehabilitate Son to put him in the match.