Destiny Udogie starred as Tottenham secured a place in Europa League semi-finals with a 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt
Ange Postecoglou has a welcome dilemma on his hands when it comes to Tottenham’s left-back position. A role Djed Spence previously appeared to be leading the race for after delivering some outstanding showings since December, the 24-year-old could only watch on as Destiny Udogie dazzled in Germany on Thursday night.
The Italian international was pivotal in Tottenham’s 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt as Postecoglou’s men sealed a place in the final four of the Europa League. Spurs will now take on Bodo/Glimt for a spot in May’s showpiece finale in Bilbao, Spain.
In terms of Udogie’s performance at Deutsche Bank Park, it was undoubtedly one of his best since pulling on a Tottenham shirt for the very first time at the start of the 2023/24 campaign. Udogie was in excellent form a week earlier in the first leg, but his display in Germany reached new heights altogether.
The ex-Udinese man wasn’t the only player to shine as Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Dominic Solanke delivered standout performances to get the job done. All the Spurs players on the night were outstanding and they deservedly take their place in the semi-finals of the competition.
Udogie, though, looks to be getting back to his previous levels at the perfect time in the season with a potential Europa League final date on the horizon. He was a big player at the back for Tottenham as he nullified the threat of Jean-Matteo Bahoya down Eintracht Frankfurt’s right flank.
He was only dribbled past once and he also contributed with nine defensive actions, nine recoveries, three interceptions, two clearances and one block. Udogie also caught the eye going forward and he was in fact the player with the most completed dribbles in the match after registering three.
He looked to get forward at every opportunity and he offered Spurs a key outlet down the left side throughout with his energy. There was one moment in the dying seconds of the game where the Verona-born player demonstrated his quality on the ball, strength and his desire to get Tottenham over the line.
It was also a moment Lucas Bergvall took great satisfaction from as Udogie helped put out the threat of a late Frankfurt attack. Seeing the ball from a corner run across the area towards the far corner flag, Udogie competed with Hugo Ekitike for the ball and got the better of him.
Rather than looking to clear the ball as far down the pitch as he could, he outmuscled the Frenchman, moved forward with the ball and then played it off Can Uzun to win a throw-in around the 25-yard mark. Bergvall could be seen with his arms stretched out and then he celebrated by letting out a roar and punching the air with a clenched fist.
Dejan Kulusevski also appreciated Udogie’s work and applauded the Tottenham player for it. It was such a mature and professional showing from Tottenham, with the left-back’s work in the far corner a sign of the huge effort they had put in to silence many people on a night when many expected them to crash out.
It was no surprise to hear Postecoglou full of praise of his players come the full-time whistle as he admitted he was “so proud of them” for their efforts.
“Yeah, I’m delighted with many things, super proud of the lads,” he said in his post-match press conference. “Going away from home, a quarter-final against a very good side, you know you’re going to have to work really hard, be really disciplined and we needed to score. We had to show the quality we had as well.
“To a man I just thought they were outstanding, so proud of them. In such a big game, they delivered a performance and it means we’re through to a semi-final. I think over the two legs we deserved to go through. It could have been all over in the first leg but we earned the right to be in the semi.”
Previously looking like Spence had nudged ahead of Udogie in the left-back pecking order, the pair may have swapped places once again. There will be rotation in the position between the Premier League and Europa League fixtures but it may be Udogie who gets the nod when it comes to Europe.
You really cannot drop him after what he delivered over two legs against Eintracht Frankfurt.
