Spurs narrowly avoid Champions League upset
Bodø / Glimt 2 - 2 Tottennham Hotspur
Tottenham avoided a major upset in the Champions League as they came from two goals down to salvage a draw against Norwegian underdogs Bodo/Glimt.
Author | Greg S
Stadium | Aspmyra Stadion
Spurs, who beat the same opponents home and away on their way to lifting the Europa League last season, were second best for long spells and went behind early in the second half when Jens Petter Hauge curled a fine effort into the far corner.
The home side were soon in dreamland as Hauge once again stole the show, turning sharply away from Pedro Porro before drilling low into the bottom corner.
Micky van de Ven gave Spurs a lifeline with a powerful header from Porro’s cross, and Destiny Udogie struck the bar with another header as the visitors pressed for a leveller.
READ MORE | Defence key for Spurs against Villarreal
READ MORE | Another weekend of fascinating action in the Premier League
Their breakthrough came with a minute remaining, although in scrappy fashion, as Jostein Gundersen inadvertently diverted Archie Gray’s cross into his own net.
It was an escape for Tottenham, especially given that Kasper Hogh had fired a penalty over the bar in the first half.
Spurs’ blushes spared
Relief will have been the overriding emotion for Tottenham’s players at the final whistle after avoiding an embarrassing defeat, but there was little else to take from the performance.
With Bodo situated 200km north of the Arctic Circle and playing on an artificial surface, conditions are challenging for visitors. Yet Tottenham won here with relative ease in May on their way to Europa League success, so excuses were thin on the ground for what was a flat display.
 |
| Pre-match atmosphere |
For much of the game, Spurs looked disjointed in attack, unable to create chances or sustain pressure in the final third, leaving their defence exposed to a bold and energetic Bodo/Glimt.
Hogh’s penalty miss, after Rodrigo Bentancur’s foul, failed to spark Tottenham into life, and they only showed urgency once two goals down. Thomas Frank will take encouragement from their late response, although the equaliser owed plenty to fortune with Gundersen’s own goal.
It leaves Tottenham with four points from two games in the group stage, but on this evidence there remains significant room for improvement.
