Bosnich: Ange’s Spurs should have put semi-final result "to bed"

Ange Postecoglou is in the box seat to lead Tottenham to their first European final since 2019 as Spurs attempt to win their first title since 2008.

In the first leg of their Europa League semi-final clash at home against Bodø/Glimt, Spurs have taken a 3-1 lead on aggregate.

Speaking on SEN 1170's Breakfast, Socceroos and Man United legend Mark Bosnich is confident that Spurs will progress to the final after this performance.

But he concedes that they should have won the tie in the first leg as unfamiliar conditions may wreak havoc on the result.

"I still think that (Tottenham) will still go through, they'll win the tie," Bosnich said.

"But they could have put it beyond doubt, they could have basically put it to bed tonight.

"There is that slight fear, that in the back of the head because it's only a two-goal lead. They are playing in a place where teams like three seasons ago, Jose Mourinho was managing Roma, Bodø/Glimt beat them 6-1 there.

"It is an astroturf pitch, it's only 300 kilometres away from the Arctic Circle and they've got a phenomenal record there.

"But they have never beaten an English club before in a game and this is their first ever semi-final at this stage."

Bodø/Glimt came into this game as massive underdogs. This was the first time that a Norwegian team had made the semi-final stage of a European competition.

In fact, to give a further glimpse of the disparity between the two sides, the entire population of Bodo of roughly 40,000 would fit into Tottenham’s stadium and would leave just under 20,000 seats left over.

And it would only take 39 seconds for the disparity to be shown on the field with Tottenham’s Brennan Johnson scoring a header to give Spurs a 1-nil lead. This is now the fastest goal scored in a Europa League semi-final.

The chances would only continue for the Spurs as they were able to generate far more attempts and attacks on goal despite having a similar amount of possession in the first half.

And in the 34th minute, James Maddison would find the back of the net after an exquisite pass from Spain’s Pedro Porro to find him in the box to double their lead.

The dominance would only continue in the second half despite Bodø/Glimt gaining more possession.

For the second match in a row, Tottenham would be awarded a penalty through VAR with Cristan Romero being fouled in the box by Fredrik Sjøvold.

This was then slotted away by Dominic Solanke as Spurs looked likely to progress to the final.

Bodø/Glimt would score a late goal to claw back the result through their captain Ulrik Saltnes.

Tottenham did not come out of the game unscathed. Maddison was subbed off in the 63rd minute and had to limp off the field, which will create a nervous wait for Spurs fans to find out if he will be able to play next week.

In the other semi-final clash, Manchester United has beaten Athletic Bilbao 3-0 away from home.

It is the first time that Athletic Bilbao has been beaten at home in the competition this season, which creates the likely possibility of an all-English final between Spurs and United.

Tottenham will head to Bodø to play the second leg of the semi-final next Friday and hopefully secure their spot in the final.

United will host Athletic Bilbao at Old Trafford at the same time.