Why Tottenham should be wary of Bødo/Glimt in the Europa League semi-finals

Tottenham Hotspur are facing the lesser-known Bødo/Glimt in the semi-final of the Europa League, but underestimating their opponents would be a grave error.

Tottenham are in the Europa League semi-finals after achieving a result which seemed aspirational before their showdown in Frankfurt. Spurs handed the Bundesliga high-flyers a first European home defeat this season thanks to a Dominic Solanke penalty and some last-ditch defending in the dying minutes. 

Although this was only one match, it has restored the hope of many supporters that Tottenham could end a 16-year wait for silverware. That hope has become even stronger since Bødo/Glimt knocked out Serie A outfit Lazio in a penalty shootout.

However, Spurs should be wary of Bødo/Glimt. The Norwegian champions have earned their right to make it to the final four, picking up some impressive results along the way, particularly at home. This has included wins over Porto, Braga and Besiktas, amongst others.

Ange Postecoglou has previously been defeated by Bødo/Glimt

Despite only spending a few years of his managerial career in Europe, Ange Postecoglou has already faced off against Tottenham’s upcoming opponents Bødo/Glimt – and it did not end well.

Bødo/Glimt picked up a 3-1 win against Celtic in the Aussie’s first campaign in charge of the Scottish Premiership heavyweights. This was despite the fact that Celtic dominated the game’s statistics. 

The second leg caused further disappointment as Bødo/Glimt won 2-0, completing an unexpected 5-1 victory on aggregate in the Conference League. This caused Celtic supporters to claim Postecoglou had been outclassed by Norwegian manager Kjetil Knutsen.

After Postecoglou’s departure, some Bhoys’ fans even wanted the club to appoint Knutsen as his replacement. This was unsurprising considering the many positive results Bødo/Glimt recorded in their first couple of years in European competitions, including putting six past Jose Mourinho’s Roma.

Kjetil Knutsen represents what Ange Postecoglou used to be

Spurs have slowed down from the ‘Angeball’ their supporters originally fell in love with, but Bødo/Glimt’s style of play may remind supporters of his earlier days at the club. The two are not identical, but their philosophies are very similar.

Like Postecoglou, Knutsen favours a 4-3-3 formation with a focus on maintaining possession. He is known for his attractive, attacking football and this is reflected by his team’s performances in this season’s Europa League.

Movement is a key area where Bødo/Glimt and Tottenham are strikingly different. While Spurs cover 28.5km on average per match, their next European opponents average 99km per match. Their raw pace and constant desire could pose a threat to a Tottenham team who have often looked unimaginative and predictable this season.

Bødo/Glimt attacking threats should concern Tottenham

Tottenham and Bødo/Glimt share some similar statistics in Europe, such as possession and passing accuracy. However, the two differ on goals. Tottenham clearly have the stronger defence, conceding 12 goals compared with Bødo/Glimt’s 20. However, the Eliteserien champions have found the back of the net 27 times, which is five more than the Lilywhites.

Bødo/Glimt did narrowly miss out on automatic qualification to the last 16, meaning they have played two additional fixtures in the tournament. This would appear to cancel out the point that they have scored more goals, however, Tottenham’s next opponents have a clear attacking threat in Kasper Høgh. 

The striker is the joint top scorer in the Europa League with seven goals. Heung-min-Son, Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson are the top scorers for Spurs in the competition, but they have only netted three times. This indicates Tottenham lack individual quality in attack, further backed by the fact they only made it past Frankfurt because of a spot kick.

One good result does not define a poor Tottenham side ahead of Bødo/Glimt semi-final

Ultimately, Spurs have been dreadful this season. Sitting 15th in the Premier League table ought to be a sackable offence, and one solid performance against Frankfurt does not right the many wrongs of the season so far.

Any supporter feeling confident that Spurs now have an easy route to the final is about to be in for an unpleasant surprise. Bødo/Glimt have obvious threats and Tottenham will have to put in two more strong performances in order to make it to the Europa League final in Bilbao.

The post Why Tottenham should be wary of Bødo/Glimt in the Europa League semi-finals appeared first on Spurs Web.