Tottenham Hotspur jumped into the top eight in the Europa League standings after beating Hoffenheim 3-2 away from home.
Ange Postecoglou's side were languishing in ninth place heading into tonight's match, but are now poised to avoid the two-legged playoffs to reach the last 16 after moving up to fourth place.
James Maddison's stunning goal in the third minute and Heung-Min Son's deflected shot 20 minutes later gave Tottenham control of the game but it was a tale of two halves as Hoffenheim took the lead in waves after the restart.
The pressure looked like it would pay off after Brandon Austin was adjudged to have fouled Max Morstedt in the box, but the decision was overturned by VAR, but the breakthrough would come just seconds later.
Anton Stach put the ball into the net – hoping for a high return – until Son quickly met it and slotted his second effort of the evening into the far corner.
However, in typical Spurs fashion, there was late drama.
David Mokwa Ntoso's header moments after coming off the bench helped seal the game in Germany as the home side pressured Tottenham, who replaced the experienced Son and Maddison with teenagers Callum Oluseyi and Will Lankshire, until the end.
Spurs held on by the best of margins, now snapping a run of three games without a win in Europe, but their makeshift defence, which included Archie Gray at left-back, was determined to make it work.
Who will Tottenham play now?
Tottenham They currently sit in fourth place, meaning that if they remain in that position at the end of the league stage, they will qualify directly to the round of 16 and face the winner of the play-off between the two teams. 13, 14, 19 and The twentieth.
The teams currently in those positions are Rangers (13), Alkmaar (14), Fenerbahce (19). and Besiktas (20).
When will the knockout stage of the Europa League take place?
Knockout qualifiers: February 13 and 20, 2025
Round of 16: March 6 and 13, 2025
Quarter-finals: April 10 and 17, 2025
Semi-finals: May 1 and 8, 2025
Final: May 21, 2025
