Bodø/Glimt 0-2 Tottenham (agg: 1-5): Spurs ease into Europa League final

Tottenham Hotspur navigated their way through to the UEFA Europa League final after triumphing 2-0 at Bodø/Glimt, with goals from Dominic Solanke and Pedro Porro sealing a 5-1 aggregate semi-final win.

Key moments

23' Haikin pushes Pedro Porro free-kick over
31' Vicario diverts Berg shot behind
63' Spurs increase advantage through Solanke
69' Pedro Porro cross sails in

Match in brief: Tottenham cruise into final

Having scored after 39 seconds of the first leg, Tottenham started out on the attack again, in a setting where the hosts had won nine of their ten European matches this season. The visitors posed an immediate threat with a three-pronged attack of Richarlison, Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson.

Full-back Destiny Udogie was an enterprising presence and supply line along the left, sending an inviting cross in front of goal that was crucially pawed away by goalkeeper Nikita Haikin as Spurs continued to push for an opener.

Bodø/Glimt had boosted their hopes of a comeback by scoring a late goal in London through Ulrik Saltnes, and the return of Patrick Berg from suspension was another source of optimism in their attempt to become the first Norwegian club to reach a UEFA club competition final.

The midfielder orchestrated many of his team's most promising attempts to slice through an organised and resolute Spurs defence, although they needed Haikin to push a curling Pedro Porro free-kick over the crossbar, before Guglielmo Vicario had to be alert to claw a Berg shot from outside the box behind.

Spurs looked comfortable despite that scare, deservedly re-establishing their three-goal lead in the tie when Solanke – scorer of their decisive goal at Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-finals – swivelled to poke in after captain Cristian Romero had nodded down Mathys Tel's delivery from a corner.

Any hopes Bodø/Glimt had of recovering were all but extinguished when Pedro Porro then completed a neat crossfield passing sequence by curling the ball over Haikin and in via the far post from just outside the box on the right.

Pedro Porro and his fellow defenders rarely looked unduly troubled during the closing stages, holding off opponents who had averaged almost three goals a game at home in this season's Europa League.

Their reward is a tantalising final against Manchester United – and the confidence of this display will give the two-time UEFA Cup winners considerable belief that they can end the season with European silverware.

Match as it happened

Philip O'Connor, reporting from Aspmyra

A gallant effort from Bodø/Glimt, but a hugely successful campaign comes to an end as a Spurs side oozing class advance to the final. The London club had that extra touch of quality, and most importantly they were able to show it in front of goal. Bodø/Glimt have proved they can compete at this level, however, and they will be looking forward to showcasing what they have learned when Champions League qualifying starts in the summer.

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Key stats

• Tottenham are through to their fourth UEFA Cup/Europa League final, with this their first in the Europa League era.
• Winners of the inaugural edition of the UEFA Cup in 1971/72, their last final was in 1983/84, when they won the competition for the second time.
• The Premier League club have won the second leg in seven of their previous nine UEFA competition semi-final ties (D1 L1).
• They have won all six of their UEFA competition matches against Norwegian teams.
• Spurs have scored more goals (342) than any other team in UEFA Cup/Europa League history. Sporting CP are second with 321 goals.
• Bodø/Glimt lost for only the third time in their last 11 two-legged ties in UEFA competitions (W8), and failed to score for just the third time in 28 European games.

Line-ups

Bodø/Glimt: Haikin; Sjøvold, Moe (Nielsen 72), Gundersen, Bjørkan; Evjen, Berg, Saltnes (Auklend 72); Blomberg (Sørli 61), Høgh (Helmersen 61), Hauge (Määttä 82)

Tottenham: Vicario; Pedro Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Kulusevski, Bissouma, Bentancur; Johnson (Sarr 68), Solanke, Richarlison (Tel 61)

What's next?

Tottenham Hotspur will face English Premier League rivals Manchester United in the 2024/25 Europa League final in Bilbao on Wednesday 21 May.