Tottenham fightback not enough against Benfica
English side are out, while Pirlo free-kick send Juventus through
Tottenham crashed out of the Europa League on Thursday but not before giving Benfica a huge scare as English interest in the continent’s second-tier tournament ended.
Benfica survived a dramatic late onslaught in Lisbon to reach the quarter-finals with a 2-2 draw on the night, having won the first leg 3-1 at White Hart Lane last week.
Jorge Jesus’s team appeared to be cruising towards the last eight when Ezequiel Garay scored in the first half at the Estadio da Luz, but Nacer Chadli struck twice in quick succession late in the second half to give Spurs hope of forcing extra-time.
We had them where we wanted them. They were running scared, weren’t they?
Benfica barely managed to hold out before Rodrigo Lima’s penalty in stoppage-time sealed a 5-3 aggregate success which secured the Portuguese club’s spot in the quarter-final draw.
“We had them where we wanted them. They were running scared, weren’t they?” said Spurs manager Tim Sherwood. “I think it’s evident the players are on my side. They have showed real character and real guts and they need to do that until the end of the season.”
Benfica coach Jorge Jesus, who clashed with Sherwood in London last week, said: “We knew Tottenham could do what we did in London. We had five players not used to playing 90 minutes, but it was a risk we took because our objective is to win the Portuguese championship.”
An Andrea Pirlo free-kick secured Juventus’s ticket to the quarter-finals after a 1-0 win over 10-man Serie A rivals Fiorentina.
Fiorentina had high hopes of making the last eight after a 1-1 draw in Turin last week, when Mario Gomez levelled Arturo Vidal’s third-minute strike.