Solanke rescues Spurs as Frank urged to finally drop underperforming star after 20 turnovers.
Tottenham Hotspur booked their place in the Champions League round of 16 with an impressive 2-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday night.
Randal Kolo Muani opened the scoring shortly after the break, finishing from close range after Cristian Romero rose highest to meet an early set-piece delivery. Dominic Solanke later came off the bench with less than 15 minutes remaining and marked his first goal of the season by finding the net.
The result eases some of the pressure on manager Thomas Frank, who has been under scrutiny following a difficult run of Premier League results. However, despite the positive outcome, several players delivered underwhelming performances in Germany.
Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario retained his place in goal and kept a clean sheet, but looked uncomfortable in possession during key moments. The Italian completed 20 passes but failed to claim any high balls in his penalty area and completed only 50 percent of his long passes, continuing the concerns surrounding his distribution.
Midfielder Archie Gray also endured a rare quiet display. The 19-year-old failed to register a tackle and recorded just one interception, while making only five forward passes throughout the match, limiting his influence in controlling play from deep.
Djed Spence was handed a start at right-back following Pedro Porro’s injury against Burnley, which is expected to keep him sidelined for around a month. Spence completed the full 90 minutes but experienced a difficult outing.
He lost 10 duels — the highest tally of any player on the pitch — committed three fouls, and surrendered possession 20 times, also the most in the Spurs side. Although he attempted six dribbles, only two were successful, and he completed just one cross, reflecting limited attacking impact. His overall pass accuracy stood at 80 percent from 78 touches.
Spence’s performance earned a 6/10 match rating from Standard journalist Sam Tabuteau.
Despite individual struggles, the victory marked a strong collective display for Spurs and secured their progression in the competition.
