Tottenham’s bizarre season could end with Europa League glory

LONDON — Tottenham’s season of parallel realities continued against Bodø/Glimt in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League semifinal tie on a humid Thursday evening. They took control of the tie with a 3-1 victory, and manager Ange Postecoglou took another step towards ultimate vindication.

But still, as is the norm, there’s that frustrating, gnawing dab of jeopardy for Spurs as they prepare to travel to Norway next week. They dominated this match from their outset, scoring after just 39 seconds and it looked to be as close to a perfect night as possible for them as they threatened to add to their 3-0 lead, until Ulrik Saltnes scored in the 83rd minute to give Bodø/Glimt something to build on in the second leg.

To have that late setback was in keeping with this bizarre Spurs season. Postecoglou called it their “parallel reality” on Wednesday, referring to what he deemed was an unfair external denigration of this European run, but they have been living a split existence.

Their journey to this European semifinal is juxtaposed against an abysmal Premier League campaign, which is teetering on the verge of becoming their worst ever season in the top flight. Their 19 defeats in the league, are weighed against this memorable European campaign where they are a trip to the Arctic Circle, one disciplined 90 minutes away from securing their spot in the Europa League final and with it, the chance to win their first trophy since 2008 to secure a spot in next year’s Champions League.

It is the most brilliantly confusing, frustrating season, which could end up with an exhilarating final flourish. The sometimes error-strewn, jumbled performances in the league were nothing like this disciplined and physical triumph.

Spurs looked to test Bodø/Glimt with a series of direct, long balls. They went with physicality. They muscled their way through this tie. The light, easy-on-the-eye touches of Ange-ball were temporarily shelved, and this victory was about bullying their much-admired opponents into submission.

Bodø/Glimt are the first Norwegian side to reach the final four of a European tournament. They came to Tottenham with the reputation as one of Europe’s best-run teams, a group used to punching above their weight, and freezing bigger fish at their 8,000-capacity ground in the Arctic Circle at the top of Norway.

They have already seen off FC Porto, Olympiacos and Lazio this season. Postecoglou knows their threats well, having lost to them 5-1 on aggregate in a Europa Conference League clash back in his Celtic days.

The Norwegian champions’ support filled their corner of the stadium — a wall of yellow welcoming out their team — but it was a group missing several key players. Patrick Berg, Håkon Evjen, and Andreas Helmersen were suspended, while center-back Ole Didrik Blomberg picked up an injury over the weekend.

Both managers have had to navigate the absence of key players this year, but it stretched Bodø/Glimt’s squad to its limits. Spurs had their own setback on the eve of the match with Lucas Bergvall — arguably their player of the season — absent with an ankle injury, joining the recovering Son Heung-Min on the sidelines. But it was those Postecoglou included who raised eyebrows with Richarlison given a start on the left wing, and Yves Bissouma in for the stricken Bergvall. It suggested Postecoglou was opting for physicality and power over light-footed precision.

Before kick-off, Bodø/Glimt went into a huddle. Captain Saltnes delivered his final message, and they were ready to give Spurs a bloody nose. Less than a minute later, they were back in their huddle again. Spurs took the lead after just 39 seconds as Bissouma barged Blomberg off the ball, and swung the ball to Bodø/Glimt’s back post, where Richarlison headed it down for Brennan Johnson to finish.

Spurs were met with a wall of nostalgia as they walked out. The mentions of their 1984 UEFA Cup triumph in Budapest were unavoidable, and the giant tifo reading “To Dare is to Do” cloaked the South Stand. That helped build the atmosphere, but it was Johnson’s goal that took things to a whole other level. And from there, Spurs very rarely let up.

James Maddison could’ve had Spurs’ second after six minutes as he hooked a volley over the bar from close range, while Bissouma found himself on the edge of the box twice, but both shots were — put kindly — wayward. But it was Maddison who grabbed Spurs’ second when he expertly took down a long ball from Pedro Porro, and somehow slid the ball between two despairing Bodø/Glimt lunges to give Spurs a 2-0 lead.

Bodø/Glimt threatened little, and Dominic Solanke added a penalty in the 61st minute to stretch the advantage further. Spurs could’ve had more had goalkeeper Nikita Haikin not pulled off an impressive save from Dejan Kulusevski, and the home team’s finishing had been a little more accurate as they enjoyed set piece after set piece.

And how they may come to rue those missed chances. The buoyant mood was tempered in the latter stages as both Solanke and Maddison left the field injured. And then Saltnes turned his way through the Spurs defence and his effort deflected off Rodrigo Bentancur and over goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario. Ah, welcome back, footballing peril.

So, for Spurs fans, which reality do you subscribe to after tonight? The question as they walked away a little lighter into the calm, warm May evening must’ve been: where has this been all season?

This was for 83 minutes, a dominant Spurs performance. They played with creativity, they mixed things up, they went direct when needed, and were patient on the ball at other times. They should’ve had this tie sewn up by the time Saltnes brought that yellow corner of the stadium to life with his late goal.

So will that be enough to trigger some sort of Spurs psychosis when they go to Norway next week and nudge them down the path of their Premier League form? Or will they, instead, be like the Spurs of the first 83 minutes, and their quarterfinal match against Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany, and show impressive resilience and find a way through?

The judgment of Postecoglou’s Spurs tenure ultimately teeters on that. Amid a growing feeling that this will be his last campaign in the Tottenham hotseat, he is close to delivering on his promise of always winning a trophy in his second season.

But as always, in this season of dismal domestic form and an enthralling European run, there’s enough unpredictability left in this tie for Spurs fans to hold back on booking their Bilbao flights just yet.