Porro's touch of class settles nerves after Ekitiké makes waves

Hope is not lost for Ange Postecoglou. On another night, the Tottenham manager might have been celebrating a wonder goal from the outstanding Lucas Bergvall as his side looked forward to next week's second leg in Germany with a healthy advantage.

- Ed Aarons

But it is a reflection of how things have been going for Postecoglou that somehow Spurs did not manage to win this game after conceding an early goal to Hugo Ekitiké. Despite Bergvall's best efforts as the 19-year-old covered every blade of grass for the cause in a performance that belied his age, they could not build on Pedro Porro's well-taken equaliser as Eintracht Frankfurt held on for a draw that will probably make them favourites to progress to the semi-finals.

Yet after all the bitterness of recent weeks, at least this was a positive performance from Tottenham that keeps alive their manager's hopes of ending the season with silverware and keeping his job.

Postecoglou had bristled at suggestions that he could be sacked even if Spurs end up winning this competition for the third time in their history and insisted that his players would have the right mindset to face challenging opponents despite the pressure on his shoulders. But there was still not much optimism to be found among a fanbase that has become so used to disappointment.