adminPARIS. — Tottenham crashed out of the Europa League on Thursday night but not before giving Benfica a huge scare as English interest in the continent’s second-tier soccer tournament ended.
Benfica survived a dramatic late onslaught in Lisbon to reach the quarter-finals with a 2-2 draw 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. 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 Friday’s quarter-final draw.
“We had them where we wanted them. They were running scared, weren’t they?” said Spurs manager Tim Sherwood. — AFP.
Online Reporter