James Maddison sends message after Tottenham controversy in win v Frankfurt
Tottenham fans were celebrating their Europa League victory in all manner of ways last night, but few were in a situation as unique as James Maddison.
Spurs kept their European dreams alive by defeating Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 away from home to progress into the Europa League semi-finals, with a 2-1 aggregate win.
Dominic Solanke scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot in the 43rd minute to secure their place in the final four of the competition, after Maddison had been taken out by Kaua Santos.
The Premier League side will now go on to face Bodo/Glimt in the semi-final, with the first leg taking place on Thursday (1 May).
Maddison is ready for the Europa League semi-final
While many Spurs fans will have been raising a glass or two in celebration of their victory in the Europa League, Maddison was doing the complete opposite.
The England international wasn’t even able to celebrate the biggest win of Tottenham’s season with the full squad, as he was pulled in for a post-match drugs test.
The 28-year-old took to Instagram to share a selfie with Lucas Bergvall celebrating the win inside the drug testing room, which is a routine situation that several players from both teams have to do.
| Match Stats | Maddison |
| Minutes Played | 45 |
| Total Shots | 1 |
| Accurate Passes | 17/22 (77%) |
| Touches | 29 |
The pair were visibly ecstatic as he captioned it, “Drug testing celebrations,” with several laughing emojis, as he saw the funny side of the situation.
Tottenham can still salvage this season
The Europa League win has kept Tottenham’s dismal season alive, giving fans something to remain positive about as the campaign trudges on.
Spurs are currently 15th in the Premier League table after suffering 17 losses in 32 games, with only the teams in the relegation zone having been beaten more times than them this season.
It has placed enormous pressure on Ange Postecoglou for the final few games of the campaign, with the Europa League potentially being his way of remaining in the job.
Daniel Levy tasked the Australian coach with securing European football for next season, leaving winning the Europa League as his only method of achieving that.
Maddison may have had to be taken off early in Germany, but he will be ready for Bodo/Glimt.