Son Heung-min intervenes as James Maddison in new Tottenham bust up v AZ
Tottenham are through to the next round of the Europa League after beating AZ Alkmaar 3-1 on Thursday, making it 3-2 on aggregate.
It was James Maddison who put his side ahead initially in the tie, making the game 2-0 after scoring in the 48th minute, but in the first half of the game, he was attracting attention for the wrong reasons.
However, with the Lilywhites now through to the next round of action, Maddison will be eager to keep the attention on the positives instead.
Maddison involved in Tottenham bust up
Tottenham came into the home tie 1-0 down after a Lucas Bergvall own goal changed the game in the first leg, meaning the pressure was on.
Even though the Lilywhites managed to get themselves back into it with a Wilson Odobert goal in the first half of the game, it seemed as though the pressure was building on the pitch too.
Footage shared by TNT Sports on X showed that when Spurs were awarded a free kick, Maddison had claimed the ball to take the set piece.
However, Pedro Porro approached his teammate and expressed his desire to take the free kick instead, which led to a disagreement between the pair.
This led to Son Heung-min having to come over to the pair and execute his captaincy duties by diluting the situation.
The decision was made for Maddison to take the set piece as planned, although nothing came from it.
Ange Postecoglou may have saved Tottenham future
He may not have contributed to a goal from the free kick but Maddison did double his side’s lead in the 48th minute of the game.
| Goals | Assists |
| 9 | 5 |
AZ Alkmaar didn’t give Spurs an easy ride to their Europa League victory after making it 2-1 but Odobert contributed again with a goal in the 74th minute.
There was plenty of pressure on manager Ange Postecoglou coming into the game so the fact that they have got themselves through will no doubt be a massive relief for the boss who looks to be safe in his job for now.
Maddison and Porro may have felt the tension during the game as they both tried their best to push Spurs through to the next round.
However, now that Postecoglou’s side have progressed, surely the pair will be able to laugh it off along with Son rather than let the cracks continue to show.
With Maddison having come under criticism this term, the last thing he needs is for anything else to seep into life past this game.