Sky Sports pundit wowed by ‘unbelievable’ Maddison in Tottenham v AZ Alkmaar
James Maddison pulled the strings for Tottenham as they beat AZ Alkmaar 3-1 in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday.
Tottenham put the home advantage to good use, taking the lead just 26 minutes into the game through Wilson Odobert, making sure the game was level at 1-1 on aggregate at half-time.
Spurs started the second half on the front foot, with Maddison netting their second just three minutes after the whistle.
However, Ange Postecoglou’s side shot themselves in the foot when a miscommunication between Odobert and Lucas Bergvall allowed Peer Koopmeiners to bring the game back on level terms on aggregate.
Odobert, though, rectified his own error by putting the North London giants back in front 11 minutes later.
Darren Ambrose waxes lyrical about Maddison, tips hat to Dominic Solanke
Reacting to the goal in the Sky Sports studio, Darren Ambrose was full of praise for Maddison for his role in the lead-up to Odobert’s finish.
The former midfielder described the England international’s turn in his own half as “unbelievable”, while also being blown away by his vision to pass the ball to Son Heung-min despite having Odobert available as an option.
He also hailed Dominic Solanke‘s pass to Odobert as the assist of the season.
“Archie Gray finds the ball to James Maddison, who could just clear it down the line, [but] he doesn’t”, Ambrose said on Sky Sports News (13 March, 9:36 pm).
“He turns, unbelievable turn deep in his own half. I think he should play Wilson Odobert, he doesn’t.
“He drives forward, plays Son down the left-hand side, he cuts inside, looks like he’s going to shoot, reverses it to the on-running Djed Spence, who crosses it in.
“For me, assist of the season, Dominic Solanke, does a flick between his legs with his left foot and arriving at the far post, Wilson Odobert, smashes it into the goal.”
While Odobert will certainly grab headlines after grabbing a brace and helping Tottenham book a place in the Europa League quarter-finals, Maddison also deserves credit for his role in the win.
The former Leicester ace completed the most number of passes in the game (58), with 94 per cent accuracy, according to FotMob. Remarkably, 10 of those passes were played into the final third.
| Minutes Played | Goals | Shots | Chances Created | Assists | Accurate Passes | Touches | Accurate Long Balls |
| 77 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 58/62 (94%) | 77 | 2/3 |
He created two chances in the game while attempting twice as many shots. Of his 77 touches, two came in the opposition box.
Maddison also did not shy away from getting stuck in as he won two of the four ground duels he attempted.
Tottenham in Europa League quarter-finals
It was imperative that Tottenham booked a place in the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday, 13 March.
Spurs are already out of both domestic cup competitions and also sit 13th in the Premier League standings with only 10 games left to play.
This means the Europa League is Postecoglou’s only chance of winning a trophy this season.
It appeared that too was in jeopardy after the Premier League club succumbed to a 1-0 loss against AZ Alkmaar in the first leg last week.
However, the players stepped up in the return leg as they fired three goals past the Dutch outfit to book their place among the last-eight, with Maddison in particular making Postecoglou proud.