Tottenham overturn first-leg deficit to reach Europa League quarters

Tottenham Hotspur advanced to the Europa League quarterfinals 3-2 on aggregate after beating AZ Alkmaar 3-1 in London on Thursday in the second leg of the round-of-16 matchup.

Spurs' season effectively hinged on whether they could overturn a 1-0 deficit against AZ Alkmaar in the third meeting between the sides in this year's competition.

They managed it thanks to two goals by Wilson Odobert, the French youngster's first for the club since joining in August.

Odobert opened the scoring in the 26th minute after a poor clearance by AZ's Wouter Goes and the hosts moved ahead on aggregate three minutes after the break when Son Heung-Min set up James Maddison for a side-footed finish into the corner.

AZ were gifted a way back in to the tie in the 63rd minute when Peer Koopmeiners took advantage of a defensive error to fire a shot past Guglielmo Vicario.

But Odobert struck again in the 74th minute to ease the home jitters, finishing off a flowing Tottenham attack down the left from close range.

In the quarterfinals, Spurs will face Eintracht Frankfurt, who eased to a 6-2 aggregate win over Ajax Amsterdam after a 4-1 home victory in which Mario Götze scored twice.