LONDON: Tottenham had to settle for a 1-1 draw at home to Eintracht Frankfurt in a lively first leg of their Europa League quarter-final with Pedro Porro cancelling out the visitors’ early opener by Hugo Ekitike.

The winners will play Lazio or Norwegian minnows Bodo/Glimt who took a surprise 2-0 lead.

In London Eintracht took a sixth-minute lead through striker Ekitike, who slotted home from outside the box into the bottom right corner, before Porro levelled for Tottenham 20 minutes later, flicking the ball in with a smooth finish from close range.

For Tottenham, who are 14th in the Premier League with seven rounds to go in a largely disappointing domestic season, winning the competition is their only remaining pathway to European action next season.

Eintracht, the 2022 winners, are still well-placed to earn Champions League qualification via the Bundesliga standings where they are currently third, two points above fourth-placed Mainz.

The German side, playing in their first European quarter-final since lifting the trophy, took a quick lead after Ellyes Skhiri won a duel with James Maddison and immediately sent the ball out to the left flank.

From there, the well-positioned Ekitike dribbled his way up to the edge of the area before scoring low past Tottenham keeper Guglielmo Vicario.

Tottenham, aiming to reach the last four of a European competition for the first time since their run to the 2019 Champions League final, equalised in the 26th minute through defender Porro.

Dominic Solanke played Maddison into the box from the left and the midfielder set up Porro for a first-time finish. Ekitike should have restored the lead for the visitors just before the interval when he struck low from the edge of the box but Vicario easily saved his weak shot.

Tottenham, who finished fourth in the league phase one point above Eintracht, continued to have more possession after the break and Bergvall came close to putting Tottenham in front with a stunning shot from a distance.

However, the Swedish midfielder hit the woodwork. Rodrigo Bentancur did the same two minutes later and Eintracht goalkeeper Kaua Santos denied Maddison from close range just before the hour mark.

Brennan Johnson misfired a great chance from near the penalty spot in the dying minutes.

In Norway two goals from Ulrik Saltnes spurred Bodo/Glimt to a 2-0 home victory over Lazio in freezing conditions.

Aiming to become the first Norwegian team ever to reach a European Cup semi-final, Bodo/Glimt neutralised Lazio’s defence, attacking the box time and again. In contrast, Lazio registered just a single shot on target throughout the match.

The hosts seized early control, with Jens Petter Hauge firing a clever, short shot in the opening minutes that Lazio keeper Christos Mandas had to stretch to push out of danger.

Just after the half-hour mark, Bodo/Glimt came close again when Ole Didrik Blomberg received the ball inside the box but it slid off his foot as he prepared his shot and the effort went well wide.

Bodo/Glimt made the breakthrough just two minutes after the restart when Saltnes finished at close range following a precise short pass from Ole Didrik Blomberg to give the hosts the lead.

As the hosts looked to double their advantage, their sharp, quick passing continued to trouble the Lazio defence but several promising opportunities were squandered as they struggled to convert their finishing touches.

Bodo/Glimt scored their second goal in the 69th minute when Saltnes was played through and he lofted the ball over Mandas. Although Alessio Romagnoli managed to clear it, the ball had already crossed the line.

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