Jose Mourinho’s 4-2 win over Real Madrid has actually done a huge favour for Tottenham Hotspur and Thomas Frank.
The Portuguese coach’s Benfica side stunned Madrid by scoring a 97th-minute goal, which was enough to send them through to the Champions League play-off.
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Meanwhile, Tottenham secured a spot in the top eight of the Champions League, booking their place in the Round of 16.
But not only did Thomas Frank’s side finish in the top eight, but they also finished in the top four, which gives them another key advantage.
Jose Mourinho helps Tottenham finish in Champions League top four
Jose Mourinho helped Tottenham Hotspur to finish in the top four of the Champions League by beating another of his former clubs, Real Madrid.
Spurs needed some help from their former coach in order to leapfrog Los Blancos, and rather remarkably, they received the favour.
Benfica’s players didn’t seem to realise that 3-2 was enough for them to remain in the competition, so to score a fourth in the 97th minute was met with wild scenes.
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But for the North London club, it was also a huge result, as it meant they secured a top-four finish in the competition, which is huge.
Spurs will now have the chance to play each of their home legs second, all the way to the quarter-finals, should they win their Round of 16 tie.
Sum up Tottenham’s win vs Frankfurt in just one sentence
The Round of 16 tie for Spurs could be tough as they will face one of Galatasaray, Club Brugge, Atletico Madrid or Juventus.
So far in the Champions League, the Lilywhites have looked a completely different team from the side sitting 14th in the Premier League.
There were several impressive Tottenham performances against Frankfurt, with Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert the standouts.
Joe Cole defends Thomas Frank at Tottenham
The win will buy Frank yet more time, and one man who believes the Danish coach deserves that is Joe Cole.
The former Premier League star thinks that Frank has been dealt a bad hand at Spurs and backs him to turn things around.
“I really feel for Thomas Frank because I think he’s gone into the club. Daniel Levy’s left, who knew everything. Everything went through him at that club. He chose the spoons in the kitchen. Like everything went through him,” he told TNT Sports.
“So it’s a real mess at the moment. The fans are still calling for change. But where do you want to change it to? Like, you know, they don’t, they want to win trophies. It’s one in 30-something years.”