The Tottenham bench was up and bouncing when James Maddison scored a fantastic counter attack goal to put Spurs ahead in North London.
Many fans and pundits had deemed Tottenham's second-leg knockout fixture against AZ Alkmaar one of the clubs most important games of the season. The Europa League is Spurs' only chance of silverware in what has been a relatively poor campaign.
Ange Postecoglou's squad hadn't helped themselves heading into the return fixture as they had lost the first leg 1-0 in the Netherlands. But, it looked like the Tottenham players used this as their fuel to perform at their best on Thursday night.
Despite Alkmaar pulling a goal back of their own, a brace from summer signing Wilson Odobert and a James Maddison finish is what Tottenham needed to push to the quarter-finals. Based on the bench's reaction to Maddison's goal, it's what the team needed as well.
A TikTok posted by TNT Sports Football showed the Spurs players leaping into celebration when the Englishmen scored the goal that put them ahead. Four currently injured stars, Richarlison, Dejan Kulusevski, Radu Dragusin and Kevin Danso were all hugging and fist-pumping in joy.
It looked like there was a clear sense of relief amongst the teammates as Spurs' season was kept alive. They will also know better than anyone else what struggles the club is going through both on and off the pitch.
Another person who was bound to feel a slight weight off his shoulders is Spurs boss Postecoglou. The Australian manager has been under lots of pressure this season, especially following his claim that he always wins silverware in his second season with clubs.
If Tottenham were to have been knocked out of the Europa League at home, it would have been another black mark against Postecoglou. It would alos have left him with zero chance of winning any silverware.
Now, Spurs will look ahead to a two-legged quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt next month.
