Tottenham fall short in Portugal, eliminated from Europa League at hands of brilliant Benfica

Tottenham knew their chances of progressing in to the Europa League Quarter-Finals were slim at best, as they'd fallen 3-1 in the home tie against Portuguese side Benfica. They travelled to Portugal knowing they needed a big, big comeback, or at the very least something to take home and build momentum on. Tottenham drew 2-2 on the night, falling short, losing 5-3 on aggregate. Although Tottenham were notably poor, many had predicted Benfica to win the tournament, so this comes a s no surprise.

Manager Tim Sherwood evidently believes it should of been even closer as he hit out at the referee afterwards saying "Harry's got touched in the back. He's entitled to go down. I thought theirs was a bit harsh. Sometimes you get them and sometimes you don't and at the moment we're not getting them. I think we would have gone on to win it. We had them where we wanted them." Although he may have a point, it seems more likely that Sherwood is looking to shift the blame from himself, or at the very least trying to take the pressure off his under performing players.

Spurs, however, did show character, which he had stated they lacked recently. Tottenham can take pride in the loss, knowing they were without 11 first-team squad members, and had to have a weakened substitute bench full of inexperienced kids. Sherwood explained his thoughts on their character saying "My little rant has done them no harm. They showed real character and real guts and they need to do that until the end of the season because we've got some tough games ahead and I'm confident they will do that."

Next up for Tottenham is the battle to claim a Champions League place, or at the very least a position that will ensure they compete in the Europa League once again next season.