Tottenham was eliminated from the Europa League after a penalty shootout defeat to Basel on Thursday, despite the best efforts of Clint Dempsey.
The quarter-final tie was still very much up for grabs following the 2-2 draw at White Hart Lane last week and the Swiss outfit ultimately came out on top in an enthralling second leg.
Dempsey silenced the sold-out crowd at St. Jakob Park in the 23rd minute when he dribbled past Yann Sommer and rolled the ball into the empty net.
It was just the start Spurs was looking for but their joy was short lived as Moussa Dembele’s lackadaisical pass was picked off and Mohamed Salah went on to slip the ball past Brad Friedel.
It was 1-1 on the evening and 3-3 on aggregate as Basel started to assert its dominance and Tottenham limped into the half-time break lucky to be on level terms.
The hosts began where they left off and Aleksandar Dragovic gave them their first lead of the night when he pounced on a rebound and unleashed a drive that left Friedel with no chance.
Tottenham was on the back foot and looked set to crash out of Europe until Clint Dempsey came to the rescue.
The American international popped up with seven minutes left and unleashed a shot that squeezed through Sommer to bring the game back on level terms.
Extra time beckoned and Jan Vertonghen made the English club’s task that much harder when he was shown a red card just before the end of regulation time.
Spurs survived extra time but their luck would run out in the penalty shootout as they managed just a single goal.
Tottenham crashed out of the Europa League, despite the best efforts of Clint Dempsey and will now concentrate on a top-four finish in the Premier League.
